NOTE: This update covers an additional way to get to DC from the Airport by using Metro Bus. See "UPDATE" embedded in this review.

When flying in and out of various cities, many people never consider that they may have a choice in airports or that it may matter which airport they choose. In the case of the Washington, DC area, there are three major airports, plus an assortment of smaller airports.

This is a review of Dulles Airport, but contains some information on other airports in the area simply for comparison. I will mention five airports in this review, Dulles, National (politically correct as Ronald Reagan National Airport), Baltimore-Washington, Leesburg, and College Park. The last two are small, regional airports. There are others, but these give the basic coverage. I will briefly cover the four non-Dulles airports first.

In this review, you will find me using "terminal" and "concourse" almost interchangeably. For Dulles, the whole airport is the terminal, but I call the main building the main terminal and everything else a concourse, keeping close to the terminology used by that airport. I simply referred to all concourses at other airports as terminals. It's my madness and welcome to it. On with the review.

College Park (Maryland) Airport is the world's oldest continuously operated, being established in 1909, and is often known as the "Cradle of Aviation". It is very close to Washington, DC (about 8 miles from downtown) and is heavily subject to restrictions since 9/11. It is used mostly by owners of small, personal aircraft and is popular with history buffs. It is an easy taxi ride to a subway stop.

Leesburg (Virginia) Airport is larger and has its own interesting history. When it was first built, radio and television host Authur Godfrey, an aviation enthusiast living nearby, provided half of the costs of construction. The airport has expanded and is very popular with corporate jets owned by people or businesses in Northern Virginia. Smaller planes also use it. It is not near good transportation into Washington, DC (about 40 miles away), so be prepared to have your limo driver waiting for you when you land your private jet.

Baltimore-Washington (BWI) Airport is closer to Baltimore than DC and serves mostly Baltimore and the rest of Maryland. Still, quite a few people going in and out of DC use it since it often has cheaper fares. It is easy to catch a bus to take you to an hourly train (Amtrak or MARC) that will get you to downtown DC. This is the smallest of the three major airports for DC, but not by much. Never count it as anything below a major airport. Only 19 airlines service this airport. You may find other references to it in this review.

Reagan National (Arlington, Virginia) Airport is just across the river from downtown Washington, DC. You can take the subway directly from the airport to downtown DC. It is limited through restrictions applied over the years that can make a difference to travelers coming from long distances. The airport has had for many years a restriction on aircraft coming from beyond a certain range (I think about 2,000 miles.). This safety restriction is because of the short runways, the very limited airspace near the airport, and the strange shape of that airspace as compared with the runway orientation. As an example, an aircraft taking off may have to bank sharply immediately after getting into the air and follow a route up the river rather than fly over downtown DC. All this has been in place since well before 9/11. You may remember news stories of the Air Florida aircraft clipping a bridge on takeoff from this airport. 9/11 simply added more restrictions, such as the requirement for all aircraft, including personal aircraft, to have a federal marshal onboard when landing or taking off. It is the second busiest airport in the area and must be counted as a major airport, although, because of the restrictions, it is more like a regional airport since it cannot serve fully cross-country. Only 12 airlines serve this airport. You can expect to find other references to it in this review.

Alright, I said this is a review of Dulles Airport, so I had better start talking about it. Still, I've provided a base of information on alternate airports to be able to offer you options (above) and comparisons (below). Not all of the above airports will be detailed in comparisons. I'll focus on National as the prime competitor.

Dulles is BIG! If you look at land alone (over 10,000 acres), it is bigger than all the other airports I have mentioned put together. It is serviced by 15 major domestic airlines (after the folding of Independence Air), 8 regional airlines, 20 major international airlines, and 24 cargo carriers (some are the same as airlines). I'll try to give a list later. The airport served almost 53,000 passengers in 1962, its first year of operation. Now it serves three times that many every day. Yet, it is a reasonably well organized airport. I'll try to cover almost all concourses, A through Z (yes, there is a Z). This will not be an all-positive review. There are negatives and I will call out as many as I can remember.

Getting There

First, let's talk about how to get to and from the airport. I will try to cover this in terms of using a rental or personal car, a taxi, shuttles, or a bus/subway combination.

