Chicago to DC flights

[Sir Lawrence]

Need to fly one of my kids from Chicago to Washington DC in May.  Said child will be leaving from the loop. 

Suggestions?  Much appreciated.

[jesmu84]

Age?

[🏀]

Blue line right to O'Hare, doesn't get much easier.

Use Bing or Kayak and set alerts for low prices, usually six weeks prior is the cheapest.

[Sir Lawrence]

Age?

Young adult.

Wondering if O'Hare or Midway is better option.

[jesmu84]

Young adult.

Wondering if O'Hare or Midway is better option.

Blue Line to O'Hare is the easiest.

If you want to fly Southwest, you'll have to go through Midway. I personally think Midway is easier to get around, since it's much smaller.

[Coleman]

Young adult.

Wondering if O'Hare or Midway is better option.

Honestly depends on the airline you would rather fly. Midway is dominated by low cost carriers Southwest, AirTran and Frontier.

I prefer United or American out of OHare, but some here prefer Midway (See the thread on Virgin America). the price differential on a hub-to-hub route like that is negligible. You can access either airport on the L from the loop.

[Archies Bat]

Honestly depends on the airline you would rather fly. Midway is dominated by low cost carriers Southwest, AirTran and Frontier.

I prefer United or American out of OHare, but some here prefer Midway (See the thread on Virgin America). the price differential on a hub-to-hub route like that is negligible. You can access either airport on the L from the loop.

My experience is that there is less chance of delays from Midway than OHare, but I've been delayed at both.  Flight schedule and cost tend to drive my choice.

[LloydMooresLegs]

I live in the Chicago area, and fly almost exclusively Southwest and American wherever I go.  I travel a couple of times a year to DC. 

For travel to DC, it depends on where he is going in DC.  If he is going downtown/capital district/DC proper or Arlington area, he should fly into Reagan National, which is in Arlington right across the Potomac from the National Mall.

American is the way to go if that is the destination.  Southwest/Air Trans only has one or two non-stops to National (vs Southwest to Baltimore, which was there original DC area hub).  American has non stops all day.

I have only flown into Dulles a couple of times, as it is inconvenient for where I want to go on the DC end (way out in the burbs).

On the Chicago end, going from the Loop to either airport as others have pointed out could not be easier--take the L.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Use Bing or Kayak and set alerts for low prices, usually six weeks prior is the cheapest.

Was going to recommend Kayak also.  

My wife wanted to visit home (Poland) last summer and I set up an alert.  I received one and learned that Delta was having a fare sale that particular day that ended at noon.  I managed to buy in-time and I ended up saving $250 per ticket.

[Tugg Speedman]

Signature out of Midway.  Flexjet is much better than netjets.  I'm partial to the challenger 300a

[MarsupialMadness]

Young adult.

Wondering if O'Hare or Midway is better option.

Midway is just as easy to get to from the loop using CTA.  Orange line.

[Sir Lawrence]

Thanks everyone.  Reagan is the destination airport. 

[Eldon]

Just a general question, but do Chicago folks ever consider Mitchell as a viable option?

[JWags85]

Just a general question, but do Chicago folks ever consider Mitchell as a viable option?

I used to, but with AirTran being bought and absorbed into Southwest, their competitive pricing is pretty much gone.  Couple that with way more flight options out of O'Hare and its rare, for me at least.  I flew to New Orleans out of Milwaukee in the fall, but that was a last minute flight, with a stop in Atlanta, and I flew into Biloxi.  If I'm looking to any major destination, I'd say 90-95% of the time its cheaper out of O'Hare or Midway.

[4everwarriors]

Avoid Southwest at all costs. They just royally BF'ed me big time. I wouldn't fly that mfin' cattle car if the seats were free. Try an airline that treats you like a human bein'.

[Coleman]

Just a general question, but do Chicago folks ever consider Mitchell as a viable option?

No. There are hardly any flights out of Mitchell anymore, and its more expensive. After Midwest disappeared that place became a joke, which is sad because when it was a hub it certainly was a viable alternative.

[mu03eng]

Just a general question, but do Chicago folks ever consider Mitchell as a viable option?

I'm a Milwaukee person and I fly out of Chicago most of the time.  Schedule, pricing, and convenience(from non-stop and destination standpoint) are all much better.  Unless I'm going to Minneapolis, Detroit, or Cleveland for work, it's almost not worth going via Milwaukee

Not sure what Milwaukee can do, but I have to think Mitchell will be in some trouble here in the not too distant future.

