Why does Concourse D at Dulles (United) only have the "Mobile Lounges"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. Dulles seems to really promote themselves on social media but Regan is more convenient in just about every way except maybe traffic.

Dulles has the new security scanners where you don’t have to remove anything from your luggage (ie liquids, electronics) which is nice.

It should also be noted that the AeroTrain station was built for the future terminals E/F, not terminal C. That’s why they overshoot the terminal and it’s such a hike to get to it.

People with precheck haven’t done this in a decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird. Dulles seems to really promote themselves on social media but Regan is more convenient in just about every way except maybe traffic.

Dulles has the new security scanners where you don’t have to remove anything from your luggage (ie liquids, electronics) which is nice.

It should also be noted that the AeroTrain station was built for the future terminals E/F, not terminal C. That’s why they overshoot the terminal and it’s such a hike to get to it.

Except the train opened in 2010 and Terminal E *might* open by the end of 2026. Terminal F who the hell even knows .

When the train plans were finalized in the mid-2000s, demand for Dulles flights was rising quickly since the late 90s (see above, 2005 was a peak). It seemed at the time that the permanent replacement for the 'temporary" C/D concourse was going to be built relatively soon if demand kept on the same path. Instead it dropped with the 2008 recession and then started rising again much more slowly, hurt again by covid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new E concourse under construction now, along with a future F concourse, will replace both C and D concourses. There will be an airport subway under the new F once it is built. C and D will be demolished after E and F are opened.

To be honest, the AirTrain is not really faster than the moon buggies were. It is fastest to walk from Main to B concourse underground, but for some reason MWAA makes that underground walkway to B very difficult to find.

But what has taken so long? I’ve been hearing about “new concourses” since I moved here in 2007. Articles about E concourse seem to gloss over that part. If anything Dulles has lost flights since we’ve lived here. We used to use it more and now find ourselves nearly always at DCA.

Yes-demand dropped at Dulles as DCA got more flights. It's picking up now, which means United is more willing to.make the investment in the new concourse. That's always been the issue.

DCA is much more centrally located. And, for my family, while we're willing to drive to Dulles if necessary, we far prefer BWI or DCA. BWI has more international flights lately too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new E concourse under construction now, along with a future F concourse, will replace both C and D concourses. There will be an airport subway under the new F once it is built. C and D will be demolished after E and F are opened.

To be honest, the AirTrain is not really faster than the moon buggies were. It is fastest to walk from Main to B concourse underground, but for some reason MWAA makes that underground walkway to B very difficult to find.

But what has taken so long? I’ve been hearing about “new concourses” since I moved here in 2007. Articles about E concourse seem to gloss over that part. If anything Dulles has lost flights since we’ve lived here. We used to use it more and now find ourselves nearly always at DCA.

I head Dulles wanted United to pay for it and United wanted the opposite.

I have walked miles in IAD while getting to my gate, plus at least 5-6 escalators each time. It's insanity trying to reach D gates. I like the mobile lounges a lot, but I'm very sensitive to smells and the diesel gives me really bad headaches every time I ride them. Honestly a walking tunnel between all the gates would have been less walking than being forced to use the airtrain.

Dulles did the same thing with the metro entrance. They made it very far away and completely inconvenient. Not sure why an AIRPORT doesn't consider convenience to be #1

Re: the Metro location- that was basically a money saving decision- estimates were that it would be approximately $300 million more to go directly under the terminal. That was the original design, but as costs escalated (of course), they decided to put it above ground. It's a symptom of the general problem in the US that infrastructure projects, especially rail, are so costly and difficult to build. Rail in particular because we just don't have a strong enough industry with enough experience.

Plus a ton of bureaucracy and buy America requirements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new E concourse under construction now, along with a future F concourse, will replace both C and D concourses. There will be an airport subway under the new F once it is built. C and D will be demolished after E and F are opened.

To be honest, the AirTrain is not really faster than the moon buggies were. It is fastest to walk from Main to B concourse underground, but for some reason MWAA makes that underground walkway to B very difficult to find.

But what has taken so long? I’ve been hearing about “new concourses” since I moved here in 2007. Articles about E concourse seem to gloss over that part. If anything Dulles has lost flights since we’ve lived here. We used to use it more and now find ourselves nearly always at DCA.

Yes-demand dropped at Dulles as DCA got more flights. It's picking up now, which means United is more willing to.make the investment in the new concourse. That's always been the issue.

DCA is much more centrally located. And, for my family, while we're willing to drive to Dulles if necessary, we far prefer BWI or DCA. BWI has more international flights lately too.

BWI doesn’t have more international flights than Dulles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new E concourse under construction now, along with a future F concourse, will replace both C and D concourses. There will be an airport subway under the new F once it is built. C and D will be demolished after E and F are opened.

To be honest, the AirTrain is not really faster than the moon buggies were. It is fastest to walk from Main to B concourse underground, but for some reason MWAA makes that underground walkway to B very difficult to find.

But what has taken so long? I’ve been hearing about “new concourses” since I moved here in 2007. Articles about E concourse seem to gloss over that part. If anything Dulles has lost flights since we’ve lived here. We used to use it more and now find ourselves nearly always at DCA.