If you travel by personal or rental car, the drive into downtown DC is about 26 miles, but expect to see some roadways that you may find puzzling. You can make the trip entirely toll-free with ease. The Dulles Access Road connects the airport with what is known as the Beltway (the loop highway around DC). It is a double roadbed (one with lanes going East and the other with lanes going West) between the roadbeds of a toll road. Once you are on the Dulles Access Road, you can move onto the toll road and not pay tolls, unless you ride it all the way down to Route 7, Spring Hill Road, or the end of the toll road. There are no tolls coming from the direction of the airport to access the other exits. Stay on the Dulles Access Road to bypass all of that and go to or inside the Beltway. To get to Route 7 without paying a toll, stay on the Dulles Access Road to a special exit for Route 7. You can also use that exit to access Spring Hill Road. Coming back to the airport from one of those destinations, follow the signs for the airport and you will avoid all tolls. Even if you find yourself on the toll road, you will be offered the chance to move to the Dulles Access Road on a few occasions. WARNING: There are high fines if you try to avoid local tolls by using the access road for local point-to-point travel not involving the airport. Also, on the toll road, the innermost (high speed) lane is reserved for carpools (2 or more people) at certain times of the day - read the signs - but you can use them briefly to move to the access road. If you are coming from the West (say, Leesburg) to the airport, you will find that the Greenway toll road will dump you onto Route 28 just before the exit onto the access road to the airport. Reverse that for heading West from the airport. Traffic at the airport is usually a breeze. For comparison, the traffic in and out of National Airport is usually very much a mess and confusing to the first-time driver. This is partly because of the nest of roads available just outside the airport. It is mostly because National is trying to give several options in a very limited amount of space.

Taxi rides from Dulles to downtown DC are expensive, no matter what taxi company you use. Expect it to cost well over $50, plus an assortment of fees and tips. The only company permitted to take passengers at the airport is Washington Flyer, but there is a way around that and you might want to take the option at times. At times, the lines waiting for Washington Flyer taxis can be very, very long. When that is the case, expect the lines to move slowly. They have two pickup areas that are nowhere near each other, but both are at the main terminal and downstairs (a ramp) from the large number of luggage pickup points. They love people who are going long distances and put up with those of us who live near the airport. When the lines are long, they try to force people to share taxis, sometimes ignoring that the trunks will not hold all of the luggage or that it might be bad for a passenger. If you want to avoid Washington Flyer for any reason, there are a few alternatives. First, you may find people in the terminal asking if you want a taxi. Many of these are legitimate offers, although not on the property legally. I avoid them. Most are interested only if you are going into DC. Next, if you know of a taxi company locally that is good, call them and they will arrange a pickup point - usually upstairs where they drop people off. This is entirely legal. Lastly, if you go upstairs where the taxis are dropping people off, you can sometimes talk one into taking you to your destination. That often depends on where you are going versus where the taxi is based or needs to go. National Airport is managed by the same team as Dulles Airport and has the same taxi company and rules, although they seem a little more flexible at National. Still, I've had several bad times trying to get a taxi from either airport. Since I know the area, I make sure I pick the route - I don't trust the taxi drivers to know the cheapest route. One sore point about Washington Flyer taxis is that when the price of gas went up so high, they asked for a fuel surcharge and got it. When the price of gas went down again, they asked for an increased fuel surcharge and got half of the increase. Now they are trying for yet another increase in the basic cab fare.

Shuttles are available to take you to or near most places, but they almost all have specific pick-up and drop-off points. Make sure your destination is at or very near one of those points. They will cost you about $25 into downtown DC and give you a fairly decent ride in a van of one type or another. Different companies have various sets of destinations, so you may have to shop around to find one that goes where you want to go. There are some places that none of the vans service. Super Shuttle is suppose to be the only one that can operate from (not to) the airport, but like taxis, that is not always the case. They simply never fit my needs, so I don't use them. If you are staying in a hotel, check to see if they offer a shuttle service - it may be free. National Airport has the same arrangements.

For getting into downtown DC, the best bet usually is to take a bus/subway combination. The buses run about every 30 minutes, but get your ticket as soon as you can since they often sell out on a particular bus. Bus tickets are $8 one-way and $14 round-trip. The bus will take you to West Falls Church Metro (Metro is the subway) station. The subway fare will vary depending on where you want to go. Downtown DC will cost about $2.50 each way. Again, exact fare changes depending on your exact destination and if it is rush hour or not. If your flight is arriving after midnight, this may not be an option for you since Metro does shut down in the wee hours of the morning. Depending on the station and the day of the week, Metro shuts down from about 1am until about 5am. Check the schedules before you arrive to make sure this is an option for you. At National Airport, you simply walk to the Metro Station next to the terminal.

