SeaTac (SEA) Pickup Guide: Arrivals Pickup Step-By-Step

Picking someone up from SeaTac is always a bit of a puzzle. Especially if it’s your first time or your passenger is coming in on an international flight and you’re not sure how long customs will take. I’ve been driving people from the airport for over 20 years, and I’ve seen every possible scenario — from perfect pickups to people circling the parking lot for an hour because they didn’t know about the Cell Phone Lot.

This is a practical guide without the fluff. I’ll walk you through how different pickup zones work, what time buffers actually make sense, and where most people mess up.

SeaTac (SEA) in 60 seconds: what to do first

First thing you need to do — don’t drive straight to the terminal. Seriously.

SeaTac runs tight: if you just pull up to the arrivals curb and wait, airport police or staff will start moving you along within 2-3 minutes. The arrivals zone isn’t a waiting area, it’s a conveyor belt. People come out, get in the car, leave.

Here’s what actually works:

Contact your passenger ahead of time. Get the flight number and check arrival status through FlightAware or the airport app. Domestic flights usually come into the main terminal (main central building), international flights land at the south satellite — that’s the underground section with customs.

Once the plane lands, give your passenger time. For domestic flights I usually figure 15-20 minutes from landing to baggage claim. International is a different story — minimum 45 minutes, and during peak hours it can stretch to an hour and a half. I’ve seen longer.

While your passenger is walking to the exit, you drive to the Cell Phone Lot. It’s free waiting parking, and from there it’s maybe 2 minutes to the terminal. When your passenger says “I’m out, grabbing my bags” — that’s when you head over.

That’s the basic framework. Now for the details.

Pickup/drop-off options (curbside, garage, meet & greet)

SeaTac has three main ways to pick up a passenger, and each works for different situations.

Curbside pickup (arrivals curb)

This is the fastest option, but only works if your passenger is already standing at the exit with bags in hand. Arrivals level is the lower level of the terminal, with “Arrivals” signs and crowds of people at the doors.

You pull up, passenger gets right in, and you’re gone. Perfect for business trips when someone’s flying with carry-on or has one suitcase. The whole thing takes maybe 30 seconds if it goes smoothly.

Important: don’t sit still. If your passenger isn’t out immediately — do a loop or head back to the Cell Phone Lot. You can’t stay put. They’ll start moving you along within a minute or two, and airport police at SeaTac don’t mess around with this.

Parking garage (3rd floor)

If you need time — passenger is still in line for baggage, or you arrived early, or whatever — park in the garage. The 3rd floor garage connects directly to arrivals level through covered walkways, so you don’t even get wet if it’s raining.

First hour is $5, more after that. But it’s convenient when a flight’s delayed or customs is slow. You can calmly meet the person at baggage claim, help with suitcases, walk to the car without rushing.

I use the garage when picking up elderly folks or families with kids. They don’t need the stress of a curbside rush, and honestly neither do I when there are three suitcases and a stroller involved.

Meet & greet (professional option)

This is what services like SeaTac airport transportation do — driver meets the passenger inside the terminal with a sign, helps with luggage, leads them to the car.

Meet & greet costs more, but it’s a different level of comfort. Especially for international flights when the passenger doesn’t know where the exit is. Or when you have a VIP client and need to make an impression.

The driver tracks the flight, knows where to stand so the passenger spots them immediately. Usually at the baggage carousel or right at the customs exit for international arrivals. No running around, no stress, no “where are you” phone tag.

Timing: buffers that work (weekday vs weekend)

Time buffers — this is where most people get it wrong. They either show up too early and sit in parking for an hour, or they’re late and make the passenger wait.

Here are realistic numbers, tested over years:

Domestic flights (Alaska, Southwest, Delta, etc.):

From landing to baggage claim takes about 15-20 minutes. Then grabbing the actual baggage is another 10-15 minutes, depending on how fast the carousel moves. Total you’re looking at 25-35 minutes from “landed” to “I’m at the exit.”

Weekday morning though — 6 to 9 AM — add 10 minutes to that. Lots of business flights during this time, baggage claim is packed, everything moves slower.

Weekend evening after 5 PM, same deal. More people, more bags, more waiting. Figure on the longer end of that range.

International flights:

This is where it gets tricky. From landing to customs is 15-20 minutes — they have to ride the train from the satellite terminal. Then passport control can be anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. If they have Global Entry it’s faster, but most people don’t.

Grabbing baggage adds another 10-15 minutes. Then customs is usually quick, maybe 5-10 minutes unless they decide to open someone’s bags. Total you’re looking at 45 minutes to an hour and a half. Sometimes more.

Weekday anytime — I always plan for an hour minimum. If a flight from Asia or Europe landed at the same time as other international arrivals, you’re probably looking at closer to 90 minutes. I’ve had passengers stuck in passport control for over an hour when three wide-body jets arrived within 20 minutes of each other.

