Dallas Fort-Worth Airport

This is my hometown airport. It's great to fly out of and fine to fly back into as a final destination. But I cannot imagine have to change planes here even with the Skylink. Real hassle. On the upside the new terminal D is very very cool and the staff is extremely nice and helpful. (They have volunteers in cowboy hats to welcome you and offer help and directions.) The restaurants and shops are reasonably priced and good quality.

Never thought I'd write these words but I had a very agreeable TSA experience when transiting DFW the other week. Having along with a herd of fellow PAX deposited my hand baggage items + shoes on the conveyor for scanning I then filed through the x-ray brandishing my boarding pass and photo ID. The man checking these engaged in pleasant chat with everyone who passed through - "How are you doing Sir/Madam?" and commented on our destinations - "Tampa Florida Sir? Nice place..." OK so it was a bit of an charade but I welcomed the injection of a bit of humanity to took the sting out of a normally stressful experience. So has the DFW example of the TSA human touch been rolled out nationally? Anything but it seems - thus at TPA just two of us in line boarding passes and photo IDs in hand - but this did not stop a martinet TSA person from bellowing at us harshly to have these items ready (with an absence of Please! too) - she did not even bother to check that we were ready for her which makes one wonder about the actual vigilance of TSA employees. Likewise long security lines at STL encouraged a TSA guy to bellow at (and irritate) all and sundry.

Connected in DFW enroute SEA-DCA. Clean comfortable and with great amenities. Choices for eating were good. Found the concourse to be light-filled with good views of the airside. Transit time was brief but I would not hesitate to go through DFW again.

With the new Terminal D DFW has become much much better. Customs & Immigration are the quickest most efficient that I have seen at any US airport. International baggage claim is fast as well. If you are connecting to another flight however it can be a bit confusing. When visited there were several different baggage recheck stations depending on destination and there was not much direction available. Signage for inter-terminal connections in the International arrivals area is also in need of improvement. AA's domestic terminals (A and C primarily) continue to be renovated and are improving. Terminal D departures area is easily the nicest in the whole airport if not the state.

I live in the Dallas area and use DFW frequently. If DFW is your starting or end point it's not a bad airport really. Parking is plentiful and if you live in the area it's especially nice that you can use your TollTag to pay for parking and avoid the lines! Security rarely takes more than 10 minutes to get through; even if your line is backed up there are a minimum of 3 checkpoints in each terminal so you can just walk to another one and then walk to your gate (and now with the new inter terminal train it's a legitimate option to go through security in a different terminal altogether if you're flying AA). Bags usuallly come quickly - generally 20 minutes or less - and having the baggage claim right outside your gate area is a nice touch. If you're coming in from overseas immigration is also relatively hassle free. I frequently take the Lufthansa FRA-DFW flight that arrives mid-afternoon and I've never had to wait in line more than 20 minutes. Taxi times can be a bit longish since the airport is so huge but at least delays are fairly rare (though God help you if you get caught here during one of our rare winter storms - you're not going anywhere anytime soon as the whole metro area shuts down). I've never had to connect through DFW but I could see how the aiports massive size could cause problems for connections; then again things are supposedly much better with the new inter-terminal train system.

I fail to see why everyone is commenting on the bad plans of the layout at DFW. I wonder if they have ever visited other airports like Atlanta Hartsfield. DFW is brilliant in the fact that they have security entrances at every terminal along with a baggage claim for each terminal. Layovers aren't bad either. If you can read you can navigate through DFW. As for the individual who associated DFW as bad because American Airlines was there and they change gates all the time I challenge you to find me an airport where gate changes don't happen.

The problems connecting at DFW are gone with the addition of Skylink. There are 2 stations at the N & S ends of each terminals (all inside security). The new international terminal is the premiere international terminal. The maximum ride time is 10 min (furthest distance) and the wait for a train is around 2 min. Most passengers can get to another terminal if needed in a maximum time of around 15 min. Most airlines allow at least an hour to connect. Anyone with common sense would read the signs and ride Skylink to their next terminal if needed. With the addition of Skylink you will not find a better airport to begin end or connect to your final destination. DFW is far better than ATL (talk about long walks and the old underground train doesnt offer the view skylink does of Dallas & Fort Worth. DFW has positioned itself for the spike in air travel before all other major airports. Look for it to be well positioned for future passenger growth.

Flying by Air Canada Jazz we used the brand new Term D that just opened the week before. I have to admit that i think that was one of the shortest walks I've taken from the gate to get to my luggage. It took about 3 mins tops to get from the gate. I didn't have to wait too long for the luggage to arrive - it took about 10-15 mins. But I guess not alot of others would get this since only flights from Canada don't have to go through customs at Term D. Upon leaving things went by pretty smooth. The check-in area is massive and the ACJ counter is at the very end. Going through security was a breeze. The only knock i had against DFW is alot of shops weren't open at the time - they should have waited at least another week before opening Term D since alot of the shops and stores weren't open yet. I'm sure by now Term D is up and running at 100%. It didn't turn out as bad as everyone said it would be.

I do like the fact that the luggage carousel is just a step away from your gate and that helps things if DFW is your final destination. I wish other airports would do that. Think of the time it would save! I also like that the check in at the curb is no more than a minute or two from your gate. However if DFW is your connecting airport that is another story! The 'airtrain" has to be the slowest way to get to your next gate which of course is on the other side of the airport. The train is fine if you have an hour or so between flights but for some reason you are delayed it is agonizing to be on the train hoping you can make your flight. So if I were giving stars DFW would get four out of ten. Good restaurants shopping etc bathrooms not very clean.

I live in Austin and I have to go through DFW more often than not. Everything they say about DFW is true and I think I know the reason: DFW was designed to be an endpoint not a hub. The horseshoe- shaped terminals are great for jumping out of the jetway go across the aisle get your luggage and get out of the terminal. I don't believe the designers thought the best way to go from point A to B is through a semi-circle. The problem is that DFW would be dead as an endpoint. Let's face it the Dallas/Fort Worth area doesn't receive that many visitors. DFW has grown so much in an attempt to make it more hub-like which is costing a lot of money: three trains (well - two now) none of which actually solves the problem sings all over the place advising you when to walk and when to take the train annoying golf carts asking you to get out of the way and all sorts of gimmicks to make the place more efficient. If out of a sudden AA went bust DFW would be a hot potato in the hands of the two city governments. So now DFW's survival depends on AA remaining aloft or some other airline taking it as a hub if AA went away. The problem is the first thing an airline operations manager will see is that DFW's design is not the best for a hub SkyLink and all.