[Coleman]

I'm a Milwaukee person and I fly out of Chicago most of the time.  Schedule, pricing, and convenience(from non-stop and destination standpoint) are all much better.  Unless I'm going to Minneapolis, Detroit, or Cleveland for work, it's almost not worth going via Milwaukee

Not sure what Milwaukee can do, but I have to think Mitchell will be in some trouble here in the not too distant future.

As airlines have consolidated into the 4 major US carriers (United, Delta, American and Southwest), there has been a consolidation in hubs. What you are now seeing are mega-hubs in NYC, LAX, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, Charlotte and the DC area. With a few exceptions (Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit), hubs are moving out of the midwest.

The old midwestern hubs of Cleveland, Memphis, St. Louis and Milwaukee now barely have any passenger flights. These former "international" airports are now becoming no more than regional spokes that feed into Chicago and Detroit.  These airports still have massive capacity, and gates (sometimes entire terminals) sit empty. It will be very interesting to see how these airports downsize their facilities to meet the new reality.

[LloydMooresLegs]

Almost every time I fly, I am reminded of how spoiled we in Chicago are by the non-stop flights...it takes me 2 to 4 hours to get almost anywhere, and no need to worry about missed connections etc...generally, the O'Hare delays don't impact me too much because, while it may cost me an hour, I never miss a connection etc.  Plus, more competition because Chicago is a major hub for at least 3 national airlines, which compete on at least some routes.

I think many people who live in the North and NW suburbs of Chicago used to use Milwaukee, but not anymore.

[The Lens]

Milwaukee is a joke.  I live in Whitefish Bay and would much rather go to ORD and fly direct than be stuck on all the connections that now occur.  Just 3 years ago you had Midwest / Frontier, AirTran, Southwest and Northwest fighting.  Now that's all gone.  The other consideration is amenities.  Traffic is so down that most concourses are ghost towns and if you're delayed you might be left with a vending machine if it's after 5pm.

[Coleman]

Almost every time I fly, I am reminded of how spoiled we in Chicago are by the non-stop flights...it takes me 2 to 4 hours to get almost anywhere, and no need to worry about missed connections etc...generally, the O'Hare delays don't impact me too much because, while it may cost me an hour, I never miss a connection etc.  Plus, more competition because Chicago is a major hub for at least 3 national airlines, which compete on at least some routes.

I think many people who live in the North and NW suburbs of Chicago used to use Milwaukee, but not anymore.

That's what I love about O'Hare. You can literally fly non-stop anywhere in the world, on basically a moment's notice. Four different airlines fly into London. Four into Paris. Four into Tokyo.

Its pretty awesome.

[mu03eng]

Milwaukee is a joke.  I live in Whitefish Bay and would much rather go to ORD and fly direct than be stuck on all the connections that now occur.  Just 3 years ago you had Midwest / Frontier, AirTran, Southwest and Northwest fighting.  Now that's all gone.  The other consideration is amenities.  Traffic is so down that most concourses are ghost towns and if you're delayed you might be left with a vending machine if it's after 5pm.

Yep especially since they redid I94 in Illinois to make it 4 lanes, even in rush hour I can get to OHare in less than 90 minutes from SW Milwaukee burbs

[GGGG]

Pretty much how the industry works.  What Milwaukee is facing now isn't all that different from what it was facing about 15 years ago.  Right now 28 cities are served non-stop (many vacation destinations).  That isn't all that different from when I moved away from there in the early 90s.  However in the mean time, Airtran came in and turned it into a hub.

Milwaukee will start to give away their gates more cheaply and some airline will move in and use that capacity.  It's happened before and will happen again.

[🏀]

I think many people who live in the North and NW suburbs of Chicago used to use Milwaukee, but not anymore.

This describes my area, and it couldn't be more correct.

[mu03eng]

Pretty much how the industry works.  What Milwaukee is facing now isn't all that different from what it was facing about 15 years ago.  Right now 28 cities are served non-stop (many vacation destinations).  That isn't all that different from when I moved away from there in the early 90s.  However in the mean time, Airtran came in and turned it into a hub.

Milwaukee will start to give away their gates more cheaply and some airline will move in and use that capacity.  It's happened before and will happen again.

Question is, why hasn't Mitchell made that move yet?