UPDATE
An additional way of getting to the airport is to take Metro Bus 5A. Check www.mamata.com for this bus schedule and current price. The primary pickup points going to the airport are L'Enfant Plaza in DC and Rosslyn and Herndon in Virginia. At the airport, the pickup point is at station 2E outside the lowest level of the main terminal and across a few lanes of traffic. As of this writing, the fare is $3.00 per person each way. Expect to pay exact fare, but you can use larger bills (up to $20) to pay exact change if you are paying for multiple riders. This bus fills to capacity during rush hour (until 9am in the morning for in-bound and 3pm until 6:30pm in the afternoon for out-bound), so expect to put your luggage in the overhead racks. If it doesn't fill up at the first stop during rush hour, it will at the second. Eating and drinking on the bus is against the law and, although rarely enforced, the drivers have been known to throw people off the bus who broke that law. The L'Enfant Plaza and Rosslyn stops are both at subway stops, which helps you reach other parts of the area. Currently, the bus runs approximately every 40 minutes, but that is not consistent, so check the schedule. You'll find that several airport workers and an occasional homeless person use this bus. Don't be surprised if you catch a little "local color". Once, a guy completely disrobed while on the bus. Wasn't much to see.

Being There (with apologies to the excellent movie with that name)

The main terminal at Dulles Airport and the approach to it are nothing less than beautiful. Expect to see large, open areas beautifully landscaped with ponds, flowering trees and bushes, and seasonal plantings. The main terminal and the control towers are about the only things you can see from the road. Considering the architecture of the buildings, that is as it should be. I think the airport is about to move into its third control tower. When you look at the layout of the airport and understand the way it has grown in stages away from the main terminal, you can understand why. The main terminal was designed to invoke the image of an airplane wing in flight. Locally, it is known as the Rack of Ribs. Look at a picture of it and you may understand why. Despite the local name, it is beautiful. The building was designed by Eero Saarinen and built by Ammann and Whitney of New York. Some may remember Saarinen and part of the duo who submitted the incredible winning design for the Smithsonian Art Museum. That museum was never built, thanks to a redirection of Mall development by Congress and a committee given the task of determining what was or was not good architecture. Thankfully, Saarinen's design for Dulles airport was built and is still with us. Yes, it has won several awards since being constructed. It was originally constructed (completed in 1962) to have no extensions to load aircraft, but was designed to be expanded by slightly more than double (completed in 1996) along its length. Additions on the "back" side that permit loading directly into aircraft are all below visual level from the front. Additional mid-field concourses exist mostly as box-like structures that cannot be seen when approaching the airport, except by air. It is worth going to this airport just to catch a look at the main terminal.

Once you are in the airport, you'll find all the check-in counters in the main terminal. Last I looked, I believe National Airport had different counters in different terminals, but still such that you could walk from one to the next. In Dulles, they are all under that massive concrete "wing" that is held up by glass walls and those rib bones. In some few cases, the counters may be on the "other" side of the islands that the counters back against. With all the ceiling height and the glass, you get a wonderful feeling of openness that is almost matched at National, but only in the newest concourse. The service at the counters varies from one airline to another. Most want you to use the self-help kiosks instead of a real person. For the most part, Dulles has the security stuff down fairly well. Yes, you can hit long lines, although I find that becoming rarer. They do have several security lines and sometimes it may be confusing enough that you may step into an employees' line.

Let's talk about security for a moment. At Dulles, I had one incident that I should mention. I was pulled to the side as a random person (odd considering that the type of identification I used normally gets me out of such). While I was in queue to be further checked, the woman running the hand-baggage check overfilled the rollers on the exit side. That resulted in the tub containing my wallet, digital camera, shoes, and other things being dumped on the hard floor. The staff immediately picked it up and put everything back into the tub and returned the tub to the rollers. I had to call out to them when it almost happened the second time. Of course, being dumped on a hard surface is not good for a digital camera and this one was only a year old. The woman who caused the problem was good enough to confess she had done it. I asked to be able to file a claim in case the camera proved broken. The TSA officials had to make a copy of the right forms, but they did everything they could to make sure I was satisfied that they would take responsibility for their own actions. Fortunately, the camera was not damaged. I commend the Dulles TSA staff (something I would not normally do for TSA) for their actions in this case. While we are on security, the longest security line I’ve ever encountered was in Las Vegas. The airport where security most consistently always opens and repacks my luggage unnecessarily is in Huntsville, Alabama. The airport in which I experienced the most abusive TSA staff is Pensacola, Florida. In Pensacola, I had an early flight out and was one of very few people in the airport. There was no one waiting to go through security and the TSA staff was just sitting around talking to each other. I walked at normal pace to the security gate. Just before I got to it, one of the security people spotted me, jumped up and ran forward to meet me. He grabbed me and started pushing me to the side saying I was not going through his gate so easily. They almost performed a strip search in a public area. I did have to open my pants for them.

