New transportation options are coming to Georgetown just in time for the holiday travel season, with multiple low-cost airlines moving into Ronald Reagan National Airport last Monday and Amtrak expanding its rail options.
JetBlue, a small airline known for its competitive prices, began flights from Ronald Reagan National Airport on Nov. 1. Its fares for travelers who buy tickets on the spot are now the lowest walk-up fares at Reagan Airport.
JetBlue now offers seven daily flights from Reagan to Boston Logan National Airport, one daily flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and one flight to Orlando International Airport.
Despite JetBlue’s reputation for low prices, its arrival at Reagan will not necessarily have significant impact on students’ travel plans this year. Baltimore-Washington International Airport remains a practical option for students, offering flights from Southwest Airlines and AirTran, JetBlue’s competitors.
“I didn’t think about JetBlue,” Neil Menon (MSB ’13) said. “I usually take Southwest. BWI is farther, but because fewer people fly out of it, they usually have lower-priced tickets.”
Lauren Meigs (COL ’11), also flies out of BWI Airport because JetBlue’s scope is not wide enough.
“It is cheaper to fly from BWI, so I take I bus there,” she said. “[I would consider JetBlue] if they were to have lower prices and were going to my destination.”
Southwest does not currently fly from Reagan due to a government slot system that regulates the amount of takeoff and landing spots offered to each airline. However, a merger between Southwest and AirTran announced in late September will allow Southwest to establish service there.
In addition to new airline options, a new Metrorail line to Dulles International Airport set to be completed in 2016 will improve Georgetown’s access to the airport. The new Silver line, which will be added to the Washington, D.C. Metrorail System, contains 11 new stops, including one at the Dulles International Airport. Dulles is currently only accessible by bus or taxi.
The new line is expected to make transport between Dulles Corridor in Northern Virginia to downtown D.C. faster and more cost-effective. Georgetown students said that they think it would make travel more
convenient.
“I normally drive to Dulles, but I would probably take the Metro,” grad student Peter Sima said. “I’d probably spend a lot less [using the Metro].”
Students traveling home by train will also have more travel options come Thanksgiving. Amtrak, the nation’s largest train system, has also made significant improvements to its services. Amtrak has added wireless service to the Acela route from D.C. to Boston, and plans to extend the service nationwide. Amtrak also has plans to add faster trains to the Acela route starting in 2013.
In addition, Amtrak has announced plans to upgrade the Acela route to cut the time to travel between D.C. and Boston to three and a half hours. The project will take $118 billion and 25 years to complete, however.”
