yonajon

Hey folks,

I hope I'm posting in the right place.

I have a meeting in Bellevue (right off 90) next Monday at 2pm. The meeting should end by 4pm, but may run late. How long should I leave, given traffic, to get to Sea-Tac from Bellevue by rental car if I want to be at the airport no later than 5:15pm?

I am not familiar with traffic on that particular route.

Thanks in advance for your help!

LUMRS

It is easy to get from Bellevue to SEA. However, at that time of day, it may take you an hour or slightly longer to make the 16-18 mile journey. Take 405 south to Renton and when 405 merges into I-5, continue on WA-518 to WA-99 to the airport. Rental return is easy, but there is a lot of construction near the entrance of the parking garages (changes daily.) Keep a close eye for rental car return. The major car companies all have returns inside the airport parking garage.

Good luck. Make sure you leave by 4! Traffic reports are on 94.9 FM (KUOW) and online: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Traffic/seat...maps/south.htm

prismwiz

You're in the right place. I assume that your meeting will be near Facotria where 90 and 405 intersect. Is that correct? If so then in normal non-peak (Saturday midday) times it should be 15 minutes to the City of Sea-Tac. 5 more to get into the garage though. At 1600 it is before rush hour so maybe 30 minutes down to SEA. You miss "Downton" Bellevue so no need to worry about that traffic which I need to worry about going to SEA. Just wondering, why the 1715 time requirement? What time is your flight?

Assume 45 minutes for security/boarding if not checking bags (5 extra minutes for the satilites, INTL/NW/UA/AC/some AS)
15 minutes for returning rental car/to security if already checked in
X for driving
Your flight time-1 hour minimum+4 hours=time you have to drive.

If you are not checked in online and are not checking bags utilize the easy check-ins placed in the terminal to the right or left at the end of the skybridge on the landing (You'll know it when you see it). Much quicker than normal lines.

yonajon

Yes. The meeting is at Expedia, just a little east of where 90 and 405 intersect.

My flight is at 6:23pm (Alaska to SFO), so I want to be there a little over an hour early. I think I will be checked-in online already and will have boarding pass in hand. No checked bags. Just need time to return the car and pass through security.

So it sounds like leaving from my meeting by 4:15pm should suffice?

I could, alternatively, take the 8:25pm to Oakland, but it gets in pretty late and I prefer the earlier flight. Trying to balance that without not wanting to feel rushed during my meeting.

Thoughts? Thanks for your help.

LUMRS

I believe the OP noted she would be traveling Monday afternoon between 4 and 5 pm. I drive often and have been sitting in traffic at precisely 4 pm on weekdays on southbound 405, trying to get to SEA.

I do agree with prismwiz about the other timings. Assuming you have checked-in online, working backward: clear security by 5:45 pm, enter security by 5:00 pm, arrive at airport parking garage by 4:45 pm. Leave Bellevue by 4:00/4:15. If you are confident you can leave by this time, you have a 99.9% chance of making your 6:20 pm flight.

Alternatively, you can book the later flight. AS is very good about placing you on standby for earlier flights. I have flown SFO/OAK/SJC to/from SEA on AS, and have had very good luck snagging a seat on an earlier departing flight. (It is always better than missing your flight due to traffic.) I know the later flight makes for a late arrival home. If you have a changeable ticket, you can always call AS from Seattle... even from the road on your way to the airport... to make changes to your itinerary (before your scheduled flight departs.)

westcoastman

I would do the opposite. Leave it at 6:23 pm since you have no baggage and already checked in. You can easily stand by on the later flight to OAK, UNLESS there is a cancellation or irregular ops. of some sort. Traffic around Renton will be terrible. Try to do your chit chating before 4 pm and leave promptly (I know how that can be).

yonajon

Thanks everyone. I think I'm going to risk the earlier flight.

If I miss it, what happens? Will I have to book a whole new ticket? Or will I just incur a change fee?

YVR Cockroach

Check at AS about what their flat tire rule is.

prismwiz

I don't have any experience driving peak time to SEA, I just added what I know.

Don't bother changing your flight to OAK, knowing AS your SFO flight will be late anyway . It's good that you don't have baggage and I would bet that you will most likely make your flight. If you do miss your flight than there is a connection through PDX that leaves SEA at 1900 and gets into SFO at 2230, might be better than OAK. PDX is an easy airport to connect through, I walked the whole airport in 20 minutes. Flight#2361 connecting to 310. Also keeps you off of MD-80's which might be of concern to you. (OAK is MD-80, connection through SFO is DH4 then 737).

Sorry about the late reply

LUMRS

FYI: The traffic report on KUOW last Friday at 3:00 pm noted that 405 was a parking lot. No accidents and no roadwork. The expected time from Bellevue to Renton was 45 minutes and the expected time from Renton to I-5 was over 30 minutes. That would have been at least 1.5 hours from Bellevue to SEA. Just an example of planning airport transportation and checking the traffic to accommodate these regular traffic snarls.

prismwiz

Wow! Now when do we get light rail Bellevue-Seattle-SEA?

seauaflyer

Definitely don't count on light rail to speed up your journey; the travel time of the $2.7 billion Seattle - Sea-Tac light rail line will be longer than the current downtown Seattle-Sea-Tac bus service - 45 minutes vs. the 30 minutes currently by bus. So 1 1/4 hrs from Bellevue to Sea-Tac via Seattle would be the expected trip length (plus connections) with light rail.

My recommendation - the Express bus route 560 from Bellevue to Sea-tac with a reliable travel time (bus uses HOV lanes) of about 45 minutes.

chrisdeaner

I'm reviving this thread to see what alternative routes locals know about to get to sea-tac from Bellevue or north (my client site is up in Bothell). We have a requirement to be onside until 5pm on Thursday's which makes the 6:53pm United back to SFO close to impossible to make when it's on time thanks to delays through Bellevue and, to a lesser extent, the s-curves. Today, for instance it took me approximately 1h20m to make it to the rental car center. Thankfully the flight was delayed and I made it. What sort of tricks are there to avoid the trudge between the 520 and 90?

woodway

There are none. You can exit I-405 and try cutting through Bellevue, but you'll not save much time.