Security is a big part of the airport experience, but back to "Being There". Thank you, Peter Sellers.

The layout of the airport starts with the main terminal with some gates attached to the back of it. Behind that are two sets of concourses running parallel to the main terminal. Beyond that is Concourse G. As an overall description, you can find food and other stuff (rental movies, books, jewelry, souvenirs, etc.) throughout the airport. The food is not good and you should watch the people selling it. On more than one occasion, I had them charge me incorrectly for my food. The receipt gives a phone number at the airport for lodging complaints, but I've never had them return any calls. Fast food is mostly what you will find. Yes, you may see a small California Kitchen, an array of Starbucks, some "ale house" styled restaurant/bars, a few Asian (mostly bad Chinese), and such about. In any given concourse, the food choices are very limited. With some exceptions that are explained later, it is difficult to move from one concourse to another. I don't like breakfast food and that is when I usually spend most of my time at this airport. I find places like Starbucks greatly overpriced and I rarely drink coffee. Regretfully, no one offers much of an alternative to the above. Happily, the food scene is changing much for the better. The food offerings at National once was a little more diverse, mostly because it is easier to get from one terminal to another, but Dulles has recently surpassed National in this category. I would expect National's staff to offer no better support to the customer since it is run by the same organization as Dulles.

The original design of the airport was conceived to never sully the design of the main terminal. For that reason, ground shuttles were designed to take people from the main terminal to the mid-field concourses where people could board without going outside. That lasted for too many years. It was to be replaced several years ago, but the airport ran into a problem. It seems anything large in the DC area is subject to the whims of politicians. Dulles Airport is large and is no exception. When it was opened, National was supposed to be closed. National is still considered a safety hazard because of its location and the alignment of its runways with many important government locations. Congress liked the idea of having an airport just a few miles from their offices, so they demanded it remain open. They still make that demand and retain a large block of parking places just outside the doors of National Airport. They also have similar parking at Dulles. Now, fast-forward several years to when Dulles wants to build underground passages for trams, moving walkway, and other walkways to connect all the concourses. One well-known Senator (frequently considered a potential Presidential candidate) stopped the funding simply because the airline based in his home state could not fly from there to National Airport non-stop. The flight length was greater than permitted for the airport for safety reasons. Fortunately, Dulles is now building those passages and the initial part is already in place. You can now use the underground passage (walkway and moving walkway at this point) to access concourses A and B. National Airport is simply one terminal connected to the next forming a large, backwards J-shaped (best description I can come up with) structure. Just to be different, getting to concourse G requires a bus ride. At least it is a bus designed for the purpose.

Are you using a private aircraft? Those services are handled by Signature Flight Services at all three major airports for DC. I have used Signature at all three and have found them to be equally good. At Dulles, their "terminal" is the only one you can see on your approach to the main terminal. To get to it, travel as if you were going to "Departures" at the main terminal and go on through it. When you come out the other side, the road will bend to the left and Signature will be on the right just after the bend. When you enter the airport by road, you'll also see signs that direct you slightly different, but with the same ending place.

I should also mention that at Dulles, there are no hotels at the main terminal or within walking distance of it. Since you will be dependent on a taxi or, when available and they usually are, a courtesy shuttle anyway, go for whatever brand of hotel strikes your fancy and pocketbook. You'll find almost any brand within a short distance of the airport.

If you have time on your hands, there are two tourist attractions nearby and one is really major. The first is Sully Plantation. It is about a 4 or 5 mile drive from the airport. A taxi ride will probably cost about $10 each way. The other is the annex for the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). I have reviewed it elsewhere. It is very near Sully Plantation so the taxi fare will be about the same, but it is on airport property and uses that to its advantage for one of its offerings. I believe there is a small entry fee at the plantation. NASM annex charges on entry for parking, but I think they have a way for taxis to bypass that.

