This might end up in a different forum but for now I’m interested in a factual answer. For the third time I’ve gone Denver International (DIA even though it still uses the DEN code taken from Stapleton Airport when it was decommissioned) and all of the parking was full. Not just short term but also garage and long term parking. WTF?! I have never gone to an airport and never had an on-site place to park and it has happened THREE TIMES in Denver. Anyone else ever gone to an airport and even once not be able to park because every lot was full?
[Moderating]
It will indeed end up in a different forum, because it’s asking for personal experiences. That’s IMHO territory.
I wouldn’t know…the only time I ever drive to the airport is if I have to return a rental car.
I always book ahead at my LTC so have never rocked up without a space. But when I have pulled in, there have always been ample spots available anyway.
I’ve wound up in the furthest remote lot at O’Hare a few times, because everything else was full. IME, at least at O’Hare, parking is the worst on Wednesday and Thursday, because you have the cars from people who are gone all week, plus the ones from those who are only gone for a day or two mid-week.
And, if it’s this week in which you couldn’t get parking, bear in mind that a lot of schools are out this week for spring break (including my boss’s kids, and he lives in the Denver area), so there are probably an above-average number of vacation travelers.
I almost always fly out of BWI and I always use one of the off-site private parking lots. It’s at least half the price and just as convenient (or not) as the on-site parking. Only once was that lot full, as it was the holidays and I had neglected to reserve a space in time, but there was another lot right across the street that had spaces and was still the same price.
I was at Midway yesterday and the hourly parking was nearly empty. I was only there to see my wife and kid off so didn’t investigate the longer term parking.
Even long term parking is very expensive at either Chicago airport (especially O’Hare) if you are going to be away for a week or more, so I either get a drop-off, take a shuttle, or get an Uber.
We have to drive over 100 miles to get to DIA. And yes, parking is a bitch. Out in the middle of fucking nowhere, and they didn’t have the foresight to provided enough parking.
There is a Hotel now right at the airport. Sometimes we stay there, sometimes not. But regardless, you can use their covered parking. It’s expensive, but the hell with it. It’s worth it to us. No shuttle busses, and you are just a short hike to the terminal.
Similar thing in Albany, NY, recently. I just used the valet. Let them figure it out. Cost me tip money above parking but much less walking and circling to find a spot. And car was at curb when we came back.
Lately, we’ve been getting a hotel room near the airport using their “Park and Fly” rate. (We live about an hour away, and fly early in the morning.) The rate for one night is usually cheaper than the O’Hare parking rates, depending on how long you’ll be away.
I’m surprised there was a parking shortage at the Denver airport. As I remember, it’s huge and built on a really big parcel. (I think they were planning on developing the land around the airport for commercial and residential development, so they set aside a giant plot.) Once I had a connection through Denver and really had to pee as we were landing, but then had to wait what felt like an hour as we taxied in from a long way off.
That’s what we do when we travel. We are about 90 minutes from the airport, so we get a room and use the free shuttle.
Pittsburg is usually* near* full only because there are hundreds of acres of private parking within a 15 minute shuttle of the terminal, at a substantial cost reduction.
Yeah, stay at the terminal hotels the night before and let them provide the parking as mentioned upthread… not to mention the stress reduction related to not having to get up @ 2 AM for a 200 mile rush to the space-port to catch an early flight!
Just this past November, we flew out of BWI extremely early on Thanksgiving morning. The main lot was nearly full when we got there at 5:30AM (the lot signage suggested there were about 25 spaces in the entire nine-story lot), and we were part of a LONG line of cars coming in.
So my answer is “yes.”
I’ve only flown once, in the 90’s, but yeah, place was impossible to find parking. Similar experience the few other times at the airport to pick someone up (same era).
Not to start a major hijack, BUT, if it’s any of my business, why?
Just curious…
St. Louis has chronic issues with on-airport parking. Finding a spot in either the short- or intermediate-term areas (i.e., ones where there’s an actual walkable route to the terminals) is strictly a roll of the dice. There are several off-site lots that are actually closer than the airport’s own long-term lots, and they stay full, as well.