A United 767 taxis out as seen from Passport to Dulles 2018. United is only removing change fees from domestic services, not international routes. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Craig Fischer)
Think about your home airport. Do you get excited when a new airline is announced? When a new, modern jet like the Dreamliner starts service to your hometown? This was the mood walking into “Passport to Dulles 2018” on Tuesday.
Washington Dulles International Airport had given no information on what could be coming to the expanding United hub, but they did not disappoint.
As spotters and aviation enthusiasts, with some businessmen mixed in, the thirty or so people in attendance at this week’s event got the experience of a lifetime.
Eagerly walking into the event room, attendees were greeted by friendly faces and a buffet of the new restaurants that will be landing at Washington Dulles in 2018. We were fed by The Bracket Room, a new Redskins themed cafe, as well as The Kitchen who served us their signature “Aviation” drink.
Dulles is soon to be filled with a repertoire of fantastic restaurants for whatever you are feeling.
After hearing from the director of Marketplace Development who handles these restaurants, we heard from the multiple Dulles Airport staff that discussed the new routes coming to Dulles in the new year.
Airport leadership discusses the addition of new routes and food offerings at Dulles (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Craig Fischer)
Soon, you will be able to travel nonstop to Edinburgh, Scotland, Agra, India, and even Aruba in the Carribean. These destinations make the airport even more appealing to the public eye, especially with rumors of a new airline making an appearance in the new year.
They also gave information on the Metro extension, expected to be completed in 2020. The Silver Line of the Metro will soon cover both Washington Reagan and Washington Dulles, increasing accessibility.
The event was just getting started as everyone was taken through security and into a refurbished “mobile lounge.” The refreshed mobile lounge design includes Wi-Fi, new carpeting, and better lighting, though only a few of these are in operation.
Passing by all the current heavies at Dulles like Air China’s Boeing 777, it was time to experience United’s Global First Class lounge.
Air China’s 777-300ER taxis at Dulles (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Craig Fischer)
The lounge was decorated, featuring private workspaces as well as public areas for business meetings and discussions. Despite this, it is lackluster compared to the Polaris lounge at Chicago O’Hare and other Global First lounges around the United system.
The event was not complete without a tour of United’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was scheduled to head off to Paris in just a few hours.
Inside the flight deck of United’s 787 at Dulles (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Craig Fischer)
In business, the seats had the ability to lie-down flat and were laid out in a 2-2-2 formation. the usual configuration for the airline’s 787 fleet.
Polaris business class seating on United’s 787 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Craig Fischer)
The Dreamliner currently flies from Dulles to Paris, France and London, England, with talk of one from Houston.
Overall, Passport to Dulles 2018 was a very memorable experience, showcasing why Washington Dulles is expected to become more desirable in the near future with increased dining options and the prospect of additional routes.
This story was updated on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017 at 4:23 p.m. After receiving feedback from readers, we updated the story removing a handful of unnecessary details regarding United’s Global First lounge and the carrier’s 787 business class configuration.
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While I don’t doubt that MWAA is excited about this, this is a pretty poorly reported story – particularly the United piece.
The Global First Lounge is far from new, indeed it may be one of the oldest lounges in the United system. The features cited by the author not only are not unique to the GF lounge, they’re standard in all United lounges including the two regular old lounges down the hall. As far as upping their game, for the 787, that’s far in the future. Those lay flat seats? United (as Continental) has been flying those same seats since the mid-2000’s. As of today, United has not even given a timeline for when the plane the author cited will get the new Polaris seats – speculation being they’ll be the last in the fleet to get them. As of now, upping the game means a changed food and beverage service flow and a new pillow.
As for the refreshed mobile lounges, how about MWAA work with United to give us a new terminal? Walking through Terminal C and D is like being transported to 1985. The mobile lounges only enhance that experience with operators standing at the back yelling “move down! move down!” to try to pack more people in.
Being a bit more critical, and objective would certainly enhance the reporter, and site’s, credibility.
This is terrible and not a story. It’s a press release rewrite. Praise Dulles? That airport is a dump and no buffet will fix that. Praising United’s 2-2-2 seating in international business class? You’re out of your mind.
Deleting comments because you can’t take the criticism? Not only is that sad it contradicts your comment policy.
We remove comments that don’t stir a conversation about the industry. If you feel there’s an issue with the story, formally submit a correction: https://airlinegeeks.com/editorialcorrections/.