Take an Airplane
The three airports serving Washington D.C. have all been recently modernized and are still undergoing expansion. Two of them are accessible by Metro, and you can get to and from the third via Amtrak, making it very easy and affordable to get from the airport to your hotel.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)Known until 1998 as National Airport, Reagan National (DCA) is the airport closest to downtown Washington. Situated just across the Potomac River from D.C., it is a short cab ride (about twenty minutes) or an easy Metro ride from the heart of the city. The Metro system's Blue and Yellow Lines (National Airport) can take you to or from Reagan National.
The airport is served by fifteen airlines, none of which flies direct international flights (except to and from Canada, and a flight to El Salvador that stops in Atlanta), as it is required by law that no Reagan National flight can exceed 12,500 miles. Even with this restriction, it is one of the busiest airports in the nation.
There is a kids' playground in Baltimore-Washington International Airport. In the play area is a Youth Art Gallery hung with works from children around the state. It is located adjacent to the Observation Gallery (which the kids will also love) near Concourse B.
With the presidential-name change came a rehab and new terminal. If you have some free time at the airport, look for the artwork displayed there. The various concourses also feature a Smithsonian and National Geographic shop (just in case you forgot to buy something during your visit), and a selection of quick-serve (fast-food), sitdown, and take-out restaurants, ATM machines to get money to pay for them, and currency exchange.
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)One of two international airports serving the city, Dulles is twentysix miles from downtown in Dulles, Virginia. By car, it is a thirty-five-to forty-minute ride without rush-hour traffic. Most travelers take a cab from the airport, which runs about $50 to $60. However, there are many private shuttle services you can take. The Washington Flyer shuttle (703-661-6655) serves the airport, connecting with the Orange Line of the Metro system (Metro: West Falls Church). The bus ride takes thirty minutes ($8 one way, $14 round trip), and then it's another ten to twenty minutes by subway. Or take Metrobus 5A from the Metrorail stops at Metro: L'Enfant Plaza (Red, Blue, Yellow, or Green Line) or Metro: Rosslyn (Red or Blue Line).
The various concourses feature a wealth of news and bookstores, as well as coffee shops and restaurants, ATMs, and foreign currency exchange. The airport is undergoing a ten-year expansion that will double its capacity by the year 2010. The Web site is
This is a smaller airport than either Reagan National or Dulles. It is easier to book because most people go to the large airports. It is forty-five minutes from downtown by car, just a few miles outside Baltimore.
Its main terminal offers several eateries, shops, and a kid's playground. You can catch Amtrak and be in Washington's Union Station in thirty minutes, or hop the Metrobus service that takes about twenty minutes to get to D.C. Metro's Green Line. Most of the food and shopping is in the airport's five concourses. The grand new Concourse A/B has a full spectrum of establishments in state-of-the-art surroundings.
Domestic and International CarriersAlmost every major airline flies into Washington D.C. Eighteen domestic airlines and twenty-one foreign ones serve the capital.
AirTran Airways (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-247-8726 |
Alaska Airlines (DCA) |
1-800-252-7522 |
American Airlines (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-433-7300 |
ATA (DCA) |
1-800-435-9282 |
Continental (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-525-0280 |
Delta (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-221-1212 |
Frontier Airlines (DCA, BWI) |
1-800-432-1359 |
JetBlue (IAD) |
1-800-538-2583 |
Maxjet (IAD) |
1-888-435-9629 |
Midwest Express (DCA, BWI) |
1-800-452-2022 |
North American Airlines (BWI) |
1-800-359-6222 |
Northwest Airlines (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-225-2525 |
Southwest Airlines (BWI) |
1-800-435-9792 |
Spirit Airlines (DCA) |
1-800-772-7117 |
Sun Country (IAD) |
|
United Airlines (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-241-6522 |
USA 3000 (BWI) |
1-877-872-3000 |
US Airways (DCA, IAD, BWI) |
1-800-428-4322 |
Meals aboard have become a casualty of economics, but if you are flying a distance and your flight has meal service, you can call ahead and request a “child's meal” on the flight. You can also ask if they have any special features for kids. Cockpit visits are now strictly forbidden, but some airlines still give out wings and small toys.
If you live in the New York City or Boston areas, you can take a U.S. Airways, American Eagle, or Delta shuttle to D.C.'s Reagan National Airport.
U.S. Airways' shuttle service flies from New York's LaGuardia Air-port and Boston's Logan Airport to Reagan National. Hourly flights from New York run 6
American Eagle flies its shuttle service to D.C. from JFK in New York and Logan in Boston. There are at least ten daily flights offered.
Delta runs an hourly shuttle flight between New York's LaGuar-dia Airport and Reagan National Airport on the half hour, from 6:30
If you're flying into Washington D.C., from overseas, you might take one of the following international carriers.
Aeroflot (Dulles) |
1-888-686-4949 |
Air Canada (DCA, Dulles, BWI) |
1-888-247-2262 |
Air France (IAD) |
1-800-321-4538 |
Air Jamaica (BWI) |
1-800-523-5585 |
Alitalia (IAD) |
1-800-223-5730 |
ANA (IAD) |
1-800-235-9262 |
Austrian Airlines (IAD) |
1-800-843-0002 |
British Airways (IAD, BWI) |
1-800-247-9297 |
BWIA International Airway |
1-800-538-2942 |
Ethiopian Airlines (IAD) |
1-800-445-2733 |
Icelandair (BWI) |
1-800-223-5500 |
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (IAD) |
1-800-225-2525 |
Korean Air (IAD) |
1-800-438-5000 |
LAB (Lloyd Aero Boliviano) (IAD) |
|
Lufthansa (IAD) |
1-800-645-3880 |
Mexicana (BWI) |
1-800-531-7921 |
SAS Scandinavian Airlines (IAD) |
1-800-221-2350 |
Saudi Arabian Airlines (IAD) |
1-800-472-8342 |
South African Airways (IAD) |
1-800-722-9675 |
TACA Airlines (IAD) |
1-800-535-8780 |
Virgin Atlantic (IAD) |
1-800-862-8621 |
