Anyone else stuck at ohare today...
- Thread starter pyrocyz
- Start date
I've never left Ohare on time. I now drink whenever I travel through there. It makes the disappointment more tolerable. **** that place.
O'Hare and Philly hands down the worst airports in the country. But 3 hours isn't that bad. I've been stuck 8-9 hours plenty of times. It's all about expectations. I go in expecting no less than a 2 hour delay, and if I leave on time, gravy.
Rental car. That's why I fly through Chicago on the way home from business trips. I'd rather have the option of driving home than sitting (spending the night) in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, etc.
Hands down worst airport in the country. Once had to spend the night there, they've lost my bags (putting them on another flight), been delayed, seen people having to be restrained at the terminal, etc. Avoid if at all possible! Unfortunately, I have a couple of clients in NJ, so I still fly there about twice a year.
I LOVE O'Hare!! I used to fly out of there every week for over 5 years. For the most part I was flying from DSM->ORD and ORD->DSM, so my flights were generally on time.
I have that place MEMORIZED and O'Hare has the BEST airport food. If you are in the United terminal B Check out Garrett's popcorn by B8 or Rick Bayless' restaurant by B21 Tortas Frontera (Frontera grill is the best restaurant in Chicago and the airport version is amazing).
I have that place MEMORIZED and O'Hare has the BEST airport food. If you are in the United terminal B Check out Garrett's popcorn by B8 or Rick Bayless' restaurant by B21 Tortas Frontera (Frontera grill is the best restaurant in Chicago and the airport version is amazing).
O'Hare is hands down the worst. I brook no disputes. I take all your horror stories and raise you an O'Hare.
Airfare between eastern Iowa and the east coast has changed considerably in the past few years. I used to be able to book everything from Moline to DCA on the 'cheap' through Detroit on Delta. Fewer delays and while the terminals are large, they are easier to navigate than O'Hare if in a hurry to catch a connecting flight. As of late however, Cedar Rapids via O'hare on United has been 15-25% cheaper. Of course on days like today when the delays are mostly weather related, not much difference, but if you're close on a connecting flight, I'd take DTW over ORD any day!
Realize DSM is probably a different animal entirely, the few times I flew from DCA to DSM was on Midwest Airlines. Granted, this was 5+ years ago. Since Frontier took over, hard to say how bad things have gotten, but they had connecting flights in Milwaukee which was a walk in the park.
Has Southwest not really infiltrated the Des Moines market as much as everyone had hoped they would?
Realize DSM is probably a different animal entirely, the few times I flew from DCA to DSM was on Midwest Airlines. Granted, this was 5+ years ago. Since Frontier took over, hard to say how bad things have gotten, but they had connecting flights in Milwaukee which was a walk in the park.
Has Southwest not really infiltrated the Des Moines market as much as everyone had hoped they would?
I've stuck at BWI tonight for an extra two hours. It's an originating flight for me (BWI/CLT), but, evidently, something happened to the plane coming in from Las Vegas to Baltimore and here I am. The frequency of flights from BWI on Southwest is nice (and I've got a high tier status on them, might as well keep it/double my points), but this tends to happen around here given this is their hub for the East Coast. At least it is a nice, medium-sized airport with some nice choices for food and drink and a nice layout.
That being said, the massive expansion in Southwest operations at DCA are definitely a bonus...
I'm not sure what's happened to Des Moines since Southwest moved in. I do the XXX/MDW/DSM thing when I come back on them, but, again, tier status, so I haven't looked close. I do remember I used to have to pay (or work did) around $400 to $800 to make DSM and now it is more like $200 to $300, so maybe it helped with price, and the routing is simple in comparison (oh my, that one time that was HLN/SLC/DEN/DFW/LIT/MEM/DSM was awesome...) now. Anybody else think it has made it cheaper? Thanks.
That being said, the massive expansion in Southwest operations at DCA are definitely a bonus...
I'm not sure what's happened to Des Moines since Southwest moved in. I do the XXX/MDW/DSM thing when I come back on them, but, again, tier status, so I haven't looked close. I do remember I used to have to pay (or work did) around $400 to $800 to make DSM and now it is more like $200 to $300, so maybe it helped with price, and the routing is simple in comparison (oh my, that one time that was HLN/SLC/DEN/DFW/LIT/MEM/DSM was awesome...) now. Anybody else think it has made it cheaper? Thanks.
Make that four hours. The plane is here, but they're holding it for 25 (25!!!) transfers from Houston.
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Lucky you're getting out of there at all considering how bad Phoenix was hit with rain today. Figured it'd be a case of, "well, the plane is here but your flight crew is still stuck at PHX.."
I'll have to look a little closer at BWI, but it's on the wrong side of the city, plus the drive from Des Moines to eastern Iowa is not a fun one after being shuffled about via plane for 3+ hours.
Does Southwest offer any service into or out of DSM that's not through Chicago Midway?
The delay is from a plane coming in from LAS and ALB, but I suppose they can have a mixer with Phoenix and any problems there, too. The *real* problem now (again, looking at my plane, it's just not being loaded) is they somehow rerouted a ton of people through BWI to CLT from HOU, so we have to wait for that plane, which is still over Tennessee... cripes...
I actually give BWI high marks. Plenty of parking, nice size, easy layout, great food, and the $6 commuter trains in/out of Union Station and the red line run every twenty minutes at peak and every hour the rest of the day if you would rather avoid driving or renting a car out here. The flight frequency to just about anywhere, no transfers, is nice, too, though you're "stuck" on Southwest given this is practically their private airport at this point. It's typically cheaper than DCA, too, if you want to do DSM/MDW/BWI and give up and hour to take the MARC shuttle train into the city and save $100's (potentially, not always, but sometimes) over DCA.
IAD is similar in distance but not nearly as convenient in the ways above, too, unless you're really big into United or something. I think a DSM/IAD might exist.
Let's not even talk about DSM/DCA on US Scareways. Those planes are sticky and that route can't be cheap.
I actually give BWI high marks. Plenty of parking, nice size, easy layout, great food, and the $6 commuter trains in/out of Union Station and the red line run every twenty minutes at peak and every hour the rest of the day if you would rather avoid driving or renting a car out here. The flight frequency to just about anywhere, no transfers, is nice, too, though you're "stuck" on Southwest given this is practically their private airport at this point. It's typically cheaper than DCA, too, if you want to do DSM/MDW/BWI and give up and hour to take the MARC shuttle train into the city and save $100's (potentially, not always, but sometimes) over DCA.
IAD is similar in distance but not nearly as convenient in the ways above, too, unless you're really big into United or something. I think a DSM/IAD might exist.
Let's not even talk about DSM/DCA on US Scareways. Those planes are sticky and that route can't be cheap.