Anyone familiar with DFW?

[gumballz]

As of right now we have flights on AA from Phoenix to Miami in April, with a plane change in DFW. In DFW we have a terminal change. The time between flights is 53 minutes. Are we going to have to really rush to make that connecting flight or is 53 minutes plenty of time to get off the plane, get to the other terminal and check in before they give our seats away?

 

We know that our flights can be changed by AA at any time......I'm just asking in case they don't change. :) Thanks for your help!

[wrp96]

You will have plenty of time. Don't dawdle though. When I flew AA in January I had to make a change at DFW with a 45 minute connection, changing from Terminal B to Terminal A. I walked up to the gate before they even started calling the 1st class cabin. You won't have to check in again in Dallas since you booked through on AA. AA has a train that will take you between the terminals. And, I may be wrong, but DFW has added a train that will take you between all the terminals, not just the AA ones.

[SPI_Rick]

Gumballz, IF your flight into DFW is on time (you'll note that is was a big 'if'), then you should be OK. See the link below for information on how to connect between terminals at DFW:

 

 

http://www.dfwairport.com/transport/connect.html

[gumballz]

lol....I've thought of the IF. That leads to a new question.....IF we miss our connection, what happens at that point? :confused: I've never missed a plane before.

[wrp96]

If you miss the flight, know the schedules of the next flights, on any airline, that could get you there in time. Have your cell phone with you and have the airlines numbers programmed in. Usually you will have to go to customer service to have them rebook you on another flight. If you get to customer service and there is a line, get on your cell phone while you are waiting and call the airline and have them rebook you.

[texancruzer]

Since we have to fly thru either Dallas or Houston ANYTIME we go somewhere (from Corpus Christi) we have done Dallas countless times..... depends on which terminals you are involved in... I have done a terminal change in 20 minutes :eek: of coursing my son and I were running the entire time...except when on the tram. Not something I would want to do again. But 53 minutes should be plenty. Look in the airline book in the pocket of the seat in front of you while on the plane (they usually have diagrams of the airport) and get an idea of where you are going... if you get confused - dont wait - ask someone !!!! Have a super trip.

[gumballz]

If I miss the connection and need to get on another flight......what kind of cost is involved? Will I need to buy two new tickets at the current rate or is there a discounted rate due to circumstances or ???

 

Thanks for all the advice

[wrp96]

If you miss a connection no cost is involved in getting another flight because it is the airline's fault and not yours. The only reason there would be a cost is if you booked yourself an illegal connection, which at 53 minutes you definitely did not do.

[gumballz]

They cover the cost even if I end up having to use another carrier? If I end up missing the connection and having to find another flight, will my DH and I be on standby? I've never done that either. lol

 

Thanks for all the information. I learn so much on this board!

[SPI_Rick]

Gumballz, I can't vouch for the accuracy of this information, but you might want to check out the following link:

 

 

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/travel/air/handbook/part2/section-10.html

 

The airline is responsible for getting you to your destination if you miss a connection due to their flight being late even if it involves booking you on another airline.....HOWEVER....depending on weather or passenger loads or the mood of the customer service representative they may not book you on the next departing flight. So, if you are delayed, you could arrive in Miami just in time to watch the ship sail out of the harbor. That is why you will want to have access to other airlines 800 numbers and idea of what other flights are available.

 

But once you've taken the precaution of getting that information (before your flight)......relax.....you should make your connection just fine and your biggest worry will be whether to order domestic or imported beer on the flight.

[Fabulous2B50]

The tram is not always reliable. Once it broke down in the middle of nowhere while we were in between terminals. It finally got going again, but I was glad we did not have as short a connection as you did. Definitely keep your cell phone charged so you can call AA if this happens.

[wrp96]

They cover the cost even if I end up having to use another carrier? If I end up missing the connection and having to find another flight, will my DH and I be on standby? I've never done that either. lol

 

Thanks for all the information. I learn so much on this board!

 

If your airline rebooks you on another carrier you won't have to pay. If you take it upon yourself to just go book another seat on another carrier then you will have to pay. That is why we say while you are waiting in line to see the customer service rep face to face, call AA's customer service line and have them rebook you. You will jump ahead of the people who are ahead of you in line.

