El Miameño

I am relocating to Texas from Miami and wanted to see what any AUS-based EXPs think of the flight schedules. I realize I'll be commuting to DFW a lot - but I also know there are a lot of flights.

I like both towns, but I know they are different. Like most road warriors, i can find the good in most cities.

My main business destinations for the next 18 months are likely to be SFO/SJC, SEA, LAX, MCO and JFK/LGA.

I know both airports well and that upgrades will be tough, but what about weather diversions, ease of use airport, traffic and parking at the airport, etc. How is it to be EXP in these cities?

MOD: you may move this if it's too far off topic.

Edit: by flight schedules I mean changing routes and cities mid-itinerary: never available, usually get upgraded when changing, evening flights, etc.

Hyperacusis

I lived a year in Dallas before moving back to AUS. The Austinite in me is somewhat biased, but I am more than happy to put up with the AUS-DFW extra segment to be able to live in this city. Also, you will get connecting upgrade priority out of DFW if you are AUS based. It did make the travel more challenging back when I did the weekly consulting type travel, but I didn't mind that much. If you have the chance to live in Austin, don't let it go.

FWIW, I never found the AUS-DFW flights too difficult to upgrade on. Not nearly as challenging as some of the peak SFO or LGA flights.

brp

You'll get better upgrades out of DFW starting in AUS as you'll be a through passenger.

But I would certainly not base where I wanted to live on something like this, especially with such a dichotomy as this.

Seriously, ask yourself - "Do I want to live in Austin, or do I want to live in Texas." It should be an easy question to answer.

Cheers.

boerne

As one of two EXPs that just relocated from OK to AUS, and lived in Dallas for 20 years, I would and did pick AUS. My wife was even more enthusiastic than I was. Parking is easier than DFW, upgrades are slightly easier, the AC is closer to the gates, alternate travel to the airport is slightly cheaper, they fly some 737s to ATX and there is much more to do in ATX with less travel, or even walking. And the weather is better in AUS than DFW. At least 1 nonstop a day to JFK. You will see DFW close for storms and ice much more often than AUS. However you might get stuck in AUS, which is no bad thing. Having said that, please choose DFW so we won't have to compete for the upgrades.

Just FYI the real estate market in AUS is unbelievably hot right now, so if housing costs are an issue, DFW will be cheaper.

El Miameño

Good replies, thanks.

I'm more Austin than Dallas, but wondered about the commute and the EXP experience tradeoffs (if any). SoFla is not a good commute to anywhere, hence the re-lo.

Yeah, this is only one factor: cost of living, lifestyle, real estate, etc. good point though, brp.

HNL

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Do I want to live in Texas? That's an easy one. No, but AUS is not really Texas.

Y29M

I can't really help you with upgrade chances etc but what I will say is that Austin is a fantastic city and I'm sure you'd have no regrets if you made the decision to live there! Good luck

aamilesslave

Although not near to the extent as Austin, I would say the same about Dallas proper. However, that's not necessarily the case with the entire DFW Metroplex, especially the farther west you go.

brp

Yup. That's exactly what I said. Choice between living in Austin and living in Texas.

Cheers.

saltytheseagull

The only places I would agree with this comment are Denton and Downtown Dallas.

Pick Austin. I wish my company would move there.

teemuflyer

Being an Austinite, I cordially ask you to pick DFW

All kidding aside, I love Austin, and as an multi-year EXP, I have found that the frequency of flights to DFW for the majority of my connections I need to make are quite sufficient, plus you get the 500 mile minimum for a 183 mile flight!

Since I don't book as originating from DFW, I don't know what the Int'l routing rules are, because I always get offered a variety of routing options through the other hubs as well. Example AUS-NRT will show me options of AUS-DFW-NRT, AUS-LAX-NRT & AUS-ORD-NRT.

AAExPlat

I don't really concur that AUS-DFW is a really easy upgrade. Even with through-priority and tix booked months in advance, I have missed 2 this year and have almost missed several more. This is increasingly a very hard upgrade. Not as bad as JFK-SFO or JFK-LAX, mind you, but it isn't all that easy anymore...

El Miameño

Again, thanks FTers. We say the same about Miami: "We like it because it's so close to the US."

Stripe

I would also recommend AUS, although I am reluctant to encourage yet another frequent flyer to an airport that is quickly reaching, if not exceeding, its capacity. You will get to, and through, the airport much more quickly, the AA fares ex-AUS are often less expensive than those ex-DFW, the frequency of flights to/from DFW is good, the ground staff at AUS gets to know their frequent customers, and the extra segment will get you to EXP that much more quickly. As for upgrades, AUS is home to many EXPs. Almost all of my upgrade misses (there haven't been many) since 2009 have been on the DFW-AUS leg, although I often originated at DFW and therefore fell behind the connectors in priority.

swag

I'd be hard pressed to suggest choosing a city based on what it's like to travel from there, but as a frequent business traveler, DFW airport is among the best places to be based. You can get almost anywhere in the the US on a nonstop, in 3-4 hours or less. Traffic to the airport isn't bad compared to many places, and you can get from car to gate in 10 minutes, often less, especially if you're elite & pre-check.

You're worried about irrop handling, but the chances of those irrops go up exponentially once you're connecting.

But that said, Austin is a very cool town and probably gets the edge.