Originally Posted by
Kathyfm1
I have 3 to choose from.
IAD - I always call it Dulles (even though it is in Chantilly - and sometimes GPS shows it in Sterling or Herndon). I think of the color Blue and United when I think of this airport. A side note, one day my husband asked me why United called it's budget airline TED. I thought it was so obvious but he never saw it.
DCA - Always National. Never Reagan but I try to avoid this one if possible.
BWI - Always the initials and never Baltimore. I also think color purple and red for this airport due to large presense of Southwest Airlines which I fly from here.
I read it IAD to myself, but say Dulles in conversation. Think of it as primarily a longer flight airport (transcon and TATL), helped by it's longer runways.
DCA to myself, National in conversation (I'm a Republican but very much dislike the branding of everything as Reagan this and Reagan that). Very convenient airport as I can park near a Metro station for free and ride the subway in to the airport. If on an MR/early morning flight, go the night before after stopping off at a late night Chinese restaurant in Wheaton for chicken fried rice, and overnight in the airport. Lots more are doing the same. Nice access to power plugs in the terminal.
BWI all the time. Used to be a bigtime airport, but in recent years most have moved out of it, and it's turned into a major SouthWest hub. AA likes to encourage more flying out of there with cheaper fares, so lately it's turned into a primary MR starting point for me.
PHL as "Phil"/"Fil". Hub for US, again minor for AA but can give nice fares out of there to compete. Did it several times before gas went so high, and have been able to do nicely with cheap fares more locally since.
ORD as "oared"; takes me a few seconds to mentally translate it into O'Hare.
In general for others, maybe 40% by letters, 40% by pronouncing letters as a word, and 20% saying the name of the airport/city it means.
Steve