CMK10

Cousin's in Terminal D is pretty good. They have really tasty sausage.

Paint Horse

Cousin's is very good.

aau

Three votes for Cousin's! Thanks, FT comes through again.

WildUtah

I'm a prisoner. Here in SLC I'm stuck with Delta's unreliable and shockingly expensive service for most of my travel. My lifetime AAdvaantage miles are only in the four figures. But DL has permanently cancelled my most flown direct flight so I can now sometimes try something else.

There was an AA ticket for sale at $200 less than I usually pay, $300 less than DL wanted, for my next flight. So I bought it.

Problem is, there's a 10+ hour layover at DFW on the return. So I wanted to ask for advice here.

* Is it possible that some nice gate agent will put me on an earlier flight to SLC if I ask politely? Should I even try?

* If I can't catch an earlier flight, is there are nice soft place, maybe even with an electric outlet, where a person could camp out and read or exchange emails for a few hours inside DFW? Where would be the best place to get lunch?

* Since I might well have a long time in the city, all during daylight hours, maybe I should get a taste of Dallas. It looks like there are two ways into town with shuttles to the TRE or DART Orange Line; which is better? What's the most fun thing to do in July in downtown Dallas in the morning, or in the early afternoon? Is there are particular place I need to know to breakfast or eat lunch downtown? What's the best of museums, parks, arts districts, architecture, historic districts, or whatever people like, accessible without a car?

If you have an informed or strong opinion about any of the above, I'd be pleased to hear it. Thanks, AA Flyertalkers.

Doc Savage

Wasting 10hours to save $200-$300 dollars? Wow.

swag

Here are AA's rules for getting on an earlier flight:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/sameDayTravel.jsp
If it's available, it'll cost $75.

If you are hanging out in the airport, look for the DFW Airport Travel Lounge at gates A29, B8, B28, C8, C27, E8. These are free, small areas (~10-20 seats), quiet and out of the way, with cushy seats and desks with outlets. Most are tucked in behind starbucks.

What day of week?

nunusguy

Check out downtown Ft Worth and its Sundance Square, it's much more interesting than anything downtown Dallas has to offer. There's a reason that ESPN originated it's Super Bowl coverage from there instead of Dallas.

JDiver

AA's policies have been linked to, and as this seems mostly about what do do at DFW and the Metroplex, it is going to the Texas Forum.

/Moderator

zippy the pinhead

Well, don't bother trying Cousin's BBQ.

EmailKid

+1

Just be careful about TRE, it does not run often outside of rush hour, and can run late and/or be cancelled, including for severely hot weather (something to do with tracks and not being able to go full speed).

WildUtah

Thanks for the link to the AA rules and the travel lounge pointer.

I'm in Dallas on a Monday.

swag

I was going to suggest DART from the airport to the Dallas Arts District, a visit to the museums, and lunch at the food trucks at Klyde Warren Park, but the museums are closed on Mondays.

The American Airlines CR Smith museum, another frequent recommendation for DFW layovers,is also closed Mondays.

Sundance Square is pretty cool in the evenings, but besides getting some lunch, I don't know if there's much to do there midday.

EmailKid

Riscky's BBQ and their awesome margaritas

Somehow I've managed to find some interesting things to do during daytime, but now that the subway to Tandy center is gone it's not as much fun

mikew99

I have a rather unseemly connection at DFW coming up. (The alternative was a 45-minute connection that I concluded was even worse!) I arrive at 5:35 am and depart at 12:15 pm. Not much will be open during that time of the morning! My first thought was to head to Grapevine, but the shuttle doesn't even start running until 10 am.

Given that four hours at the DFW Minute Suites would cost $100, my other idea is to spend this money instead on a (lavish?) breakfast at one of the airport Hyatts.

But now I see that the new DFW Airport Station will start service on the DART Orange Line on August 18, only a few days before my layover there. Are there any points of interest at some point along the Orange Line that will allow me to kill a few hours? Perhaps a well-known place to have breakfast?

mikew99

Not everyone places the same value on their time; to some people (perhaps not to those in Atherton?), $300 is a considerable amount of money. It looks as if WildUtah is trying to not only save money but also make good use of the time so that it is not wasted. As someone who is enjoying (temporarily, anyhow) my retirement, I would likely have have made the same decision!