In Defense of Dulles
Thomas J. Marier and David Frum are both wrong about Dulles Airport. Derided as it is, the airport is actually one of the best, easiest and most convenient large hub airports. Here’s why I love Dulles...
It’s actually easy to get to from downtown D.C.: Yes, at 26 miles it’s far away. But the always-traffic-free access road makes this a breeze. On a recent Wednesday, a trip from DuPont Circle to Dulles took me 38 minutes. The next day, a cab ride from “close in” Chicago Midway airport to LaSalle Street (8 miles) took me 41 minutes. Actually, when I’m in Chicago, I usually take the L train to and from Midway; it’s a lot more reliable than the freeways.
Its actually pretty: The American Institute of Architects voted Eero Saarinen’s main terminal one of the most significant structures of the 20th century. And, indeed, it’s a beautiful building. The sleek, Saarinen-esqu new station for the airport’s people mover (designed by the often-pretty bad firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill) is also pretty nice.
It’s not a drag. . . if you know it: There’s a secret lower-level checkpoint for frequent travelers that rarely takes more than about 5 minutes. (I’m not telling you exactly where it is. It’s not on airport maps either.)
It has valet parking: I don’t know of any other airport where you can simply hand your car keys off to someone and walk a few feet to the terminal. Fees are less than daily parking at some other nearby airports.
It has a “Southwest” lounge (sorta): My employers’ home office is in Chicago and I travel there frequently. In the mornings when I leave for Chicago, British Airways lounge, right next to the Southwest gates is open to people with the “Priority Pass” program that comes with most platinum credit cards. I don’t know of any other place that people flying the great budget carrier can relax in a VIP lounge without worrying about making their flights.
Free Wi-Fi: I’m an odd duck who takes a lot of business-oriented flights to places (Bermuda, Tampa, Orlando) that are often tourist destinations. In general, large airports that cater to tourists offer free wi-fi (Orlado, Tampa) while those that deal with the business crowd (all three New York airports, both Chicago airports, LAX) charge you for it. Dulles is mostly full of people in business clothes but it doesn’t charge for wi-fi.
Sure, Dulles could use some tweaks. An underground, directly connected subway would be nice. So would a new mid-field terminal with a better people-mover connection. The regional jet gates are still awful. But, all-in-all, it’s actually a pretty decent airport.
