Simple BWI question
 

I asked on the DC board and got no response at all. I'm coming home to the NW board!

I have a flight out of BWI at 930 on next Thursday. How early do I really need to get to the airport? With no WC I would like to arrive as late as reasonably possible.

Thanks for your help!

BWI is pretty painless, 8:30 or so would be fine. You just have to figure out which method you are using to get there. If you are taking the metrobus, pad your schedule as it can get bogged down in traffic on the BWI Parkway.

Printing your BP before you get to the Airport?
Not checking any bags?
Returning a rental car or being dropped off?

BWI has the WORST rental car return set up of any US airport and can easily add 20-30 minutes to the amount of time needed to depart the airport. It's miles off-site, and has buses that run infrequently and are often crowed. The buses also stop at the Southwest gates before you get to the NWA gates, and it can take 10 minutes just to off load all the Southwest fliers.

BWI has above average waits for the TSA (and one of the worst TSA checkpoints in general)

If you don't have to check bags, will have BP in hand and are being dropped off, I would say the drop dead time you need is 20-25 minutes.

I've made if from curb to gate in as little as 6, but the real variable is the TSA lines which can get long.

I would second nearly everything MKEbound has to say!

I would add that you should probably load up before you get to the airport. Food at BWI is just a tad below sub-par and the only thing that I have gotten that is half way tolerable at BWI happens to be the overpriced Starbucks.

Thanks for the info!

Hope to have the BP printed.

No bags.

Hotel shuttle.

Sleeping late!:D

I think NW has moved from the really terrible TSA concourse D, I think to C, which is supposed to be better.
But I avoid BWI if at all possible.

Tuesday Oct.14.
Dropped off the car at the rental terminal at 7.05 am hopped on the bus to the terminal ( 5 buses waiting) took a whole 9 minutes, walked too the Platinum TSA line and seven minuts later sat down at Gate C 11. Way too early for my 9.20 am flight to Detroit.
Don't know why people call BWI a terrible airport.

As a Maryland native who now flies to BWI often to visit family and serve on a board, BWI is terrible because it's inconsistent - what takes 16 minutes from the rental car terminal to the gate one day can take well more than an hour the next.

And NW has moved from concourse D to concourse C.

Thanks all! The info is much appreciated:)

Couldn't agree more...these folks need to take classes in manners.....perhaps the NWA folks (who are terrific at BWI) can teach them

In my experience they are no better or worse than TSA at DTW, MSP, DCA, ATL. There used to be some phenomenal lines at Concourse D, of course now NW has moved to "C", to be close to master Delta.

Funny -- on the TSA issue, I was travelling with my 4 year old through BWI a few weeks ago (train to bus to BWI was rather painless) and the TSA people were the nicest and most professional I have encountered in a long time. THey joked with my kid, etc. I can't remember what terminal I was at, but I think I was flying CO and not NW. Prob just dumb luck.

I couldn't agree more about D....unfortunately to/from BWI the only NS for me is WN so I'm typically going through A or B...much worse than DTW (yes on par of MSP/ATL)

WINNER