Washington Dulles International Airport

(IAD), which is located around 26 miles west of Washington D.C., is one of the three major airports that serve the capital metropolitan area, alongside Reagan National Airport (DCA) and Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI). The facility was opened back in 1962 and was named after former US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. The facility is known for the architecture of its main terminal building and spans an impressive 13,000 acres, making it the fourth-largest such facility in the United States by land area.

The airport is one of the largest international gateways on the East Coast, and it is the second major transatlantic gateway for United Airlines

. The facility handles more than 90% of the international traffic originating in the greater Baltimore-Washington area. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility consistently saw more than 20 million passengers pass through its doors each year, with a high watermark of 24 million being recorded in 2019. Roughly 60,000 passengers pass through the airport each day, many of whom are just connecting through the airport. Flights from Washington Dulles offer nonstop service to more than 135 global destinations.

Emirates Airbus A380 at Dulles

Photo: Rob Crandall I Shutterstock

The continued growth of Reagan National Airport did result in increased domestic competition from the more conveniently located facility, but Dulles has remained the region’s largest airport. Dulles currently serves as a major hub for United Airlines

and is a key point for Star Alliance carriers, such as Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, when attempting to connect passengers to flights operated by their principal airline partner. In this article, we will take a deeper look at Washington Dulles Airport’s operations, by examining the five largest airlines at the airport by market share.

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1

United Airlines

Washington Dulles Airport is a major hub for the US-based legacy carrier

Category:

Airline specification:

IAD market share:

70.42%

United Airlines has long played a key role in the development of Washington Dulles Airport and its international network. The carrier first established a hub at the facility in 1986, and it quickly launched flights to 16 new domestic routes, helping mark the airport’s transition into a major US travel hub. The carrier has continued to expand its transcontinental, transatlantic, and regional flight offerings from the airport.

United Airlines Airbus A321neo departing PHX

Photo: Robin Guess | Shutterstock

The airport operates dozens of daily mainline flights from the airport, in addition to services operated by its regional subsidiary, United Express. At the airport, United operates from Concourses C and D, which are exclusively used by the carrier. These concourses were originally built as temporary structures, but they have slowly become essential elements of the airport’s layout. United serves dozens of global destinations from the facility, with some of the most important routes serving London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Frankfurt Airport (FRA), and Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) in Paris.

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The carrier has solidified itself as the market leader in Washington D.C. in recent years, with a market share of roughly 70% being maintained over the last decade. The carrier has continued to invest in its facilities at the airport, including a new Polaris Lounge at Concourse C for international travelers. The carrier also has further plans for terminal improvement and network expansion at the airport, demonstrating that Dulles will remain a key element of its network for decades to come.

United Airlines operates seven of the ten busiest international routes to and from Dulles International, with the only exceptions being nonstop services to Istanbul (IST), Panama City (PTY), and Dubai (DXB), all of which are served by United partners. The carrier serves all ten of the busiest domestic routes to and from the facility.

2

Delta Air Lines

The carrier flies to many of its major hubs from the facility

Category:

Airline specification:

IAD market share:

5.12%

Delta Air Lines has historically been a minor player at Washington Dulles Airport, but, nonetheless, it does still have the second-largest market share of any carrier at the facility. The airline’s role has mostly been connecting the airport to major hubs across the United States. The carrier began serving Dulles in the mid-1900s during its expansion across the United States, and the carrier has slowly expanded its presence to strategically connect the airport with major cities across the country.

The airline operates several routes from Dulles, including nonstop services to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), and Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA), with seasonal service to Detroit (DTW). The airline’s routes are operated both by the airline’s mainline fleet and by smaller Delta Connection regional jets, allowing the carrier to rapidly upscale and downscale capacity to meet demand. The airline operates flights from Concourses A and B, both of which are shared with other airlines.

Interestingly, Delta Air Lines does not have its own lounge at Dulles, but those with Sky Club access can access other SkyTeam lounge facilities at the airport. United Airlines has historically dominated the air travel market from Dulles, but Delta still maintains a presence that ensures passengers can easily connect to its massive domestic and international network. Just a handful of flights can easily make Delta the second-largest carrier at the facility, according to the airport’s figures.

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3

American Airlines

The carrier mostly flies out of Reagan National Airport

Category:

Airline specification:

IAD market share:

3.44%

American Airlines, despite having a much larger presence at Reagan National Airport where it maintains a hub, still has a long-standing presence at Washington Dulles Airport. Much like Delta, the carrier focuses on serving just a few key domestic routes from the facility, to connect the airport with its larger global route network. From the airport, American operates flights to just the following two destinations:

  • Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
  • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Tail of an American Airlines aircraft at Toronto Pearson International Airport YYZ shutterstock_1476411944

Photo: The Bold Bureau | Shutterstock

The airline uses both mainline jets and American Eagle regional aircraft to serve these routes, and, much like Delta, the carrier operates from Concourses A and B. American Airlines does not have a major lounge at Dulles Airport, and passengers are free to access partner lounges if they have status in the Oneworld alliance.

4

Southwest Airlines

The airline operates two separate routes from the facility

Category:

Airline specification:

IAD market share:

2.05%

Southwest Airlines has been operating flights at Washington Dulles International Airport since 2006, extensively growing the airline’s presence in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. The carrier flies to just two destinations from the airport: Denver International Airport (DEN) and Phoenix-Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). Southwest operates flights out of Concourse B at the facility.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800 landing

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

The carrier’s limited presence at IAD is likely a product of the airline’s much larger presence at Baltimore/Washington International, which serves as its principal hub in the region. Nonetheless, these two services from Dulles offer an efficient connection for travelers from Northern Virginia heading toward Denver or Phoenix.

5

Alaska Airlines

The airline operates four separate routes from the airport

Category:

Airline specification:

IAD market share:

2.05%

The final carrier to make this list is Alaska Airlines, which flies to four different destinations from Dulles Airport. From this airport, the airline flies to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Seattle/Tacoma.

Alaska Airlines Embraer E175

Photo: Ian Dewar Photography | Shutterstock

It is quite likely that the list of the five airlines at Washington Dulles with the largest market shares could be due for a shakeup this year. Both Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines are set to launch multiple new routes from the airport, adding significant additional capacity which could help increase their market shares. According to Airways Magazine, Frontier will be launching four new nonstop flights from Washington Dulles.

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