AS Announces SEA-IAD Starting 3/11/15
Nov 13, 2014, 9:26 am
#16
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Nov 13, 2014, 9:26 am
#17
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The Silver Line won't make it all the way to IAD's doorstep for another 4 or 5 years. They are starting work on the concrete stanchions now. In current state the Metro reaches as far as Wiehle Avenue / Reston, and then you get a $5 bus from there which runs on 30-minute headways. It's still a pain in the neck getting out there, and the C/D gates at Dulles are terrible -- though who knows where AS will gate there? Maybe the close-in Z gates.
I don't think this is going to change things much, but it might take some elites from the 'burbs out of the mix at DCA.
Nov 13, 2014, 9:33 am
#18
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Nov 13, 2014, 9:39 am
#19
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The best option was the one they 86'd when the Silver Line half-opened: the reliable $10 Washington Flyer bus to West Falls Church, then Orange Line inbound.
The 5A bus to Rosslyn is notorious for running way off schedule and it's a rickety transit-style jalopy bus flying down I-66 (or inching as the case may be). Fine if you time it right, but infuriating if you just miss one, then hit I-66 gridlock. And then there are the time-consuming serpentine stops at Herndon Park and Ride which are also calculated to raise your blood pressure if you're IAD-bound and the bus is already late and you're sitting there worrying about the TSA line.
The new $5 bus to Wiehle Avenue is narrowly preferred but also subject to traffic slowdowns, as it has to navigate a stretch of non-toll road highway which may be gridlocked at rush hours. But once you finally get on a Silver Line train it rolls unencumbered... at least until you join the overtaxed Orange/Silver track and head toward the Rosslyn Orange/Silver/Blue chokepoint.
The 5A bus to Rosslyn is notorious for running way off schedule and it's a rickety transit-style jalopy bus flying down I-66 (or inching as the case may be). Fine if you time it right, but infuriating if you just miss one, then hit I-66 gridlock. And then there are the time-consuming serpentine stops at Herndon Park and Ride which are also calculated to raise your blood pressure if you're IAD-bound and the bus is already late and you're sitting there worrying about the TSA line.
The new $5 bus to Wiehle Avenue is narrowly preferred but also subject to traffic slowdowns, as it has to navigate a stretch of non-toll road highway which may be gridlocked at rush hours. But once you finally get on a Silver Line train it rolls unencumbered... at least until you join the overtaxed Orange/Silver track and head toward the Rosslyn Orange/Silver/Blue chokepoint.
Nov 13, 2014, 9:41 am
#20
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This is pretty impressive, AS will have service to all three major DC airports. Wish they would have more to NYC, only 2x (sometimes 1x) SEA-EWR.
Nov 13, 2014, 10:46 am
#21
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The best option was the one they 86'd when the Silver Line half-opened: the reliable $10 Washington Flyer bus to West Falls Church, then Orange Line inbound.
The 5A bus to Rosslyn is notorious for running way off schedule and it's a rickety transit-style jalopy bus flying down I-66 (or inching as the case may be). Fine if you time it right, but infuriating if you just miss one, then hit I-66 gridlock. And then there are the time-consuming serpentine stops at Herndon Park and Ride which are also calculated to raise your blood pressure if you're IAD-bound and the bus is already late and you're sitting there worrying about the TSA line.
The new $5 bus to Wiehle Avenue is narrowly preferred but also subject to traffic slowdowns, as it has to navigate a stretch of non-toll road highway which may be gridlocked at rush hours. But once you finally get on a Silver Line train it rolls unencumbered... at least until you join the overtaxed Orange/Silver track and head toward the Rosslyn Orange/Silver/Blue chokepoint.
The 5A bus to Rosslyn is notorious for running way off schedule and it's a rickety transit-style jalopy bus flying down I-66 (or inching as the case may be). Fine if you time it right, but infuriating if you just miss one, then hit I-66 gridlock. And then there are the time-consuming serpentine stops at Herndon Park and Ride which are also calculated to raise your blood pressure if you're IAD-bound and the bus is already late and you're sitting there worrying about the TSA line.
The new $5 bus to Wiehle Avenue is narrowly preferred but also subject to traffic slowdowns, as it has to navigate a stretch of non-toll road highway which may be gridlocked at rush hours. But once you finally get on a Silver Line train it rolls unencumbered... at least until you join the overtaxed Orange/Silver track and head toward the Rosslyn Orange/Silver/Blue chokepoint.
fortunately, I'm currently spending most of my time in an office adjacent to the new Wiehle station, so I just have to let the admin folks know that I'll be leaving my car in the garage for a couple days
Nov 13, 2014, 11:04 am
#22
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Sounds like AS announced this route 4-5 years early then 
Is at least the rental car situation ok at IAD?
Originally Posted by BearX220
The Silver Line won't make it all the way to IAD's doorstep for another 4 or 5 years. They are starting work on the concrete stanchions now. In current state the Metro reaches as far as Wiehle Avenue / Reston, and then you get a $5 bus from there which runs on 30-minute headways. It's still a pain in the neck getting out there, and the C/D gates at Dulles are terrible -- though who knows where AS will gate there? Maybe the close-in Z gates.
Here's an interesting write-up on the "decrepit" / ignored state of Dulles while DCA is in line for a $1 billion expansion project.
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/...t-theres-hope/
Here's an interesting write-up on the "decrepit" / ignored state of Dulles while DCA is in line for a $1 billion expansion project.
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/...t-theres-hope/
Is at least the rental car situation ok at IAD?
Nov 13, 2014, 11:16 am
#23
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Nov 13, 2014, 11:20 am
#24
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The best thing about IAD is how low the airport hotel prices are....Hilton, Marriott, etc. can easily be had most days for under $100 and even less if you're willing to Priceline it.
Nov 13, 2014, 11:29 am
#25
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I looked @ it this morning around 7 AM. 320 OW from ANC...but I'd have to do a turn pretty much as the route starts during the week of Spring Break for those in Alaska, and fares shoot up. IAD isn't that exotic for me 
Nov 13, 2014, 11:44 am
#27
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I looked @ it this morning around 7 AM. 320 OW from ANC...but I'd have to do a turn pretty much as the route starts during the week of Spring Break for those in Alaska, and fares shoot up. IAD isn't that exotic for me
I looked @ it this morning around 7 AM. 320 OW from ANC...but I'd have to do a turn pretty much as the route starts during the week of Spring Break for those in Alaska, and fares shoot up. IAD isn't that exotic for me
I agree about the Spring Break issue...March is a real wild card month for fares....fares out of PDX are at least double to EVERYWHERE during the first and last 3 or 4 days of Spring Break and then you have the Vancouver (WA) Spring Break to deal with the next month.
Nov 13, 2014, 12:24 pm
#28
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Nov 13, 2014, 12:24 pm
#29
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currently living ~20 miles from IAD; have a quarterly mtg in SEA, but don't know now whether it's the previous week or the following ... the organizers should announce the date by the end of this month, with the details for Dec
Nov 13, 2014, 12:31 pm
#30
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