Dallas-FW airport

[Zanne208]

I will take some extra fingers crossed, and prayers (if needed).  I fly into Dallas-FW Airport on Friday morning leave for FLL that afternoon on American.  It shows the weather clearing up and being nice. 

Can any of you frequent fliers tell me:  if an airport closes a day or two because of weather, do those that get stranded get priority over me and my booked flight? 

I feel for those stranded (and hopefully I wont also), but I have a big ship to catch. 🤯😳

 

[CruiserBruce]

Related to HAL? Perhaps on the Cruise Air board.

 

There are a huge number of variables to consider.  But, generally, if your flights are the normally scheduled flights, and they are operating normally,  if at all possible,  they will operate normally.  But the plane (and it's crew, which is just as complicated as the plane issues) you get on must be able to be there to pick you up...the delays and cancelations of the day(s) before can easily affect the plane you are scheduled to fly on.

[Zanne208]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

Related to HAL? Perhaps on the Cruise Air board.

 

There are a huge number of variables to consider.  But, generally, if your flights are the normally scheduled flights, and they are operating normally,  if at all possible,  they will operate normally.  But the plane (and it's crew, which is just as complicated as the plane issues) you get on must be able to be there to pick you up...the delays and cancelations of the day(s) before can easily affect the plane you are scheduled to fly on.

Oh ya, I guess the crew is a really big factor.

[Laminator]

3 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Related to HAL? Perhaps on the Cruise Air board.

 

There are a huge number of variables to consider.  But, generally, if your flights are the normally scheduled flights, and they are operating normally,  if at all possible,  they will operate normally.  But the plane (and it's crew, which is just as complicated as the plane issues) you get on must be able to be there to pick you up...the delays and cancelations of the day(s) before can easily affect the plane you are scheduled to fly on.

Dallas is a major hub for American. There should be plenty of crew available. You should not be bumped because others missed their flights earlier this week. 

[CruiserBruce]

3 minutes ago, Laminator said:

Dallas is a major hub for American. There should be plenty of crew available. You should not be bumped because others missed their flights earlier this week. 

Crew gets out of position just like planes do, and have work hour limits. There aren't unlimited crew just standing around. Plus pilots have to be qualified for the plane type to fly. Then there is the question of which flights get prioritized for limited crew.

[Laminator]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

Crew gets out of position just like planes do, and have work hour limits. There aren't unlimited crew just standing around. Plus pilots have to be qualified for the plane type to fly. Then there is the question of which flights get prioritized for limited crew.

Having flown over a million miles I have a pretty good idea how it works. And that is out of ORD where the weather is an issue many more times than it is in Dallas. My point is that there is much less chance of an issue occurring at a major hub. If you're in Burlington, VT you have a much better chance of being stuck than in Dallas. 

[Zanne208]

15 minutes ago, Laminator said:

Dallas is a major hub for American. There should be plenty of crew available. You should not be bumped because others missed their flights earlier this week. 

Thanks,  I will go to sleep on that note.  

[Mary229]

I am in DFW.  Our area started warming overnight and I am sure they used that time to get those flights out.  Thankfully this ice storm seems to be limited to our region.  You probably won’t even notice there was an issue by the time you arrive 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Mary229

[Zanne208]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I am in DFW.  Our area started warming overnight and I am sure they used that time to get those flights out.  Thankfully this ice storm seems to be limited to our region.  You probably won’t even notice there was an issue by the time you arrive 

Thank you.   Have an awesome day.

[DaveOKC]

8 hours ago, Laminator said:

Having flown over a million miles I have a pretty good idea how it works. And that is out of ORD where the weather is an issue many more times than it is in Dallas. My point is that there is much less chance of an issue occurring at a major hub. If you're in Burlington, VT you have a much better chance of being stuck than in Dallas. 

As a fellow Million Miler on American, I agree with this.  If I am travelling in the summer, I like to go through Chicago due to ease of getting from one American gate to another.  In the winter I like DFW, due to fewer weather related issues, but I do dislike the hassle of getting from one gate to another (I do not like connections of less than one hour there).

[Zach1213]

11 hours ago, Laminator said:

Having flown over a million miles I have a pretty good idea how it works. And that is out of ORD where the weather is an issue many more times than it is in Dallas. My point is that there is much less chance of an issue occurring at a major hub. If you're in Burlington, VT you have a much better chance of being stuck than in Dallas. 

 

My opinion as an AA frequently flier who does about 125,000+ BIS miles each year, and has since 2007ish - I know both ORD and DFW very well, and connect through them both multiple times each month. I personally don't choose one over the other in winter. ORD may get more winter weather, but they can handle it a lot better...DFW gets less, but a small amount paralyzes them. Six in one, half dozen in the other in my opinion and experience. 

