Four vehicle classes for airport work.

How dispatch actually chooses the vehicle

Vehicle class is decided by cargo volume far more often than by seat count, and almost every mismatch traces back to a booking that described people rather than bags.

The sequence dispatch works through is straightforward. First, how many large cases are there, and are any of them unusual in shape? Second, how many passengers, and are any of them children who need seats? Third, how long is the drive, since an hour and a half in a full sedan is a different experience from twenty minutes? Fourth, is anyone being hosted rather than transported, which is the only question that pushes toward the S-Class.

That order is deliberate. A party of three with hand luggage fits a sedan comfortably. A party of two with four large cases does not, and needs an SUV despite being smaller. The seat count told you nothing useful in either case.

The practical consequence for booking is that the most useful sentence you can send is a bag count. Two adults, four large cases, two carry-ons is a complete brief. Two adults is not.

The luggage arithmetic, plainly

The figures below are working guidance rather than absolute limits, and unusual items should always be described rather than assumed to fit.

• Sedan, two passengers with two large cases, or three traveling light
• S-Class, the same as a sedan; this is a presentation choice, not a space one
• SUV, two to four passengers with up to four large cases
• Sprinter, five or more passengers, or any party with cruise-scale luggage
• Golf clubs, skis, instruments and production kit push a booking up a class regardless of headcount
• Cruise luggage runs to roughly two large cases per person, which changes the maths entirely

Child seats and family travel

Request child seats in advance and confirm the seat type, availability and fit for the actual vehicle.

Provide each child age, height and weight and the requested seat type or facing direction. Confirm the arrangement before accepting the reservation.

The other family consideration is that children inflate the effective luggage count considerably. A pushchair takes meaningful boot space, and a family of four traveling with children frequently needs the class above what the headcount suggests. Describe the pushchair as an item rather than assuming it disappears.

For families arriving at BWI, meet-and-greet is worth the supplement more often than not. A parent managing children, luggage and an unfamiliar terminal has enough to do without also looking for a vehicle.

Accessibility and mobility equipment

Mobility equipment should be described specifically at booking, by type rather than as a general note, because the vehicle requirement differs sharply between categories.

For a folding wheelchair, send folded dimensions along with the complete bag load. Confirm storage and loading suitability in the assigned vehicle.

For a powered wheelchair or mobility scooter, send dimensions, weight, loading needs and whether the passenger will remain seated in it. Confirm accessibility and any required equipment; a larger vehicle class alone is not sufficient.

Passengers who need assistance between a door and the vehicle should say so, and it will be noted on the booking so the chauffeur knows before they arrive rather than working it out on the spot.

For medical travel to the Johns Hopkins campus or elsewhere, naming the specific building rather than the campus matters as much as the vehicle, because the distance between the right entrance and a general drop point can be considerable for someone who is unwell.

Groups: compare one vehicle with a split itinerary

Compare both options using the same complete passenger and luggage manifest, pickup windows and destination.

On price, compare full written quotes. Neither a Sprinter nor multiple smaller vehicles has a guaranteed price advantage.

On reliability, two vehicles is two sets of timing to coordinate and two things that can go wrong. On a route with a genuine pinch point, the Fort McHenry Tunnel on the cruise terminal approach, or the Beltway on a bad morning, it is entirely possible for one vehicle to be held up while the other arrives, which leaves half a party waiting.

On experience, a group traveling together arrives together, which matters for cruise embarkation, for corporate teams heading to a meeting, and for families who would rather not be separated.

The exception is a party genuinely too large for one Sprinter, in which case multiple vehicles travel together and arrive together rather than being dispatched independently.

What the rate floors mean for vehicle choice

Published hourly floors give a starting point for comparing classes: sedan from $120 per hour, SUV $150, S-Class $230 and Sprinter $240, with a three-hour minimum on hourly hire. Point-to-point airport transfers are quoted for the journey rather than by the hour.

Read against those numbers, the sensible reading is that the sedan-to-SUV step is small enough that it should never be the reason to squeeze a party into a sedan that does not fit. The cost of the wrong vehicle at the curb is far larger than the difference between the two classes.

The S-Class step is larger and should be a deliberate choice rather than a default. It buys presentation, not space, and it is worth it for client and board travel and rarely worth it otherwise.

Calculate a per-person figure only from the confirmed group quote, after the assigned seats and luggage space fit everyone.

Full rate detail, including the three-hour minimum and the waiting policy, is on the rates page.