 

For example, last May I flew to San Diego via DFW on AA. Due to bad weather the day before our DFW-San Diego flight was cancelled. AA wanted to just put us on a NW flight through Minneapolis which got us there 6 hours too late, as they tried to tell us our Little Rock-DFW flight was cancelled as well. While the AA customer service rep kept saying that the only flights available would not get us there in time, my family and I all got on the internet and searched for flights that would work. We then gave the AA rep options of which flights they could put us on with other carriers. We ended up flying Delta from DFW to San Diego on Delta at no extra charge to us, and actually got there earlier than our original AA flight would have. However, we had to be proactive and know the flights that would work and tell them that.

 

When I missed my flight out of Miami after my last cruise, AA put me on a later flight and bumped me up to business class at no extra charge because that was the only seat available to get me home that day. If I had been traveling with somebody else, it is likely that at least one of would've ended up flying standby and not getting home that day.

 

AA is going to want to put you on their flights first, their partner airlines 2nd, and last resort any other carriers. And the flights they offer you first won't necessarily be ones that work for you. If you are traveling on a busy travel day, you may very well end up flying stand by especially if other people are in the same boat as you. That is why you need to be proactive and know the flight schedules. Look online the night before you travel, or even better the morning of travel, to see which flights have seats available. That way when you are talking to the customer service rep you can say well Flight # such and such had seats available this morning and will get us there on time.

[gumballz]

Great advice. Thanks everyone. When the time gets closer I'll be watching things closely, taking notes and writing down phone numbers!

[meredith]

I fly in and out of DFW just about every other week, my husband also works at DFW. If you are late getting "into" DFW chances are that your connecting flight is going to be late "leaving" DFW anyway, so you will probably be okay. I have also been told that if there are more than 6 or 7 people needing to make a tight connection, they will "hold" the flight till they can zoom over there. But DFW is very easy to navigate and I bet it will work out just great and you will have a fabulous time!!! Another thing I have learned about American is that the arrival time is usually sooner than what it states on your itinerary, but it does take a few minutes once you land to actually get to your gate. You can use your cell phone as soon as you are taxiing on the runway, so if you program 1-800-223-5436 into your cell phone, you can start calling as soon as you land to check the status of your conection, it will give you current gate info as well as departure time, so you will know if it is delayed, you might not have to rush and be stressed!!!

[DCBCcruiser]

Is there anyway of finding out if you have to change terminals to make your connecting flight before you start to travel?

[wrp96]

If you are flying AA, go to their website and try to book your flights. It will tell you if a terminal change is necessary between the flights. For me it is automatic that there will be a terminal change as we have to take an American Eagle flight into DFW, which go in and out of Terminal B, and regular AA flights go out of Terminals A and C.

[gumballz]

According to the AA site and the ITA site we won't be changing terminals. But, when I bought the tickets from AA in June it did say we'd be changing terminals. I don't know if it just doesn't say it anymore or what. I did a glance at ITA and on the flights I'm looking at, none of them said terminal change whereas before quite a few did. *shrug*

[meredith]

Just an FYI, even if you are not supposed to have to change terminals, gate assignments can be changed at the last minute (for instance if the plane that is occupiying the one you are supposed to pull into hasn't left yet), just happened to me a few hours ago as I got home from a trip. Sometimes they will give clearance for a different gate that you can get into quicker.

[jsmeeker]

knowing if you have a terminal change at DFW isn't always so easy. If you fly in on American Eagle or anyother airline, you will. But if you come into DFW on mainline American, it can be a crap shoot. (starting in late October, AA's international flights will operate from the brand new Terminal D)

 

The GOOD news is the new train system that opened earlier this summer is MUCH better than the old one.

[mared1]

As of right now we have flights on AA from Phoenix to Miami in April, with a plane change in DFW. In DFW we have a terminal change. The time between flights is 53 minutes. Are we going to have to really rush to make that connecting flight or is 53 minutes plenty of time to get off the plane, get to the other terminal and check in before they give our seats away?

 

We know that our flights can be changed by AA at any time......I'm just asking in case they don't change. :) Thanks for your help!

 

I think you will not have a problem - I had 30 minutes to change terminals and it was fine as long as I didn't stroll. I had to move quickly off the plane and took the train to the other terminal. Just had time for a quick restroom break before boarding. You can always let the flight attendant know that you are concerned about the time and they may let you deplane first - but I wouldn't count on it - they told me I had plenty of time with the 30 minutes.

[gumballz]

We're fairly close to the front of the plane so unless they change our seats or there's a delay of some sort, we're probably ok. Thanks everyone for your replies!