 

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

In the winter I like DFW, due to fewer weather related issues, but I do dislike the hassle of getting from one gate to another (I do not like connections of less than one hour there).

 

I find DFW to be extremely easy to change gates. Five terminals, sure, but a very efficient train with multiple stops in each terminal and clear signage showing which direction is quicker. I've made plenty of 40 minute connections in DFW (as have my bags) and, like Atlanta, find it shockingly easy and efficient for its size. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Zach1213

[Zanne208]

Thanks everyone!!!

I'm checked in with no delay issues. 

Guess I got to excited, and missed the section to check in my bag😪

[GeezerCouple]

23 hours ago, Zanne208 said:

I will take some extra fingers crossed, and prayers (if needed).  I fly into Dallas-FW Airport on Friday morning leave for FLL that afternoon on American.  It shows the weather clearing up and being nice. 

Can any of you frequent fliers tell me:  if an airport closes a day or two because of weather, do those that get stranded get priority over me and my booked flight? 

I feel for those stranded (and hopefully I wont also), but I have a big ship to catch. 🤯😳

 

Oh, does this ever bring back memories!

 

For my very first cruise, my children and I were flying from Seattle to Miami to join other family members who were flying in from other areas.

Sea-Tac airport in Seattle had been closed for about 2 days with incredible fog, but the fog lifted that morning.  I hadn't quite realized what a major problem it had been.  This was in 1974, so there was no internet, and I just wasn't paying attention as this entire adventure was "something new"!

 

When we arrived, there the terminal floors were covered with people... just waiting.  I immediately assumed that we'd have to wait for these others to get on flights first, before the airline could even think about us.  Well, at least then, at that time, it was "current flights come first and we'll try to clear the backlog whenever we can"!  Whew.

We had planned to arrive a few days in advance and had some sightseeing planned, so we probably would have made the cruise itself, at least.

But that was when I fortuitiously learned to "arrive at the departure port in advance".

 

I have no idea if there is a "regular protocol" about current and backlogged flights and passengers, but I assume it also depends upon the availability of the aircraft and the flight crew in terms of which flights take off first.

 

Even though that was a very short cruise, in a very spartan inside cabin, I *loved* it, and I was hooked immediately!

😀

 

GC

[Zanne208]

17 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Oh, does this ever bring back memories!

 

For my very first cruise, my children and I were flying from Seattle to Miami to join other family members who were flying in from other areas.

Sea-Tac airport in Seattle had been closed for about 2 days with incredible fog, but the fog lifted that morning.  I hadn't quite realized what a major problem it had been.  This was in 1974, so there was no internet, and I just wasn't paying attention as this entire adventure was "something new"!

 

When we arrived, there the terminal floors were covered with people... just waiting.  I immediately assumed that we'd have to wait for these others to get on flights first, before the airline could even think about us.  Well, at least then, at that time, it was "current flights come first and we'll try to clear the backlog whenever we can"!  Whew.

We had planned to arrive a few days in advance and had some sightseeing planned, so we probably would have made the cruise itself, at least.

But that was when I fortuitiously learned to "arrive at the departure port in advance".

 

I have no idea if there is a "regular protocol" about current and backlogged flights and passengers, but I assume it also depends upon the availability of the aircraft and the flight crew in terms of which flights take off first.

 

Even though that was a very short cruise, in a very spartan inside cabin, I *loved* it, and I was hooked immediately!

😀

 

GC

Lol, I originally was going through Seattle to Minnesota than down.   Said nope not taking those winter flights, I'm much better to go to DFW.  Our co-owner came into my office yesterday and said you heard DFW is closed.   Thought she was teasing me!!!

 

[GeezerCouple]

36 minutes ago, Zanne208 said:

Lol, I originally was going through Seattle to Minnesota than down.   Said nope not taking those winter flights, I'm much better to go to DFW.  Our co-owner came into my office yesterday and said you heard DFW is closed.   Thought she was teasing me!!!

 

 

Glad it worked out!

We've often flown through DFW cross country in the winter, even if connecting in, say, Chicago (!!) would have been better IF there were to be good weather! 😱

 

GC

[Mary229]

DFW gets ice, not snow, not sleet but ice.  There is the problem.  It is simply a peculiarity of the climate.   Luckily it is quick to leave. Our spring thunderstorm season is no bargain either.   I heard planes overhead yesterday so Zanne  is good to go.

[Zach1213]

11 hours ago, Zanne208 said:

Lol, I originally was going through Seattle to Minnesota than down.   Said nope not taking those winter flights, I'm much better to go to DFW. 

