BWI vs. IAD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it’s international do NOT do IAD. Their customs setup is horrific. Took us 3 hours in April.

If you need to fly international BWI is a joke...only 7 intl routes (6 of them to the Carribean).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s international do NOT do IAD. Their customs setup is horrific. Took us 3 hours in April.

If you need to fly international BWI is a joke...only 7 intl routes (6 of them to the Carribean).

BUT BWI CAN get you to other airports that fly more places.

[Anonymous]

BWI is the low class airport of the DMV

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it’s international do NOT do IAD. Their customs setup is horrific. Took us 3 hours in April.

we just went through customs with GE and got through in 5 min off a packed plane

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP just take the cheaper price. I fly BWI over Dulles when I have the choice because I like the offsite parking options better and always find it a quicker/easier experience.

I'm a big fan of BWI and it also allows me to avoid the American Legion Bridge which can be horrible.

[Anonymous]

So ... folks have been alluding to this, but I want to ask head on:

Because BWI has fewer int'l flights, is it faster/easier to get through customs/immigration? I get anxious just thinking about the customs lines at IAD, post long-a$$ exhausting flight from abroad.

[Anonymous]

I don't know where you live but we live in Fairfax area. Our preferred airports are as follows: DCA, IAD, then BWI. And it has to be a significant price difference for us to go to BWI. I think we are doing it for the first time next year - and we've live in this area for 10 years.

I think DCA and IAD are equidistant for us but we prefer DCA where possible - obviously not a choice for international.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know where you live but we live in Fairfax area. Our preferred airports are as follows: DCA, IAD, then BWI. And it has to be a significant price difference for us to go to BWI. I think we are doing it for the first time next year - and we've live in this area for 10 years.

I think DCA and IAD are equidistant for us but we prefer DCA where possible - obviously not a choice for international.

Me again - unlike some other posters here - we are significantly closer to IAD and DCA than BWI. I haven't flown through there enough recently (or ever?) to have or not have a problem with the airport but distance is a major factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BWI is the low class airport of the DMV

Good! We will be free from snooty DCUMers there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s international do NOT do IAD. Their customs setup is horrific. Took us 3 hours in April.

we just went through customs with GE and got through in 5 min off a packed plane

Same here. You don't even need Global Entry. Just download Mobile Passport. That line was slightly shorter than the GE line on the day I went through customs at IAD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So ... folks have been alluding to this, but I want to ask head on:

Because BWI has fewer int'l flights, is it faster/easier to get through customs/immigration? I get anxious just thinking about the customs lines at IAD, post long-a$$ exhausting flight from abroad.

for us, yes, BWI was faster. Had friends/family tell stories of getting off an intl flight at IAD and the lines thru immigration was like 3 hours long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So ... folks have been alluding to this, but I want to ask head on:

Because BWI has fewer int'l flights, is it faster/easier to get through customs/immigration? I get anxious just thinking about the customs lines at IAD, post long-a$$ exhausting flight from abroad.

for us, yes, BWI was faster. Had friends/family tell stories of getting off an intl flight at IAD and the lines thru immigration was like 3 hours long.

We sat in a 2+ hour line for immigration at IAD recently. The space was a fire code hazard - they held people on the people mover and mezzanine - regardless of whether you were GE or anything else. You weren't moving until people in the queues moved. It was hot, no wheelchairs for handicapped or elderly, so many exhausted kids. The worst I have ever experienced. Granted we don't fly internationally thru BWI as regularly as IAD - primarily because there aren't many options - but when we have - immigration, never, ever took 2+ hours. In the past BWI's luggage issues were their Achilles heel, but even that has improved significantly.

We pick the airport based on where we are heading - but primarily use BWI or DCA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to live closer to Dulles and so reflexively book flights from there, but I just realized I'm now equidistant from Dulles & BWI.

I haven't traveled out of BWI lately. Any frequently travelers have thoughts about one of these airports over another?

Only use 3rd party or hourly parking at BWI. Security for the first flights out is typically a joke. Food options generally suck.

I don't know if the "security" in your next sentence refers to parking or something else, but I just left my car for 3 weeks at the long term economy lot A at BWI.
When I left I noticed an SVU with deflated tires and rusted wheel rim parked in the disabled spot at 16A. It looked like it hadn't been moved for at least 6 months.
When I returned, the car was still there. So I agree, their long term parking lot security is a bit suspect if they don't even deal with cars abandoned in disabled spots.

Beyond that, some smaller airlines use BWI as a cheaper airport, in which case the ground crew doesn't work for the airline, which causes issues like 2hour delays and finger pointing upon departure.

But arriving from an international flight was a breeze there compared to IAD. I don't think I've ever made it through immigration this fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to live closer to Dulles and so reflexively book flights from there, but I just realized I'm now equidistant from Dulles & BWI.

I haven't traveled out of BWI lately. Any frequently travelers have thoughts about one of these airports over another?

Only use 3rd party or hourly parking at BWI. Security for the first flights out is typically a joke. Food options generally suck.

I don't know if the "security" in your next sentence refers to parking or something else, but I just left my car for 3 weeks at the long term economy lot A at BWI.
When I left I noticed an SVU with deflated tires and rusted wheel rim parked in the disabled spot at 16A. It looked like it hadn't been moved for at least 6 months.
When I returned, the car was still there. So I agree, their long term parking lot security is a bit suspect if they don't even deal with cars abandoned in disabled spots.

Beyond that, some smaller airlines use BWI as a cheaper airport, in which case the ground crew doesn't work for the airline, which causes issues like 2hour delays and finger pointing upon departure.

But arriving from an international flight was a breeze there compared to IAD. I don't think I've ever made it through immigration this fast.

I am not the quoted PP, but I read that as "TSA Security" not "parking lot security."

Hopefully PP will come back and clarify.