fdog

Headed home today, left LIT (Little Rock AR) early this AM on AA #3589.

Arrived in DFW. As I walked out of the jetbridge, there were quite a few airport & AA staff there to greet us! They were handing out goodies, and it was kinda a medium sized to-do. Pictures and video being shot.

Apparently, the very first flight into DFW was an AA flight from Little Rock. AA341 on 13 Jan 1974, and they were commemorating it - our flight was the first that day from LIT.





Unexpected, was cool, and brightened up my day.


All the best, James

Antarius

Was it going on to NRT?

But seriously, that's a cool gesture. DFW was one heck of a well done long term plan.

zdcatc12

Other than the terminals set up for O & D traffic instead of connecting.

AAway

You got a water cannon salute too upon arrival, right?

Stripe

DFW is one of the easiest airports to connect in. Name another major airline hub with similar flight volume that is better. The SkyLink train is quick and efficient, any connection can be done by walking (except to E), and there is a club in each terminal where you can always find a seat.

lrdpenn

Despite the intent of the original design, I have had way more unpleasant experiences as an originating DFW passenger vs connecting

platbrownguy

+1

Originating with checked luggage at D but coming back into A, only to have to lug stuff into a shuttle etc., or the alternative of parking far away = not a fun gamble. Seamless, of course, if you happen to park right across from C19, leave from the gate, and fly back into the same gate.

Never had trouble connecting except the odd time the Sky Link got stuck.

lrdpenn

While there is no question the SkyLink IMO is one of the world’s best airport people movers today and was a welcome replacement, the old trAAin system wiki is quite a fun read:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vought_Airtrans

Building basically a mini transit system for the entire airport with the ambition to serve all needs was quite an interesting take, especially as airports were figuring out their most efficient design in the modern age. I’m not an airport historian but perhaps its failures at certain tasks (eg cargo) influenced the future design of airports.

I do hand it to DFW for seeming to always be a step ahead. Well, maybe except for those new fake lighted “trees” in Term A

lrdpenn

Indeed the only thing IAH does better than DFW is the Disney “subway” outside security!

bchandler02

I have to agree. A <30 min connection there doesn't scare me at all. I can't think of another hub airport where I feel the same. I recently had to connect in DEN on UA, which involved a .75 mile walk from one end of B to the other. Not fun.
I find DFW to be efficient, good choice of food/drinks, good club access, as decent as TSA/CBP can be when I have to use them - by far my favorite airport to connect in.

dmsdfw

Just get the train airside to where you parked, grab your car, drive back to where your luggage will be and pick it up. That way you are making best use of the time it takes the luggage to come out. The only time this doesn't work is for international arrivals, but since these will always be in D, if you are on an international arrival back then park at D on your way out.

enviroian

I agree but...when skylink is down for mx it immediately becomes the hardest to connect in. It's happened to me twice and not fun.

slpybear

This is the way. Rare is the occasion when MrsSlpybear and I will check a bag. (typically with the family) But when we do we will divide and conquer, one going to luggage and one going to car.

Sidenote: The older we get the increasing number of days we will travel in checked bags. We did 12 days in Europe with cold weather gear this past December. Never would have believed we could do that with checked bags but we did.

Herb687

NW terminal at DTW
UA's "Terminal for Tomorrow" at ORD (so branded when it debuted in the mid 1980s; it's still pretty efficient)
UA <> UA at SFO

Obviously there's a caveat that ORD is one of the worst possible airports for I>D connections but for strictly domestic online connections, UA-UA at ORD is pretty easy in light of the volume of traffic.

I really don't like the layout of KATL (mainly because the concourses are too narrow) but I will say that DL's overall efficiency at that hub blows AA DFW out of the water. Sure, you might be able to make a 30 minute connection at DFW, but will AA's incompetent, slow rampers get your bags to your next flight? DL seems to have figured out how to staff up a large hub operation to do tight connections well. AA seems clueless and understaffed in comparison.

Antarius

McNamara is nice, but it also can involve some serious walking. IME, it's like MIA albeit nicer.

ORD, like you said is fine when you're in one terminal and horrendous otherwise.

That's more AA than ATL or DFW. I have no idea how AA manages to do such a bad job with reasonable checked bag delivery time.