 

 

That's the fallacy I mention earlier. Is Minneapolis going get a metric crap ton more snow each year than Dallas? Of course...but, because of that, they know how to handle it, and they set up an efficient winter operation at the airport. 

 

 

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Zach1213 said:

 

That's the fallacy I mention earlier. Is Minneapolis going get a metric crap ton more snow each year than Dallas? Of course...but, because of that, they know how to handle it, and they set up an efficient winter operation at the airport. 

 

 

Dallas gets ice and rarely snow.  It is not the same and cannot be compared.  It has to do with de-icing wings and runways not lack of competency.    It is just like our thunderstorms, we are not going to fly into a thunderstorm here either - too many straight line winds

Edited February 3, 2023 by Mary229

[Zach1213]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

Dallas gets ice and rarely snow.  It is not the same and cannot be compared.  It has to do with de-icing wings and runways not lack of competency.    It is just like our thunderstorms, we are not going to fly into a thunderstorm here either - too many straight line winds

 

In my opinion, it absolutely can be compared. DFW doesn't have much equipment or crews for de-icing, so even a tiny bit will cause havoc; on the other end, MSP has a huge de-icing and snow clearing operation, so even a large amount of snow can be handled fairly easily. That was my point - there's a fallacy that MSP is worse than DFW in winter, but my point is that the opposite can very much be true, especially as the climate changes and we see more nasty winter weather hit DFW and other parts of Texas that they're still not prepared to handle. Same can be said for places like Atlanta. 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Zach1213

[Mary229]

45 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

In my opinion, it absolutely can be compared. DFW doesn't have much equipment or crews for de-icing, so even a tiny bit will cause havoc; on the other end, MSP has a huge de-icing and snow clearing operation, so even a large amount of snow can be handled fairly easily. That was my point - there's a fallacy that MSP is worse than DFW in winter, but my point is that the opposite can very much be true, especially as the climate changes and we see more nasty winter weather hit DFW and other parts of Texas that they're still not prepared to handle. Same can be said for places like Atlanta. 

I have lived here since 1985.  We have had an ice storm once a year and a significant ice storm only once every 5 years.  It is all about cost benefit analysis.  How much commerce is impeded versus cost of equipment.  Do you have tornado sirens for every neighborhood?  I would think not - cost benefit analysis.  It is not a competency issue 

[zdcatc12]

On 2/3/2023 at 10:59 AM, Zach1213 said:

 

In my opinion, it absolutely can be compared. DFW doesn't have much equipment or crews for de-icing, so even a tiny bit will cause havoc; on the other end, MSP has a huge de-icing and snow clearing operation, so even a large amount of snow can be handled fairly easily. That was my point - there's a fallacy that MSP is worse than DFW in winter, but my point is that the opposite can very much be true, especially as the climate changes and we see more nasty winter weather hit DFW and other parts of Texas that they're still not prepared to handle. Same can be said for places like Atlanta. 

 

On 2/3/2023 at 11:47 AM, Mary229 said:

I have lived here since 1985.  We have had an ice storm once a year and a significant ice storm only once every 5 years.  It is all about cost benefit analysis.  How much commerce is impeded versus cost of equipment.  Do you have tornado sirens for every neighborhood?  I would think not - cost benefit analysis.  It is not a competency issue 

I'll agree with @Zach1213 on this one. How many times in the last five years has MSP been literally shut down for three days like DFW and DAL were last week? I haven't checked, but I would guess few or none, at least for more than maybe a few hours.  I don't remember how the Dallas airports did during Snowmaggedon a few years ago, but I assume they were closed at least part of the time as basically, the whole state was shut down for three days.

[Zach1213]

23 hours ago, zdcatc12 said:

 

I'll agree with @Zach1213 on this one. How many times in the last five years has MSP been literally shut down for three days like DFW and DAL were last week? I haven't checked, but I would guess few or none, at least for more than maybe a few hours.  I don't remember how the Dallas airports did during Snowmaggedon a few years ago, but I assume they were closed at least part of the time as basically, the whole state was shut down for three days.

 

I still remember my joyous attempt at getting home LHR-DFW-MCI during a Dallas snowstorm in 2015. Arrived in DFW four hours late, and even as an AA ExecPlat, they told me it would be two days to get me back to Kansas City. So of course I grabbed the last rental car National had, but only made it like an hour outside of Dallas before the roads were shut and I had to admit defeat and get a hotel room for a few hours before finally finishing the drive the next day. Funny thing is, had I done LHR-ORD-MCI instead, I would have made it home perfectly on time.