Let's assume you are now arriving on an airline and have made it to the gate. Depending on which concourse your flight uses, you will make it to the main terminal. No matter if you checked your luggage or not, everyone is routed to the luggage are, or at least near it. You will probably find the route to be a little unusual. I always wonder what it is they have us going around. Unless I have a single-night flight and everything is in a gym bag, I check my luggage. I consider it a safety issue, plus I don't have to put up with lugging it around. On the safety part, if you have ever seen a video of the cabin interior during a plane crash, you'll realize that one of the first things that happen is that all of the overhead luggage, and usually the compartment with it, will come down on you. I would rather see all but a few very light bags checked. Having checked your luggage, you need to pick it up. At Dulles, you will wait, and wait, and wait. For whatever reason, they are slow. In my experience, National is no better. I use Dulles several times a year and have for over 18 years. I've never had them lose my luggage or damage it. I have had luggage delays at National that were directly the fault of the baggage handlers at the airport. Speaking of luggage at airports, I use to fly into Houston's (Texas) Hobby Airport from time to time. The only time they didn't damage my luggage either coming in or going out was on my last trip there. Now, I can't pass on another luggage story. Years ago, I was flying into San Juan, Puerto Rico, late at night on an Eastern Airlines flight. We were the last flight in for the night. When we went to pick up our luggage, we waited a long time before any started coming out. Of course, as their luggage came out, people picked it up and left. Suddenly, the belt stopped and all the luggage already out had been claimed, but half of us were still waiting. No one was around to help us. After a long wait, the lights in the terminal started going out. Eventually, a night guard found us. He checked on our luggage for us and found it still on the airplane with the cargo door wide open. The ground crew had gone home with the job only partly complete! He was kind enough to unload our luggage and bring it to us. Fortunately, one taxi driver was outside sleeping in his taxi. He radioed for others to come get us. Ah, the fun of travel!

I know you are wondering about the concourses. Concourse Z is not the colorful one, but it is attached (and out a bit) to the main terminal and downstairs, as is micro-concourse H. The underground passage leads to concourse B. Once arriving there, you can turn to the left and get to concourse A. Those famous shuttles, which leave from the main level of the main terminal, will take you out to concourse C. C and D are connected end-to-end, so you can walk from C to D. Alternately, you can go downstairs from the main terminal and near concourse H to catch a shuttle to concourse D. Down below and near concourse H is a place to catch the bus to concourse G. You can also get a bus between concourse C (it's really where C and D join) and concourse G. The concourses are boxes with things sticking out to get the passengers out of the box and into an airplane. The decor is often stark covered with something. In concourses A, B, C, and D, they hang lots and lots of national flags. In each concourse, you will find a few (very few) food places and a fair number of stores. Other than that, they usually have plenty of space for walking and sitting and the restrooms are large and usually clean. Concourse G is the exception. It is used for short puddle jumpers. Concourse G is a trip back in time in a third-world country. It is built on ground level away from everything else. Food consists of pre-made cold sandwiches and pre-packaged pastries with cold drinks and coffee available - all in the book/magazine shop. Half of the several times I have used that terminal, the men's restroom was flooded. The PA system is so antiquated that the gate attendants have to vie for it. It isn't unusual to hear a gate attendant simply scream it out to whoever can hear. This concourse is often very crowded. When your flight is called, you find out how they can get the gates so close together. They aren't. All doors empty into a common hall that immediately forces you to go left, right, or straight ahead. Those directions will become the three tines of a giant 3-tined fork with the aircraft sitting to one side or the other of one of the tines. Can you say "bleak"?

Leaving There (as I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...").

You'll be happy to hear that flights in and out of Dulles usually have no delays. I can't say that for National. Of course, there are some exceptional horror stories. For a 7-hour flight to London, we were detained on the ground IN THE AIRPLANE for six additional hours. The reasons (yes, plural) were enough to drive me totally sane and long enough that you do not want to hear the details. This has been too long of a review to go into such details. We should leave it that Dulles flights usually have no delays and are uneventful. The runways are long with good approaches, so flights are not hurried when taking off or landing. Still, many pilots will cut it a little short on the landing to avoid excessive ground travel.

Now it's time to say the numbers and lists. Don't go away - wait for the rest of the prose!

