Which airport terminal - East or West? (Denver: bus, garage)

[qfrost]

If I'm leaving on Southwest and arriving using the AB bus line, do I want the East terminal, or the West terminal?


Thanks, this is all new to me.

[Kibbiekat]

Not sure about the bus line. There are huge signs as you approach the airport that tell you which airline is on which side. I'm sure you could look it up on the airport web site too. Unless you have a ton of luggage or something, I don't think it matters. I've flown in and out on different airlines on opposite sides. You just have to decide if you want to be closer when you leave, or closer when you arrive.

[qfrost]

Yeah, good point. Thanks

[maciesmom]

Southwest uses the East side. And no, it really doesn't matter unless you are looking to checkin curbside.

[qfrost]

Awesome. THanks

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Doesn't the bus stop on both sides? It's been a while since I've taken the RTD to the airport, but I thought that it goes to one side and then the other. And once you get inside, it's just one big terminal anyway.

[qfrost]

Yeah, it does. Hence my question - I didn't know whether it mattered.

[vegaspilgrim]

There's only one terminal building-- "east" or "west" just refer to the different parking garages and passenger drop off/ pickup lanes on each side of the building. Once you walk in from either side you're only a 2-3 minute walk from the other side.

[AceShopper]

Hey QFrost,

This East-West thing confused the hell out of me when I traveled for the first time. But just like vegaspilgrim said : There is just one big terminal building in the middle and the road goes on both sides of the terminal leading to the East side and West side.

If you going by RTD AB line, the bus will drop off at both terminals, but instead of wasting five minutes while the bus circles around to the other side, I would get off at the first place it stops and just walk in. If you are on the other side, it will be slightly longer walk to the check-in counters but if you can do an online check-in and got no baggage (I travel light!) then you can go straight to security checkpoint. If you do have lots of baggage, then stick with whichever side (East or West) where your airline is. Southwest is Terminal East. Also a tip I learnt here: In addition to the common security checkpoint where there is usually a huge line, there is also another security checkpoint on the bridge where you can directly walk to Concourse A. But I think Southwest is Concourse C so you will need to take the train.

The AB ride from McCaslin/US36 to DIA is $13 one-way and $24 roundtrip. Let me know how the RTD ride works out for you - I might be trying it in a couple of weeks.

Ahh - I forgot about the "levels" - In addition to Terminal East and Terminal West, each side has 5 levels - Passenger pickup ? Lower level. Parking garage ? Lowest level & a few in-betweens. Dropoffs ? Top level. Confusing at first, but after you see it a couple of times, it seems so neatly and nicely arranged.

I used the Economy parking lot this time since I was short on time (I had to take US36-I270-I70 at 4pm on Friday ) and it was an easy walk into the terminal building. Cheapest car parking would be "The Parking Spot" - approx 10 miles outside the airport @ $5/day with a coupon.

[AceShopper]

Not sure if you saw this - it might help to "visualize" :

Denver International Airport