January 5, 2005
Consumers Dub Dulles Unsatisfying
Consumer research firm J.D. Power and Associates recently ranked Washington's Dulles International Airport third worst in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports, reports the Post. In large part, the poor ranking stems from the interminable security lines that snake their way through the soaring Eero Saarinen-designed concourse, as any early morning or early evening traveler can attest.
In addition, the newest airline on Dulles' block, Independence Air, is facing continued financial problems and recently announced it will eliminate more than 25 percent of its flights, most of which originate and terminate at Dulles. The airline says it will not eliminate service to any of the 38 cities it currently serves -- in fact, it is touting the arrival of new Airbus A319s, which will fly from Dulles to West Palm Beach (beginning Feb. 1) and Fort Myers (beginning Feb. 17) -- but instead will reduce the frequency of flights to existing destinations. If Independence Air is unable to renegotiate its existing debts, it has indicated that it will have to file for Chapter 11 protection by the end of this month.
Independence Air's low-fare structure has been a boon for Northern Virginia residents (such as this DCist) who prefer not to have to make the trek up to Baltimore-Washington International Airport to secure a low-cost flight, as many other carriers try to match Independence Air's prices on similar routes. DCist knows that Dulles is not the easiest airport to get to for non-car-owners, and the probability of the Orange Line extension to the airport has just become even more remote, but we all can agree that more low-fare options in the region are something to be desired -- even if you have to wait 45 minutes to get through security.
The above photo of Dulles in the morning is from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority website.
>> DCist on the Financial Times' Jurek Martin's contention that Dulles is a "Hell Hole."
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I always find the service at Dulles just great. The security folks there are like a machine--I've flown the day before Christmas and Thanksgiving, and got through both with less hassle than it takes me to get through Logan on a Wednesday afternoon. Yes, the innumerable shuttless are annoying, but that's not the people's fault; it's just the structure of the airport.
The thing about Dulles is its inconsistency. As above poster mentioned, it was pretty good (less than a five-minute wait) around Thanksgiving and Christmas, presumably because of all the extra staff on hand. I've also been in there on "normal" days with waits of 45 minutes or more. That's a little ridiculous.
I have to agree about the inconsistency, although I have learned that trying to catch an 8:00 a.m. flight on a Monday morning means that I need to arrive by 6:30 a.m. (The wait is similar around 5:00 p.m. most nights, as passengers arrive to get on the 747s/777s for the overnight flights to Europe.) However, I have noticed that there is a second security line which is usually shorter between the "main" line and the employee line. Obviously, I spend too much time at Dulles.
WMATA runs a bus from L'Enfant Plaza, with a stop at Rosslyn, and somewhere else close to the airport. It takes somewhat less than one hour and it costs $3.
I hope Independence Air makes it, but they need to get rid of the celebrity announcements. The second time you hear it, it's old.
If you're going to go out of DC, just choose north and opt for MD. Give me BWI over Dulles any day. There's also good public transportation options: there's Amtrak, MARC, and the BWI Express Metro bus runs between the Greenbelt metro station and BWI, every 40 minutes, 7 days a week.
As a city-dweller I'm a big fan of the new(ish) Metro bus line from L'Enfant, but the most infuriating thing about Dulles is the horrible new G terminal, located far, far away from the rest of the airport. On my most recent flight through there, it took no less than 45 minutes after landing to get from my plane seat to baggage claim, without any unusual delays. It was seemingly business as usual. The reverse is worse, especially if you're rushed to catch a flight. After getting through security and walking all the way through the entire main terminal to its farthest reaches, passengers wait (and wait) for a parking lot-style shuttle bus, walk down a flight of stairs to the tarmac, board the tiny bus, ride for 15 minutes far across the tarmac to the edge of the Dulles property line, and are dumped in a warehouse room masquerading as a makeshift terminal. Come flight time, passengers then trudge out a long, open air walkway until they're allowed to walk out on the tarmac again and finally climb the stairs to the plane. The single worst boarding process I have ever experienced in 25 years of flying.