I wish I had thought to take some pictures of the customs line last time I went to the UK.Although, nothing was worse than customs in Mexico last February. Something like an hour and 20 minutes from off the plane before I even got to luggage.
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
- Thread starter dafarmer
- Start date
This is what I've found. Admittedly, I only fly a few times a year.
1. If possible, fly cheaply (Southwest or Sun Country) and go through Terminal 2.
2. If that doesn't work, go to the security line on the right as you're facing the check-in counters. It's further away from the Delta counters and seems to always be less busy.
second #2 here. the checkpoint to the right of Terminal 1 is always lighter, as most people just gravitate towards Delta and the people going that way
Once you live in a major city it becomes normal. Just more efficient to wait for rush hour and or weather to move on. Can get far more done by staying home instead of sitting in a car for 3 hours.
I understand that part and that's one of the reasons I have no desire to live in those places.
People around here look at me strange if I drive to BWI -- much less, for instance, Morgantown.
Then you all are like, "Why would you fly when you can drive? It is only 18 hours."
I used to feel the same way. I could never live in a small town again. At least not until I've made money and seen my share of the world.
Having grown up in the Midwest but living out here since 2011, I can appreciate this. At the same time, a good pair of headphones lets you do the same thing on a 737 without needing to worry about watching the road. It is objectively much safer (the most dangerous part of flying is driving to the airport, by a wide margin), does not cost that much (especially compared to flying out of a minor airport like DSM), and you can put a book or screen in front of yourself while you are doing it, too -- and still keep the headphones for tunes or a podcast.
I can see people growing up in Iowa can see flying as less optimal when you have to transfer at crowded hubs like ORD, MSP, and DFW for many trips. Being on the East Coast on top of hub airports is nice, however. You can fly nonstop basically anywhere. Flying to Oklahoma might not look attractive when it costs more and you need a connection compared to here, when it is much shorter, usually cheaper, and you only have to have one leg in your journey.
There are 3 check points at DEN. A North and South checkpoint in the main terminal and one at the end of the walkway bridge to Concourse A. The South is typically the busiest as it is closest to the downtown commuter train entrance. A good trick when lines are long is to take the walkway bridge to A and then catch the train to either B or C Concourse. Also DEN is going to be screwed up for some time as they have a huge delay in a Terminal renovation.
https://www.flydenver.com/security
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/13/denver-airport-dia-construction-contract/
Somebody clued me in to the bridge checkpoint and I made sure to utilize it when we were travelling with the kiddo. Much easier to get through.
I signed up for the Pre-check a couple years ago when I got frustrated with MSP. The right (north) check point has been my go to the last couple years.
Less than a 1% chance one is on any flight you are on. Statistically I am not even sure why they bother with them as actual in-flight security. So, rock on!
Hell according to google it's only 200-220 miles to WVU, that's not a bad drive to catch the Clones. Time was right at 3 hrs so the roads can't be too bad.
This is all true -- 200 miles on open highways sounds like a breeze to most Midwestern drivers. For comparison, Ames to Kansas City shows up as 229.3 miles on Google.
But there is this little stretch of road called Interstate 270...
That is absolute bumper-to-bumper hell every afternoon and evening.
That drive can easily be 5+ hours with that plus getting onto 270 via the Beltway or GW Parkway. Once you are past Frederick, Maryland, you are good, but until then...