Weekend makes almost no difference for international. Customs operates the same way regardless of the day.

My advice? Use the Cell Phone Lot. When the flight lands, give your passenger the estimated time — 30 minutes for domestic, 60 for international — and ask them to text when they’re actually at baggage claim. Then you leave right on time. Works every single time.

Price factors: fixed rates, wait time, tips

If you’re booking professional service rather than picking up yourself, here’s what affects the price.

Fixed rate vs metered

Most companies, including Tacoma town car service, work on fixed rates for airport transfers. That means the price is known upfront. Doesn’t matter how long you sat in traffic on I-5 or how long the passenger took getting out of the terminal — price is the price.

Fixed rate is convenient because there are no surprises. You know that SeaTac to Downtown Seattle costs, say, $75, and that’s it. Done.

Uber and Lyft run on meters, and the price can jump 2-3x during surge pricing. I’ve seen people pay $120 for the same ride that usually costs $40. During a Seahawks game or when it’s raining, surge can get brutal.

Wait time

Most services include 15-30 minutes of free waiting for domestic flights and 45-60 minutes for international. That’s normal — flights get delayed, customs can be slow, stuff happens.

If the passenger is later than that, they charge wait time. Usually $1-2 per minute, which honestly is fair because the driver is just sitting there losing time. Could be doing another ride.

To avoid wait time charges: be realistic with your calculations, track the flight, and warn the driver if something’s going wrong. Most drivers are pretty flexible if you communicate.

Tips

Standard tip for airport transfers is 15-20%. If the driver helped with heavy suitcases, was punctual, and the ride was comfortable — that’s a fair number.

Less than 15% is considered low. More than 20% is for exceptional service, like the driver waited for you two hours because of a flight delay and didn’t complain. Or helped you carry bags up three flights of stairs or something.

Some companies include gratuity in the bill, so check ahead. You don’t want to tip twice.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Over the years I’ve seen the same mistakes over and over. Here’s the top 5, and trust me, I’ve made some of these myself before I learned better.

1. Standing at arrivals curb waiting

People think they can just pull up and wait 10-15 minutes. You can’t. SeaTac is one of the strictest airports when it comes to enforcement. Airport police will start knocking on your window within a couple minutes telling you to move.

I’ve watched people get increasingly frustrated doing loops for 20 minutes because their passenger is slow. It’s miserable.

Solution: Cell Phone Lot or garage. Arrivals curb is for immediate pickup only. Like, passenger is standing there with bags, you pull up, they get in, you’re gone in 30 seconds. That’s the only scenario where curbside works.

2. Not knowing where to meet

“I’m at arrivals” isn’t an address. At SeaTac the arrivals level is divided into three zones — north end, center, south end — plus there are something like 16 different doors. Your passenger might come out door 12 while you’re standing at door 4, and you won’t see each other.

Then you’re both walking around looking, and it turns into this whole thing.

Solution: agree on a specific spot before they even land. I usually say door 00, which is right between Alaska and Delta in the center section. Or I ask which baggage carousel they’re at and tell them the nearest door number. Takes 10 seconds to figure out, saves 15 minutes of wandering.

3. Underestimating international flights

People think 30 minutes is enough. It’s not even close. Customs at SeaTac can be really slow, especially if two or three international flights arrived at the same time. Which happens a lot in the afternoon — that’s when most Asia and Europe flights land.

I had a passenger once who spent 90 minutes in passport control because they had some issue with their visa paperwork. Nothing major, but it took forever to sort out.

Solution: budget an hour minimum for international. Better to sit 20 minutes in the Cell Phone Lot reading email than make your passenger wait in the cold with their luggage while you fight traffic trying to get there.

4. Ignoring flight tracking

You left at 2 PM because the flight was supposed to arrive at 2:30. But the flight got delayed an hour, and now you’re stuck in parking paying $3 every half hour.

Or worse — the flight arrived early and your passenger is standing outside for 20 minutes wondering where you are.

Solution: check flight status before leaving. FlightAware, FlightStats, or the airport app — they all show real-time updates. Takes 30 seconds. If the flight’s delayed, you stay home and leave later. If it’s early, you adjust. Simple.

5. Not accounting for traffic

SeaTac sits between Seattle and Tacoma, right on I-5. And I-5 during rush hour is a nightmare. If you’re driving from Seattle at 4 PM on a Friday, the drive might take 50 minutes instead of 20. I’ve had it take over an hour when there was an accident.

From Tacoma it’s usually better, but 405 can get ugly too if you’re coming from the east side.

Solution: leave earlier. Google Maps shows traffic in real time — I usually add 20-30% to whatever it says during rush hour. So if it says 25 minutes, I plan for 35. Haven’t missed a pickup in years doing that.

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FAQ

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Main thing — plan ahead, don’t rush, and remember that the Cell Phone Lot is your best friend. Everything else is a matter of experience, and honestly you learn more from one screwed-up pickup than from ten perfect ones.