Catbert10

I find the silver line express bus between the Metro and IAD works well for me.

If we're talking about bus service IAD really needs, how about a bus between the C terminal aerotrain stop and the C gates?

glennaa11

Not true. The stop will be right at the parking garage and will be connected by tunnel and travelator to the main terminal's lower level.
http://www.dullesmetro.com/silver-li...ulles-airport/

As with all airports it depends where you're trying to go. I'm not sure a lot of Marylanders (from the eastern edge of the area) would ever be encouraged to use IAD given the distance involved. Adding a bus service from Union Station isn't likely to help much.

The 5A bus goes from L'Enfant Plaza as well as Rosslyn.

I'm in Arlington and don't mind using IAD when it makes sense (long hauls to Europe or Asia for example). But I am just off of 66 and the flights I take don't get caught up in rush hour issues so I can get to the airport in under 30 minutes by Lyft which is only $35-40. But obviously not everyone is so lucky.

I agree that a bus to DC would have the same problems as everyone else with the traffic issues on 66 during rush hour (depending on your direction of travel). Once the second phase of the metro expansion is done that will likely be a decent option into the city...except when Metro is broken as it frequently is.

I don't think having a dedicated airline bus service from downtown would make all that much difference in terms of passenger numbers.

DCA writer

Scale is the big problem here. MWAA's April passenger stats show total IAD emplanements of 936,000 or so, of which UA had a 64.8% share; that yields 606,000+ UA passengers, or an average of 20,000 or so a day.

Since steveo mentioned KEF elsewhere in this thread: April emplanements there were 213,849. I've never been to KEF myself (when I finally get there, you bet I'm bringing my well-read copy of Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising"), but I'm told that taxi service into Reykjavik is a horrifying ripoff, which would give airlines another reason to provide an alternative.

The Silver Line is due to open in 2020. It's 34 minutes from Metro Center to Spring Hill today; the Final Environmental Impact Statement lists a travel time from there to IAD of 19 minutes (hat tip to Sand Box John for fishing out that number in the Mid-Atlantic forum), so you're looking at 53 minutes and 18 stops. On arrival at the IAD station, you will have about a five-minute walk, most on moving walkways and all enclosed, to get to the terminal.

FWIW, Google Maps says driving from Metro Center to IAD can take from 30 to 50 minutes in mid-day. That seems sadly realistic, although the dynamically-priced tolling that will soon go into effect on I-66 inside the Beltway might help a little.

mduell

Why would United want to do this, increasing their costs and driving more of their traffic to an airport with astronomical costs per enplaned passenger?

United would much prefer you fly you out of DCA ($13 CPE) than IAD ($24 CPE!).

sbm12

FI doesn't run that program; there are two competing private bus operators that offer the service.
Some of those costs are fixed/amortized over total passenger count IIRC. Increasing volumes out of IAD does not create a linear increase in costs to the carrier.

mduell

Yes, but:
- IAD and DCA have similar enplanements but IAD has double the total costs somehow; that makes IAD not where you're trying to send pax.
- Shifting UA pax from DCA to IAD does UA no favors (since it will decrease DCA enplanements) and adds the cost of running this shuttle service.
- Increasing volumes at IAD does create linear cost increases on the margin. Avg CPE may fall, but the total cost increase is linear at the margin.

blockski

If my memory serves, MWAA tried this in the past. They had a coach bus service that started in Downtown and made a few stops before getting on 66 and then heading to IAD. It wasn't particularly well used, and after a few years they chopped it back to just travel between IAD and the West Falls Church metro - then the closest you could get, plus a route that was all on relatively uncontested highway for the buses and thus more predictable.

It's plausible that something like this could work, either for the airport in general for or for UA specifically, but they'd really need to change things around to make it work.

Beltway2A

My major concern would be having my flights protected. As it is, because of traffic I either end up getting to Dulles way too early, or cutting it way to close. If the bus' failure to get me to the airport on time was treated like any other delayed United flight, I'd strongly consider it.

kevanyalowitz

I hear people say this too, but it doesn't make sense unless you are flying to destinations which are served non-stop, with frequency, out of DCA. That means ORD/EWR/IAH on UA. If you are going elsewhere, its so much better to spend $40 and 35 minutes on an Uber and fly non-stop rather than connect and assume the risk that comes with that.

findark

Agree. I'd rather have a connection at IAD to an Uber then a connection to another plane in ORD/EWR/IAH.

Kmxu

The OP idea is still way ahead of time. It may work when the silver line is completed. OS has a check-in station at the destination of CAT line (City-to-airport) in Vienna city center. I believe that you can check-in and drop off your luggage about 1 hr before your departure time. Well, European is more efficient. Cheers.

Billygreg

I'll chime in and say I never,ever use DCA for UA and would never use it for connections. I fly 50-60 times year out of IAD and there is literally only 1 place (XNA) domestically that I go to I need a connection. I use DCA for shuttle flights to BOS and LGA , short east coast flights (like RDU) where the frequency is better and flights to DFW where the frequency is better as well. Not sure why anyone would use DCA unless they live right next door and are willing to put up with the limited flights to places beyond the perimeter or only travel within the perimeter.

I'll admit my bias as I can see the planes land at IAD from my house and I have been home less than 30 minutes after wheel hit the tarmac (and the cab is $22 from my house) but all the complaining about IAD is horribly misplaced. Not the best airport in America but not even close to the worst. Have Precheck? Absolute fastest,easiest Precheck with a dedicated Precheck entrance far away from the standard lines, the buses, while an anachronism, do give you some great AV Geek plane spotting opportunities, which is great with all the International carriers there, UA has direct service to most every major city west of the Mississippi. The terminal isn't the nicest but the food is updated and the bathrooms are clean, the UA clubs are barebones but functional.

If you live in DC then yes I can see you using DCA but seriously, complaining over a $40- $60 cab ride from the city, it is $40 from LGA into NYC, how much do you expect to pay? And the access road means you have a pretty easy timing guaranteed ride once you get past 66. IAD is a good airport, fits into the metro area perfectly and fits into UA's routing pretty well. Status quo serves most of us in DC area pretty well.

smxflyer

When I lived in DC, I still vastly preferred IAD given that I was generally flying to LAX, SFO or one of the central coast airports. Better than connections from DCA (unless DCA-SFO was an option).

chrisl137

And many non-stops between LAX and IAD every day.

It's a long enough trip on a non-stop, adding a stop in the middle adds a couple hours plus some risk of a misconnect. Outbound (LAX-IAD) I usually time it so I'm headed to LAX before peak traffic (or after if they have the evening non-stop) and either get to IAD before traffic gets bad or very late at night when there's none at all. Having many flights a day usually means I can get out pretty quickly if work finishes early, or have a reasonable chance of changing to something that won't add even more time if work drags out. The alternative is BWI, which is only 1-2 flights a day and not that much less of a drive, plus a super long ride on the rental car bus.

sannmann

I used the CAT Check-in just today for a flight out of VIE. Very efficient. However, 75 minute cut-off prior to departure. CAT tickets run about €10 each way if you buy online.