Two ways to be picked up
Curbside on the arrivals level
The default and the fastest. You come out of the doors on the lower level, the operator is there or is circling two minutes away, and you are moving.
A meet at the terminal, inside
The driver parks and waits inside the building with your name. It costs the parking and a wait, and it is the right answer when somebody in the party needs it.
Most people want the first and should have it. The second exists for a real set of reasons: a passenger traveling alone who does not want to look for a vehicle, somebody with a mobility need, a first visit to a city, a late night arrival, or a child traveling with one adult and a lot of bags. Say which you want on the request and it is arranged either way.
What the operator does while you are still flying
Give the flight number when you book and it gets watched. That is not a courtesy, it is how the whole thing works, because an arrival time on a ticket is a guess and the actual time is not.
- If the aircraft is early, the vehicle is asked to move up.
- If it is late, the pickup moves with it. A flight delay is not a late change and is not charged as one.
- If it is diverted or canceled, telephone the desk. That is a different ride and the honest thing is to rebook it rather than pretend the original still applies.
The free waiting window after landing is the operator's rather than ours, and it is named in your quote before you agree. What it usually buys you is enough time to walk the terminal and collect a checked bag at a normal pace.
What a curbside lane actually looks like
Where a vehicle can and cannot stop
Airports run their curbs strictly, and BWI Thurgood Marshall is no exception. Some of this surprises people.
| What you might expect | What actually happens |
|---|---|
| The vehicle waits at the curb until you appear | It cannot. Curbside is for active loading, so the operator circles or waits in a holding area and comes in when you call or text. |
| You can be collected on the departures level going home | Sometimes possible and often quicker at a busy hour, but it is the operator's judgement and not something this desk promises in advance. |
| The driver can come to baggage claim by default | Only on a meet at the terminal, which is a different arrangement with a parking charge behind it. |
| Any vehicle can pick up commercially | No. Passenger for hire work at an airport is permitted work, and the operator holds those permits. This desk holds none and says so plainly. |
If you cannot find the vehicle
It happens, usually at a busy hour on a wide curb.
- Telephone the operator's number, which you are given on the day.
- If you cannot reach them, telephone the desk on +1 (443) 612-4708 during hours and it will chase.
- Stay where you are once you have said where that is. Two parties both moving on a long curb is the most reliable way to keep missing each other.
- If it all goes wrong, tell us afterwards. That is how an operator stops being on our list.
Departures, briefly
Going out there is less to say. The vehicle takes you to the departures level of your terminal and that is the end of the ride. If you are checking a bag, the drop is at the airline's own curbside line, which the driver knows better than any web page could describe.
The one thing worth telling the desk in advance is an oversize item, because a bicycle box or a set of skis changes the vehicle rather than the route. What each vehicle size holds is on the services page, and when to leave is the page that matters more on the way out.