Dayton International Airport – DAY

My wife and I flew from CA to the Midwest where we had reserved a Dollar Rent A Car.
The following is our experience with Dollar Rent A Car.
1) Misrepresentation: After we had purchased our Dollar Rent A Car online, the company added a hidden fee which significantly increased the final cost of the rent a car.
2) They lost our online reservation. When we arrived at the Dollar Rent A Car airport location, we learned that they had no accounting of our online reservation. We showed the representative our paperwork from our online reservation but they still could not supply us with a car. We spent the next 1 hour and 15 minutes waiting as they searched the computer and made phone calls to try to resolve their problem.
3) Since they could not find our reservation they charged us an extra $ 100.00 which they said they would return when we returned car.
4) No spare tire in the car. When we finally walked to the Dollar Rent A Car airport parking lot, we discovered that the car had no spare tire. (On a previous occasion I was delayed when the car I had rented had a flat tire during our travels). When then walked back to the Budget Rent A Car desk. The response from the representative was, «Most of our cars have no spare tire.» They told me if I have a flat tire to call their roadside assistance phone number for help.
5) Because of these many problems I missed my first appointment.
Budget Rent A Car is an obvious loser. We of course will never do business with this company again.

Living in the West Chester area, I’m almost right between CVG and Dayton. I almost always choose Dayton.
CVG is increasingly taking longer to get to and the drive there is becoming more and more unpredictable. Having to drive through the city and over the river into Kentucky is just something you can’t predict a time for, at any given time during the day.
Going up north to Dayton, 45 minutes. Plus or minus 5 minutes. No more than that. In fact, usually less.
Another thing I like is I can literally park my car and be through security in less than 15 minutes.
I’ve flown out of Dayton probably about 30 times this past year. I can’t think of one bad experience or issue I’ve had.
It’s small. It’s quiet. And typically, flights are cheaper out of Dayton than they are out of CVG.
Would I go back? Absolutely. I’m actually scheduled to go back several times over the next couple of months.

Small sized airport for a medium sized city.
This airport really has no frills and will offer you a couple of restaurants and bookstores to get what you need before a flight.
The walk from the A Terminal seems a bit unnecessarily tedious compared to other airports, but it’ll only take you 5 minutes from security to get to the gates.

This its simple. If you must go to Ohio and Dayton is in your trajectory, why wouldn’t you fly through this airport?
1. Tiny airport of two terminals, each about 20 gates that only service regional jets. Even when this place is busy it’s not busy
2. Same number of TSA lines as terminal C at Newark, NJ airport. Terminal C is the busiest terminal. I’ve arrived 15 minutes before departure, parked, proceeded through TSA, walked to my gate, and boarded with 5 minutes to spare
3. The place is as clean as mom’s house
4. The food is decent
5. They have a Starbucks, in fact several
6. Free Wifi

DAY-​O! Me say Dayton-​Ohio!
Why hello little regional international airport! Thanks for making it so easy to fly in and out and get a rental car with no lines or trams anywhere!
On the way out of town we had fabulous burgers at Max and Erma’s (but meh to the cookies). I get it, Chik-​Fil-​A isn’t open on Sundays, but when an airport is this small, maybe they should consider renting out their limited space to a restaurant that is. A single Starbucks and a few places to buy gum.

Top, 3 airports in the country. So fast at security and so easy to get around. The only airport that I like better is Missoula, Montana. Dayton comes in 2^nd followed by Long Beach.

Don’t come in late at night. You’ll be sitting there just outside the gate waiting for the lazy ground crew to get the jet bridge to you.
It takes FOREVER to get your check bags here. A serious overhaul of operations here is in order. It’s a small airport for crying out loud, nothing should take as long as it does here.

So far the experience has been disappointing. Wifi has been down the entire morning while awaiting our flight.

One of the best things about Dayton is the airport!!! Easy in, easy out, no fuss, no muss, no frills, nothing fancy-​pants, and that’s exactly what you need when you’re getting in and out of this at times MUCH more complicated than it needs to be city!
They should rename it the «Not so big/​easy”– Easy parking (long and short term), never too long a line to check in, no dozens of tempting restaurants to «thrill» your traveling taste-​buds (pizza, coffee, bagels, Max and Erma’s… what more do you need, duck a l’orange?!?) I fly in and out of here about once every three months, park my car for a measly $ 6 (!!) a day at the long term lot, take the quick and convenient shuttle to the terminal, check in (usually SUPERFAST, hope I don’t jinx it!!), go quickly through the TSA checkpoint (they’re even friendly!!), and to my gate (might be a hike, but the walk will do you good!!) I’ve never had a problem here. Late/​cancelled flights happen, and if there is a delay/​cancellation, help is easy to find. ADDED BONUS: Southwest is now in Dayton!
I tend to switch off between Dayton and Columbus, but as long as the price is right, and this place doesn’t try to get «too big for its britches,» I’m a true fan! Now, just remember to eat before you get there, or wait til you arrive!!!

