Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] driving into STL airport on Friday afternoon...

[Dave Lloyd <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Wed, 9 Nov 2005, Jonathan King wrote:

> Whee...
> 
> So the good news is that I got a great price on my flight into DC this
> weekend; it was just $170 round-trip, and it's a non-stop direct
> flight.
> 
> The bad news is that I have to fly out of STL at 7:20 pm, which means
> I should really get there at something like 6 pm at the latest.  What
> makes this potentially tricky is that I teach until 3:50 pm.  Bleah! 
> Is it humanly possible to drive into the airport on a Friday afternoon
> when you hit I-70 in Columbia at 4 pm and arrive in time for a 7:20
> flight (and, yeah, I probably have to check a bag)?  If not, what time
> *should* I leave?

If you leave at 3:50 you may be able to make it.  I'm thinking that if
you drive, er, briskly you can probably do it in 1:45 or so.  STL really
isn't a busy airport, so even 45 minutes in advance is usually enough
time to check a bag.  The only thing you *might* have to worry about is
the Friday PM business travelers

> I know many of you fly more frequently than I do out of STL, so if
> there's any alt route in I should know of as well (that has a
> guaranteed time to get in, unlike I-70 near the airport) now would be
> the time to spill. :-)

You *may* be able to take 370 from Mid Rivers to 270 and not have it be
entirely bad, but 270 at 5pm on a Friday is guaranteed to be a mess.  If
you get there at 6pm, it's not as bad, I think.  Rush hour seems to be
over with around 6pm, but it starts at 3pm (probably from shift workers
at the factories).

I think you'll be fine.  If you're flying non-stop I'm assuming you're
flying American.  You should try checking in on-line, which you can do
up to 24 hours in advance.

BTW, do you really need to check a bag?  I could fit what I needed in a
week in my rollaboard, but then again, I used to be an AAdvantage
Platinum member.

--dlloyd

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