PARKING (and there is plenty, but short-term and Daily parking sometimes fill up). Hourly (short-term) parking is $4 per hour or fraction thereof with a maximum of $36 for a 36-hour period. Daily parking in Garage 1 or 2 is $5 per hour or fraction thereof with a maximum of $15 per day. Economy (long-term Blue, Green, Gold, Purple lots) parking is $3 per hour or fraction thereof with a maximum of $9 per day. Valet parking, which is available at the front of the main terminal, is $30 for the first 24 hours and $17 for each additional day. In all cases, you can pay inside the main terminal on your return and not have to worry about it once you are in your car. It makes for a faster exit. They offer payment by most major credit cards and have handicapped-accessible parking available. Free shuttles are available to the parking lots about every 15 minutes. The airport also offers free assistance in case you need a jump start or air for your tires and will help you locate your vehicle. Nice touch! National offers some of the same. The hourly lot has a height restriction of 10'6". It is 8'2" for the daily garages and 14' for the economy lot.

SHOPS (AND THEIR CONCOURSES)
Chevy Chase Bank ATM (all over)
CNBC (C-16)
Faber News (Baggage, C, D)
Stellar News (Main, T,Z, Baggage)
Fox News (B, G)
News Connection (B)
Hudson News (A)
Borders Books (B, C, D)
Tax & Duty Free (Main, B, C, D)
Brooks Brothers (B)
Taxco Sterling CO. (B, C)
America! (B, C, D)
Brookstone (B)
SmitsonianStore.com (B)
Capital Bouquet (Main, Baggage)
Chesapeake Journey (B, C)
Mindworks (D-14)
Altitunes (B)
Travelex money exchange (Main, B, C, D)
Crystal Shoe Shine (A)
Massage Bar (B)

FOODS (AND THEIR CONCOURSES)
Auntie Anne's Pretzels (C-11)
Brookwood Farms (D-28)
Cinnabon (Main)
Cuisine d’Avion (Main)
Daily Grind (Main)
Dunkin' Donuts (B, C)
Euro Cafe (A)
Famiglia (A)
Fuddruckers (B)
Guava Java (Baggage)
Matsutake Sushi (B)
Maui Wowi (under construction)
McDonald's (C)
Panda Express (D)
Pizza Hut (Main, D)
Potbelly (C)
Ranch *1 (A)
Starbucks (B, D, Main upper & lower)
TGI Friday's Carryout (Main)
Villa Pizza (B)
Wendey's (C)
Brew Pub (A)
California Pizza ASAP (B)
Harry's Tap Room (B)
Jose Cuervo Tequila (under construction)
Old Dominion Brewing (B, C)
Sam's Brewhouse (D)
Starz Sports Bar (under construction)
TGI Friday's cafe (D)
Gordon Biersch (D)
Vino Volo (C)
Ben & Jerry's (B, C)

AIRLINES
Aeroflot
Sir Canada
Air France
AirTran
Alaska Airlines
Alitalia
ANA
American Airlines
American Eagle
American Connection
America Wet Airlines
Austrian Airlines
British Airways
BWIA International Airways
Continental
Continental Express
Delta
Delta Connection
Ethiopian Airlines
jetBlue
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Korean Air
LAB
Lufthansa
Northwest Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines
South African Airways
SAS
Grupo Taca
Ted (United without the "Uni")
United Airlines
United Express
U S Airways
U S Airways Express
Virgin
Piedmont Hawthorne (general aviation)
Signature Flight Support (general aviation)

AIR CARGO CARRIERS
Aeroflot
Air Canada
Airborne Express
Air France
ANA
American West Airlines
American Airlines
Austrian Airlines
British Airways
Continental
Delta
FedEx
KLM
Korean Air
Lufthansa
Mountain Air Cargo
Northwest Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Grupo Taca
TWA
United Airlines
United Express
U S Airways
UPS
Virgin

NOW IT'S TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE!

I hope this gives you some sense of what Dulles Airport is like, especially against other options in the area. I did try to keep most of this about Dulles and offer others for comparison or just good asides. I live very near Dulles and use it all the time. I favor it partly because of distance. National Airport (it's more regional, but called national, I guess to make the CongressCritters happy) is almost 30 miles away and Baltimore-Washington International is over 50 miles away. Dulles also offers more flights between the DC area and more cities. Additionally, I feel National airport, because of its shorter runways and unusual flight paths, is not as safe. Yes, you can get more of a view of DC flying in or out of National, but I'll give that up for the safety and closeness of Dulles. Have fun flying!

Recommended: Yes