Tidbits for Flying out of DFW

When flying American Airlines (AA) out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) there are certain actions you can take to save a lot of time and hassle. Here’s a few that help me during my travels.

Use Terminal E. Which means; don’t fly American Airlines (AA). AirTran, Alaska, ATA, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Mesa, Midwest, Northwest, and USAirways use Terminal D. AA uses Terminals A, B, C and D. If you are flying on AA, my personal experience has shown that at least 50% of the time you will arrive at a different terminal than you departed from, which means your car is parked at a different terminal.

Terminal E is at the south end of the airport and is the least used terminal. Terminal parking is ample and security lines are the fasted of all 5 terminals at DFW. Since each airline using Terminal E has a handful of flights of day, there is usually no delay in getting to a gate upon your arrival. You don’t have to hear the “well folks, we got you here early, but you have to sit on the airplane until they find a gate for us” speech.

Parking - Off airport, long term parking is the cheapest, but not always the fastest. This adds an additional 30 minutes on to your trip once you are off the airplane and get your luggage. If flying on AA, use off airport long term parking or the valet parking service because, again, my personal experience has shown that at least 50% of the time you will arrive at a different terminal than you departed from, which means your car is parked at a different terminal. Valet parking is of course more expensive but t saves you time and the inconvenience of going to a different terminal for your car. You call ahead and give the dispatcher your arrival information and they will have your car waiting for you at the terminal where you arrive. The car can also be washed and detailed for you.

If you have to park terminal side, or if you are just being picked up or dropped off, use the toll tag lanes when you enter the airport. The parking fee is charged to your toll tag and the lines to enter and leave the airport are much shorter, even during the busy times of the day. REMEMBER, you must use the toll tags lanes both ways or it screws up your toll tag account.

If you are flying on AA and your flight is delayed, and I mean really delayed, as in hours, be aware of the following; if you are sent from gate to gate, then terminal to terminal, in what is called the rolling delay, with no actual assigned aircraft. Be aware of the gate change to Terminal D, as in “dead zone”. There are several gates that AA uses at Terminal D that are for passengers that they do not know what to do with yet, and just want them out of the way.

Also, if they tell you that the delay will be hours, ask about other flights to the same city on American Eagle. AA agents will usually not offer alternate earlier flights on American Eagle because your ticket revenue would go to Eagle and not AA. Yes, I know, it's all the same airline to you and I, but not according to the accountants. AA and AE are each responsible for their own profit and loss. There are many cities that AA services out of DFW that have multiple flights using AA and American Eagle aircraft. It just depends on the departure times.

If you get stuck in Terminal D, go to the restaurants upstairs on the so-called second floor. They are usually less crowded, have good food, hospitable service, and no screaming kids running around. It’s the unofficial no-baby-carriage zone.

I hope these tidbits help you as much as they've helped me.


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