United’s hub at Washington Dulles has long held a precarious position. It’s been on the potential chopping block many times over the past 25 years. As a result, it’s a place that’s seen little investment – until now.
Washington Dulles built the C/D concourse that United primarily operates out of in the 1980s as a temporary facility, intended eventually to be replaced. When the airport built its AeroTrain between concourses, which went into service 15 years ago, a stop was made where a future concourse was intended to go – not where passengers have actually been flying from on United. So for the past 15 years they’ve had long walks.
That’s going to continue. The 40-year old ‘temporary’ concourses are going to continue to be used. But there’s finally agreement between the airport authority and United to partner on a new 14 gate E concourse that will be above the current United stop.
Credit: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
This project is underway, and a public launch ceremony was held this morning.
- Concourse E will be 435,000 square feet and include 14 gates exclusively for United Airlines.
- It will feature a 40,000-square-foot United Club, the airline’s largest ever and one of the larger clubs in the world. It will have 46,000 square feet of revenue-generating shopping and dining.
- It will have jetbridges, which not all gates at Dulles do. And it’s located where intended, so a train stop away from the airport’s headhouse – no mobile lounges needed.
- There will be a direct upper-level walkway for international arrivals to reach immigration, further eliminating the need for mobile lounges.
Credit: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Credit: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Credit: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Credit: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
Credit: Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
United’s refresh program is ‘United NEXT’ and the Washington Dulles concourse expansion is ‘Dulles Next‘, I have to think this is not coincidental.
Construction began a year ago and a late 2026 completion date is being discussed. 14 gates isn’t actually that many, but costs several times the roughly $500 million that United says it is committing to the project for its own exclusive-use gates. Dulles has received significant transfers of revenue from National airport to subsidize United operations by holding down their costs.
With slot controls in place at National limiting growth, Dulles has grown to exceed passenger enplanements in 2024 and is projected to end the year 300,000 passengers ahead at over 13.4 million.
Currently United operates over 250 daily departures from Dulles, and anticipates growing by an additional 10% this spring. United launched 13 new domestic routes from Dulles this year, including Anchorage, and will launch Palm Springs later this month. Next year, United will debut nonstop service to Dakar, Senegal, as well as flights to Nice and Venice.
Gary,
Help me out here:
“There will be a direct upper-level walkway for international arrivals to reach immigration, further eliminating the need for mobile lounges.”
Will this be a walkway all the way to the current immigration station in the main terminal (such sounds like a lone way and would have to cross the tarmac)
OR
Will there be a new immigration facility within the E Concourse?
@ Gary — How much is “several times” $500 million?
Perspective should show that UA has no choice but to grow IAD because UA’s operation at EWR is smaller than it was a year ago and UA is at serious risk of losing its position in the NE.
In contrast, AA is rebuilding PHL again and DL continues to grow BOS which has far more potential to grow as a local market than IAD or PHL does.
and let’s not forget that there are five more (or will be) new outside perimeter flights from DCA which dilutes some of the local revenue that UA gets at IAD – including another one by UA itself.
UA needs to spend enormous amounts of money on its terminal facilities and will end up with many of the highest cost airports in the US.
United is in the C/D concourse at Dulles, not B/C (which is actually A/B).
Thanks for sharing this exciting update!
Good question @jfhscott, I was also curious after reading this and looking at the official fact sheet.
Wonder if future passengers will still be graced with the PenFed song after getting off the train at the new concourse…
for those arriving who have Washington as a destination, they will STILL have to take a mobile lounge to get to the main terminal customs/ immigration facility. All the renderings of the facility clearly show a mobile lounge dock, and this terminal is located onthe other side of the C/D facility – entirely too far to walk for arriving passengers.
Dulles (my home) has 4 long runways and room for at least one more. Delays are rare except going to other congested airports like EWR/LGA. It makes eminent sense as a transatlantic gateway. DC never shrinks thanks to our bloated federal government and the area is expanding westward rapidly. Dulles Capital improvement Plan includes $6 billion to replace C/D and refurbish A. (about $100 million per gate)
The biggest impediment to growth is the Metro Wash Airport Authority, a corrupt, unaccountable quasi-government agency that is accountable to no one. That’s how you get the airport train that doesn’t go to D yet till costs $1 billion a mile and the 60 year old mobile lounges currently being rebuilt at a cost at a cost of 20 standard buses.
no wonder United wouldn’t sign a lease paying for billions in unaccountable spending!