Yes-demand dropped at Dulles as DCA got more flights. It's picking up now, which means United is more willing to.make the investment in the new concourse. That's always been the issue.

DCA is much more centrally located. And, for my family, while we're willing to drive to Dulles if necessary, we far prefer BWI or DCA. BWI has more international flights lately too.

BWI doesn’t have more international flights than Dulles.

Yeah, BWI international flights are pretty scarce. That’s what happens when Southwest is your dominant carrier. Baltimore, obviously doesn’t have the international demand that DC has, nor the personal income, but surprised there aren’t a few more international flights from BWI? Howard County is very affluent and a lot of Montgomery County is closer to BWI than Dulles. Right now, the only international flights are a handful of flights to the Caribbean and Central America. To Europe, there is only British Airways to London and a flight or two to Iceland.

[Anonymous]

I like the Mobile Lounges. If I am departing from C concourse, I take the mobile lounge instead of the train. I guess I’m nostalgic. I’ve taken the mobile lounges for years and am used to them. Also, I like to get my steps in before a flight, so I don’t mind the walking from D to C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like the Mobile Lounges. If I am departing from C concourse, I take the mobile lounge instead of the train. I guess I’m nostalgic. I’ve taken the mobile lounges for years and am used to them. Also, I like to get my steps in before a flight, so I don’t mind the walking from D to C.

I feel like you have to wait too long for Mobile Lounge to fill before it departs. If you just got on and it left, it would feel faster. They also cram you like sardines.

[Anonymous]

BTW my absolute favorite terminal to concourse train that never has a wait and is never too full is Orlando. And that is a busy airport! And somehow there is always a train arriving and always somewhere good to stand on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like the Mobile Lounges. If I am departing from C concourse, I take the mobile lounge instead of the train. I guess I’m nostalgic. I’ve taken the mobile lounges for years and am used to them. Also, I like to get my steps in before a flight, so I don’t mind the walking from D to C.

I’ve never understood why people like the mobile lounges. For folks arriving in on international flights, they just add to the overall misery of the process. The one thing that you want to do when a plane lands is deboard, go through customs and get out of the airport and on your way as soon as possible. At Dulles, you get off the plane and immediately join a slow moving line to reach the mobile lounges. As a frequent flier, the window between 7-10pm when most of the International flights arrive is the busiest. I’ve easily been in lines 30+ minutes just to reach the mobile lounge. Then once you are inside one, you are waiting again as they don’t set off until the lounge is full. Pushed all the way to the back, crammed in tight, oh the joy. All of this just to finally get to the misery that is the main customs hall. No other major airport in the world does it this way. As you can probably guess, I hate them with a passion, and if BWI had more flights to Europe, I would never use IAD again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Mobile Lounges. If I am departing from C concourse, I take the mobile lounge instead of the train. I guess I’m nostalgic. I’ve taken the mobile lounges for years and am used to them. Also, I like to get my steps in before a flight, so I don’t mind the walking from D to C.

I’ve never understood why people like the mobile lounges. For folks arriving in on international flights, they just add to the overall misery of the process. The one thing that you want to do when a plane lands is deboard, go through customs and get out of the airport and on your way as soon as possible. At Dulles, you get off the plane and immediately join a slow moving line to reach the mobile lounges. As a frequent flier, the window between 7-10pm when most of the International flights arrive is the busiest. I’ve easily been in lines 30+ minutes just to reach the mobile lounge. Then once you are inside one, you are waiting again as they don’t set off until the lounge is full. Pushed all the way to the back, crammed in tight, oh the joy. All of this just to finally get to the misery that is the main customs hall. No other major airport in the world does it this way. As you can probably guess, I hate them with a passion, and if BWI had more flights to Europe, I would never use IAD again.

I’m the PP who likes the mobile lounges. I definitely wasn’t clear in my post. Returning from an international flight, they’re terrible. I fly domestic much more than I do internationally, so my point of reference was mainly going from IAD security to the United gates on departure. I have had the “pleasure” of the mobile lounges after an international flight and agree that it’s a hot mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like the Mobile Lounges. If I am departing from C concourse, I take the mobile lounge instead of the train. I guess I’m nostalgic. I’ve taken the mobile lounges for years and am used to them. Also, I like to get my steps in before a flight, so I don’t mind the walking from D to C.

I’ve never understood why people like the mobile lounges. For folks arriving in on international flights, they just add to the overall misery of the process. The one thing that you want to do when a plane lands is deboard, go through customs and get out of the airport and on your way as soon as possible. At Dulles, you get off the plane and immediately join a slow moving line to reach the mobile lounges. As a frequent flier, the window between 7-10pm when most of the International flights arrive is the busiest. I’ve easily been in lines 30+ minutes just to reach the mobile lounge. Then once you are inside one, you are waiting again as they don’t set off until the lounge is full. Pushed all the way to the back, crammed in tight, oh the joy. All of this just to finally get to the misery that is the main customs hall. No other major airport in the world does it this way. As you can probably guess, I hate them with a passion, and if BWI had more flights to Europe, I would never use IAD again.

Agreed on all points, except the main block of international arrivals is from 3-7PM, then those planes turn and operate the international departure big block from 5-8 PM, with a few more going out from 9-11PM.