FlyerTalk Forums - AA Begins Through-Ticketing at DAL

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Quote:

Originally Posted by bbkenney

Terminal D is a beauty, no question. Good beer, good food, but if your close connection is in C, or, worse, you park your car at D, have checked bags and arrive back at DFW in C, huge pain. I guess its just life at any huge international airport but DFW airfares are largely predatory. This sham of a "compromise" may indeed benefit AA and WN but it screws the traveling public in Dallas.

The checked bag strategy is to take the train to your car right when you get off the flight, drive the car back to where the bags will arrive, park in the hourly parking and walk in to get your bags.

If this is done efficiently, most times you will be back to the baggage claim before your bags come off

Quote:

Originally Posted by DallasAudiGuy

I do this at DFW ALL the time, and any more, I usually beat my bags to the belt. Of course, before Sky Link, this wasn't always the case! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFWFlyer2

I do this at DFW ALL the time, and any more, I usually beat my bags to the belt. Of course, before Sky Link, this wasn't always the case! ;)

I understand this workaround and I do it all the time. Skylink has made it a lot better, but smooth it ain't. Also, I have yet to beat my bag to the carousel and usually have to get it out of the stack the baggage folks have taken off the carousels.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HKG_Flyer1

It really is a hassle, especially for business travellers. A typical problem I deal with week in and week out is the DFW-New York route. Last minute fare: $1,418.60 for the non-stop.

As a result, we frequently end up putting even senior, high-paid executives on cheaper connecting flights with US, NW etc. via Charlotte, Memphis, Washington Reagan, etc. It's really crazy. And forget about making last minute schedule changes to accommodate an unexpected meeting.

Our colleagues in New York hate flying down here because of the cost, as well. They can fly to L.A. for half the price.

I know it's not much of a consolation, but just thought some might like to know that a good travel agent can get AA to match other carrier's fares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aamilesslave

I know it's not much of a consolation, but just thought some might like to know that a good travel agent can get AA to match other carrier's fares.

Errrr... care to give me some more clues? I've been here five years and haven't been able to find a work around. But I haven't dealt with any travel agents, either. Maybe the DFW market is one in which they still add significant value.

In any case, would love to hear more.

I live off the Tollway north of LBJ. According to Yahoo maps, it is 19 miles and 21 minutes to DFW. 11 miles and 16 minutes to DAL. So only a 5 minute difference officially; in practice, traffic on LBJ may add a few minutes to the DFW trip.

But once I get to DFW, I can find a space easier than at DAL, I am closer to security than at DAL, and security to my AA gate is closer than at DAL. From home to gate, it's pretty much a wash, or close enough to not be a deciding factor.

For folks in the Park Cities, I'm sure DAL is much more convenient, and demographically, those are desirable customers. But HP and UP have a combined population of less than 35,000 (compared with 4 million in the metroplex). That can't be enough to be driving business decisions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HKG_Flyer1

A good relation with a good travel agent is probaby the key for them to go the extra mile to do this. I have been using a TA that many of my collegues use, but she's not really a company travel agent. My TA has a rep at AA that she contacts for various issues (AAdvantage awards/upgrades, fare matches, etc.). This past week, the TA was having a hard time finding a flight for a collegue from ORD to LA at a reasonable fare. She found a much better fare on United, so she called her AA rep to see if they would match it...and they did match it. Just be aware that TAs these days do have to charge extra for their services....in my case 10%, $50 max domestic, $200 max international (although she often reduces the fees, especially for international or if I'm booking personal travel).

Sometimes it's hard for me to justify using a TA when I do so much research ahead of time on my own. However, when I don't have time to do the research or when my TA does her magic of finding a "package" deal that is far cheaper than airfare alone (even if I don't use the hotel in the package), going the TA route seems well worth it.

As always, YMMV.