I’m a fan of Dayton International Airport. It isnt too big or popular so it was easy to check in and go through the security line within minutes.
The guys who work at the US Airways as well as the Delta counter are all super friendly.
There is a fountain inside where you could refill your water bottles instead of trying to fill it up in a regular drinking fountain and not being able to fill it up all the way.
It was easy to navigate around the airport too.

Terrible ground ops. Just consistently poor. Don’t ever have your flight show up early. Three times in last month sat next to arrival gate waiting for marshal crew. About as incompetent as it gets. Its not a big airport so it needs to get its act together. Really. And… Don’t get me started on the abysmal waits for bags. Did I mention its NOT a big airport?

UGH this airport sucks after being there for 13 hours waiting for United to get their $hit together we took Delta.

DAY is a small airport that barely feels like an airport compared to other airports. Security is a breeze. Only two main wings for the two terminals so pretty hard to get lost. The interior is… not all that exciting like Chicago or Dallas but really who cares? Chances are that DAY is an end-​point, not a place where you will have a layover so you shouldn’t be looking for entertainment. At night, the place is a ghost town.

Great small airport to get in and out of. Security needs to learn the rules for TSA pre-​check but overall it is quick. The food game there has been upgraded over the years; adding a ChikFillA was a huge upgrade. Always clean and is fairly stylish.

Dayton airport is pretty standard.. good New parking garage. … check in and security was normal but quick.. we arrived 2 hrs early so we are having A quick bite at Max n Emmas. all in all… pretty good airport

Evidence that bigger isn’t always better.
This small scale airport boasts less flights and less people, making security checks a breeze. DIA also comes with smaller fares than neighboring CVG, which is mired in a Delta monopolized market.
If it weren’t for the hour+ drive up here from Cincy, I’d fly out of Dayton all the time, and now with Southwest serving, Dayton has become a more attractive site for flight.
If only the interior was a little more attractive…

The airport has ample cheap long term parking options available. The drive in is fairly uncongested, except for a small stretch where there’s a lot of highway construction along I-​70. There are free shuttles to take travelers directly from long term parking to the main terminal. Checking in is also a breeze.
The bathrooms have been recently renovated, too. Hey, it may seem unimportant until you’ve been through a few airports with untouchable bathrooms!
Compared to CVG, here’s what I observed:
1. There’s a smaller food court.
2. There are fewer travelers.
3. The shuttle drivers are more friendly.
4. TSA agents gossip more in Dayton.
5. Fewer power outlets available for professional travelers.
6. The overall feel of the airport is stuck in the 80s, mainly due to the airport intercom playing music you’d expect to hear at Walgreens or Walmart.
7. Boarding planes seems to be more efficient, mostly because the gate agents tend to be more flexible. For example, on my flight to Chicago the gate agent announced groups 1, 2, and 3 all together. In other airports, you’ll get dirty looks if you try to board with earlier groups.
With all of the above said, I still mainly shop based on price. There are some cheap options available, to be sure. But it still appears to me that CVG has cheaper airfare in general.

Any airport that let’s me save time is worth a lot in my book. Add in that the flights in and out of this airport are cheaper than the other options and things get really interesting.
Be prepared, though, that this is going to be a no frills experience for you as a traveler. They do have a Starbucks, Chick-​Fil-​a and Max and Erma’s near security (on the gate side) but that is about the end of the amenities. There is a decent walk to the «legs» of a U shaped terminal to get to the gates, but rental car return is right across the street and there are no lines to speak of in security (or elsewhere for that matter).
The terminal is a bit dated, but this is a great alternative if business takes you to the Ohio side of the Cincy market.

If you need to get to Cincinnati this is a great alternative airport. It’s not too far of a hike and the fares are much more reasonable than flying directly in to Cincinnati. The airport is very clean and very well marked. I had great interactions with the staff. It was fairly easy to get down to baggage claim and there were ample restaurants everywhere. The rental car area is easy to access from baggage claim too.

We choose Dayton as an alternative to Greater Cincinnati. It was cheaper to fly into and actually wasn’t much further to drive to where we were staying north of the city. Surprised at the length of the walk to get to our bags. Half dozen rental car counters by baggage claim, but not ours. Getting back to airport wasn’t a problem. Be aware that there isn’t a gas station on the drive in from the main road. TSA pre boarding was nice. The line was short and I got to keep my belt and shoes on. As for concourse A, the were several charging stations, a fair number of wall plugs, and even a number of tables between armchairs with plugs in the Southwest area. Spartan look to concourse with a few meal options. Free wi-​fi helped pass the time waiting for the plane.