Dawn-thirty flight from Logan, when should I get there?

March 2, 2017 7:23 AM

Boston flyers -- I have a 6:10 a.m. flight from Logan (JetBlue, Terminal C, if it matters) on a Saturday morning. Do I really really need to be there 2 hours early as the website generically recommends? Will security be really backed up at that time of day on Saturday? I will do it if I must of course but would like to hear from anybody who does similar flying at that airport.
posted by JanetLand to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

I should add that I won't be checking bags and will have my boarding pass.
posted by JanetLand at 7:24 AM on March 2, 2017

I fly out of Logan Terminal C all the time and I definitely would not take that 2 hour recommendation seriously - you'll be fine arriving 1 hour before departure time.
posted by Perplexity at 7:27 AM on March 2, 2017

Seconding Perplexity. At 6:10 a.m. on a Sat., with no checked bags? An hour, at most.
posted by Melismata at 7:31 AM on March 2, 2017

Thirding Perplexity. I fly JetBlue out of BOS frequently and would never get there 2 hours early. 1 hour will be perfectly fine, especially for such an early flight!
posted by schroedingersgirl at 7:35 AM on March 2, 2017

I always shoot for two hours just in case transit is screwed up, but you can cut it closer if you want. Prior to Cheeto Benito, TSA at Logan always moved fairly quickly. An hour to get through it is probably enough, unless they've gotten much worse since I flew in December.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:44 AM on March 2, 2017

Another Logan JetBlue-er here, and I agree with everyone here. You should give yourself at least an hour in case anything unexpected holds you up, but you won't need two.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:47 AM on March 2, 2017

Terminal C security usually goes pretty quickly, especially that early in the morning. Dunkie's doesn't even open until like 5:30 or something, so getting there any earlier doesn't get you anything.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:51 AM on March 2, 2017

Absolutely you won't need 2 hours and you'll be bored out of your mind waiting for any of the coffee places to even open.
posted by lydhre at 7:53 AM on March 2, 2017

Well, sounds like a consensus -- thanks everybody!
posted by JanetLand at 8:37 AM on March 2, 2017

I suspect I actually know which flight you're taking, because it's one I take for business meetings in a medium-sized Southern city about once a month, and will be taking on Tuesday. (If I'm on the 6:10 flight I can be in the office by 9:00 and want to lay down and die by 3:00!).

I usually try to get to the airport before 5, but that's out of an abundance of caution. My colleagues frequently arrive 20 or 30 minutes later. Security at Logan at 5:00am is busier than you might think, but still not really busy. You should easily be able to get to your gate within 15 minutes of arriving at the terminal.

I once overslept, which is how I discovered that at that time of the morning I could go from horizontal in my bed to at the gate in less than 45 minutes.
posted by firechicago at 9:35 AM on March 2, 2017

Agree with what every single person has said, airport security early on a Saturday is not that big a deal. And if you don't happen to be a frequent Logan traveler note that: wifi is free, there is an airport chapel (very nice and quiet, I am not religious but I appreciate quiet places in airports) at the Arrivals level of Terminal C in case you wind up early despite yourself.
posted by jessamyn at 1:56 PM on March 2, 2017

Just in case anyone finds this while searching, I got there at just after 5 (I would have been there just before 5 only I went the wrong way and had to loop all the way around to get back to where I could park in the garage). Things were busy, but not crazy, and I got through security and to my gate in plenty of time. Oh, and incidentally, there was lots open already in the way of coffee.
posted by JanetLand at 6:06 AM on March 15, 2017