US AIRWAYS FAN

IAD= 24 miles from downtown DC.

DCA= Right across the 14th street bridge.

Unless you live in NOVA I don't get why anyone would want to fly out of IAD. It's way too far. Cab ride is expensive and TSA lines are a nightmare.

The only thing I wish congress would do is get rid of the permiter rule or at least open up a few more flights to fly beyond the 1,250 miles (or what ever it is).

radonc1

I'll tell you that 90 segments is a pot load of flying, especially when you are doing most of them in Kenjets .

The reason I never fly DL is their lack of segments on flights. While I do make my status by mileage, I easily make it by segments. This will all become moot for me in the future since CO is moving to *A and Dl will not be any part of my flying. I am somewhat curious how CO will deal with awarding mileage and segments when flying US or UA when they do become a member of *.

HereAndThereSC

Pfffrt. I'm at 135+ segments on US this year alone.

JP

IADCAflyer

Well, are you saying that if, all things were equal, take DCA? IAD-ORD v. DCA-ORD? I tend to agree with you.

On the other hand, we use IAD because it has more long-distance non-stop service (especially to the Left coast) as you mentioned owing to the perimeter rule.

US AIRWAYS FAN

Well if you think about it (depending where you live) If you live in DC/Arlington or Alexandria going out to IAD just doesn't make sense to me.

1st you are wasting gas and it's going to take you at least 40 mins to drive out there. Then find parking (if you drove). Then wait in the ticket line and the LONG TSA security line.

Then you have to go to your terminal which is a pain in the butt.

By the time you do all of that mess. Your connection would have been shorter and less money.

IADCAflyer

Well, you're changing the metrics a bit. First you talked about cabs, now you're comparing DCA to driving. If you took a cab to IAD, you've spent about 30 to 40 minutes on the drive. Ticketing can be equal at either airport, so you can't necessarily say that DCA's is better than IAD. I've seen some awful checkin lines at DCA.

Security is obviously more of an issue at IAD, but again, I've seen bad lines at the North pier and South pier in the new terminal.

Then, of course, you have to consider the dangers associated with connecting. Taking two risks of blowing a connection is, in the minds of a lot of people, not worth the hassle.

If you drive, wait in line at ticketing (which, frankly you do ONLY if you have to check bags or have ticketing issues), and then proceed through security, you're doing so based upon circumstances dictated by you. You decide when to leave. You decide when you think you should check in. When you connect, you're at the mercy of the weather gods, the airline, and the laws of physics in terms of items breaking or malfunctioning.

When I lived in Ballston, I'd consider the following:

Check in on line: DCA v. IAD = wash
Cab to airport: DCA ($16.00) 15 mins v. IAD ($49.00) 35 mins = DCA win
Security wait time (5:00 pm tuesday): DCA 4 mins v. IAD 4 mins = wash
Walk/dhuttle to gates (United): DCA 2 mins v. IAD 12 mins = DCA win

So, a differece of 30 minutes. That is less than the connectin time on most any flight.

US AIRWAYS FAN

Security times I have to disagree with you.

Now you and I might have to wait 4 minutes because at IAD the lines for preferred members of all airlines is different from the regular line.

If you are a regular member I have seen the lines stretch and stretch and people are waiting up to 45 minutes in line at the very least.

Also either taking a cab or driving out to IAD you do have the Dulles Access road you can take however, before you get there you have to take I-66 or I495. If it's in the morning on 495 either direction get ready for some traffic big time. Either interstate can have a huge back up with one accident. I have seen the access road (not the toll road) have accidents too with people rubber necking.

I think the most I have ever waited at DCA is maybe 20 to 25 minutes and that is during turkey day in Nov.

IADCAflyer

The numbers were taken from the DOT/TSA wait time website.

How is a person from Arlington going to take the Beltway to get to Dulles? That makes no sense. Again, you're moving the metric.

In any event, I'm not going to post on this further as the thread pertains to US management....

Captain Flush

The last time I flew out of IAD, the preferred security line still took at least 15 minutes. That's equal to the longest wait I've ever had at DCA.

I've missed flights at IAD after leaving my office in downtown DC 2 hours before departure due to a combination of traffic on 66, TSA lines and having to wait for those gawd-awful mobile lounges. I've never missed a flight at DCA, even on the day I left my office 50 minutes before departure and realized 5 minutes later that DC cabs were on strike that day. Additionally, the disparity between DCA and IAD in terms of getting there from downtown is much more than 20 minutes if you have to use public (i.e., non-cab) transportation.

Yes, if a US elite (in a feeble attempt to make this DCA-IAD debate slightly less OT) needs to fly almost exclusively to the west coast, I can understand the argument for using IAD over DCA based on the number of available UA nonstops. For me, however, most of that appeal ended the day UA discontinued E+ access for *A elites. I can more easily enjoy the few remaining perks of preferred DM status by connecting out of DCA, and the extra hour I can comfortably spend in the office before I leave for the airport washes with the extra time of taking a connection.

US AIRWAYS FAN

That is easy. If you live on the Alexandria/Arlington border you will take 395 south to 495 North. I live very close to the Arlington line here in Alexandria.

Okay back to the topic at hand. US managment is a bunch of idiots. That is why they cut the elite bonus from the preferred program.

dstan

Having missed a few posts along the way, I wondered what security at IAD had to do with US management being concerned that no other airlines were following them off the cliff. I'm glad we're back on topic now.

coswellnc

Amen Brother!

Alphaguy

Any chance we could get back to the topic at hand and either argue via PM or a new thread about IAD and DCA? I want to know about the staff meeting, since I'm planning on blowing a ton of miles tonight and saying good bye to Dougie and no Preferred Bonus.....

We'll call it even...

GadgetFreak

Ive seen what appeared to be 45 to 60 minute security lines at DCA. I actually gave up and got in a cab and took the train.

jeffhacker

it isn't just bonus miles for elites. It's a general philosophy in Tempe that they can, after all, make a pizza so cheap no one will buy it (quoting Gordon Bethune of CO); the elimination of even complimentary soft drinks, coffee, and water in economy makes US the United States' version of Ryanair. I just burned my last US miles and am flying just about anyone else (I prefer CO, but I flew AirTran this week DFW-ATL-EWR - emergency trip so the best fare on anybody else was $1,700 round trip, and US had it for $826; i spent $1,000 on AirTran and rode up front (such as it is), but with some semblance of civility. US has lost that (and my business).