Dulles on the move
@Gene – average cost for gate is > $100m currently
Have we tried giving more money to the super wealthy? You know, like, instead of pooling together public funding for public projects (like infrastructure, airports, highways, tunnels, high speed rail, pipes without lead, etc.), we just give those who are hoarding obscene wealth more money. Surely, this would trickle down to a better airport experience at IAD. Indeed.
, 1990.
The new concourse being built is the first of 4 phases, there will be 3 more expansions on the new concourse, total completion date 2034. You will not be forced to listen to the penfed song, unless you are using the old C/D terminal.
@ Gary — That’s consistent with other airports nowadays.
Sounds like they all copied ATL NEXT
Tim is correct UA should stop building IAD as the 5 new flights from DCA will kill Dulles. Ontop of that DL is building up BOS and can single handedly funnel every passenger that would fly into IAD through BOS.
Tim, seriously BOS is powerful but IAD can rival it and PHL would require AA to actually compete with UA and DL. DL is officially smaller that UA in fleet size, so it’s not too in everything.
@ Tim — How’s that new travel blog coming along?
@ Tim — UA will indeed invest a lot of money in their hubs, and then they will be superior to Delta’s hubs. Meanwhile, DL will still be flying its POS 763’s to Europe. Everything is cyclical, and DL’s best days are in the past.
@Tim Dunn – I’m just curious why you think the local market in BOS has “far more potential to grow” than IAD. I agree that BOS has much more local market potential than PHL, but I don’t necessarily agree with the comparison to IAD. As others have pointed out, the DC area has the (ridiculously bloated) Federal Gov, but besides that, Northern VA is continuing to grow and has an extremely vibrant private sector (albeit at the behest of the fed gov who pays them very well!). I’m not saying Boston doesn’t have a very strong local economy; of course it does. But I wouldn’t say it’s far beyond the DC metropolitan area.
Lastly, as others have pointed out, IAD still has so much room to grow (including room for another runway, if they wanted) which BOS does not…or any major Northeast airport for that matter. The only thing holding IAD back right now is the corrupt MWAA itself.
@Tim Dunn BOS has more potential to grow as a local market than IAD? What in the world gives you this idea? That is senseless. The DMV is growing rapidly and far surpasses the metro area of BOS by almost 2M people. The BOS area is shedding population. As well, IAD as an INTL gateway is a vital link to the world not just for connectivity but is actually a strong origination/final destination from most countries globally for reasons obvious. I would also venture to say that premium cabin bookings to/from IAD far outpace those of BOS given the nature of visits here. Only New York would rival that percentage on the east coast.
BOS has only one advantage, connecting passengers on TATL flights. It’s the closest gateway. But anyone using BOS for connections is probably not a premium traveler, is going to Bangor, or is clueless.
Eventually, needs to adopt the ATL format of underground walkway/tram connecting all terminals. I understand the preservationist will throw a fit, but the mobile lounges (or what ever you call them) need to be retired. Several can be preserved in a history display to appease the historical society. Time to bite the bullet!!
got some folks wound up.
the WAS int’l market is not carried exclusively by IAD precisely because of the split airport arrangement for DC. There are many people that fly DCA to other hubs (even ATL) and then to int’l flights.
Boston has a single major airport. It is also at the corner of the US so not only is less susceptible to spillage to other airports but also serves as the best hub to Europe from a geographic standpoint.
And the point still remains that the reason IAD is having to be grown is because EWR is a smaller operation for UA than it was a year ago. ATC can’t handle EWR at the size it has been.
In contrast, DL has 15% more flights at LGA and JFK and is developing BOS.
And ATL is still the largest international hub on the east coast, surpassing DL at JFK and BOS, AA at PHL and CLT and UA at EWR and IAD. and ATL is still growing.
And DTW still serves as a valid connection point for many cities to Europe and Asia.
DL’s position on the east coast and the larger eastern US is unmatched and unlimited in comparison to AA and UA.
and UA will spend more on new and expanded terminals than AA and DL combined. AA needs to spend a lot more money on facilities while DL is nearing the end of a pretty extensive terminal building program.
@ Tim — “and UA will spend more on new and expanded terminals than AA and DL combined” Bingo, and that’s why they will be best after they complete these projects. Get a clue.