Flying from Washington D.C.: what you need to know
The D.C. metro area has three airports, and understanding which one to use is half the battle. Dulles (IAD) handles most international flights — United hub, nonstops to Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Reagan (DCA) is the domestic-focused airport with a prime location minutes from downtown. BWI (Baltimore) is the budget option, anchored by Southwest.
United's Dulles hub means strong transatlantic competition. London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, and Amsterdam all have nonstop service from IAD. Ethiopian Airlines runs a direct Addis Ababa route that's one of the cheapest ways into East Africa from the U.S. — look for sub-$700 roundtrips.
The government and NGO travel demand in D.C. creates an unusual pricing dynamic. Business-heavy routes (DCA-New York, DCA-Boston) are overpriced because of corporate travelers on expense accounts. But leisure routes — Cancún, San Juan, Bermuda — are more competitively priced because the carriers need to fill seats on weekends.
BWI is the secret weapon. Southwest's presence there means domestic fares are often $50-100 cheaper than the same route from DCA or IAD. The MARC train connects BWI to D.C.'s Union Station in 30 minutes.
Icelandair runs a seasonal Dulles-Reykjavik route that's the budget path to Europe — $350 roundtrip to Reykjavik with connections across Scandinavia and Western Europe. Norwegian and PLAY have also entered the market periodically.
Cheapest travel windows: mid-January through February, and late September through November. Avoid cherry blossom season (late March-April) for inbound, and Thanksgiving week for outbound.