Road trips

Dallas luxury motorcoach Vonlane expands service and lowers select fares to 2 Texas cities

Vonlane's on the road even more now.

Courtesy photo

In a major turnaround from the raging pandemic times of 2020 and 2021, travel demand is now exceeding expectations in Texas, and Dallas-based Vonlane is hitting the road more frequently to get travelers where they want to go.

According to a February 7 release, the luxury bus operator has introduced 24 new departures per week to its two most popular routes, Dallas-Austin and Dallas-Houston (both ways). In addition, Vonlane is lowering fares to $89 on select departures for a limited time. More on that in a sec.

The newly added departures are:

Dallas-Austin: 8 am and 8 pm on Monday, Thursday, and Friday
Austin-Dallas: 8 am and 8 pm on Monday, Thursday, and Friday
Dallas-Houston: 7 am and 8:30 pm on Monday, Thursday, and Friday
Houston-Dallas: 7 am and 8:30 pm on Monday, Thursday, and Friday

For the first time, Vonlane offers service every two hours between Dallas and Austin, beginning am 6 am, both ways. There now are eight daily trips between Dallas and Houston on these days, beginning at 6 am.

A more limited schedule operates in all cities on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Last year, Vonlane also revived service between Dallas and Oklahoma City, a route that had been on hold due to the pandemic. It is the only route outside of Texas, although service to Nashville and Atlanta had been announced, pre-COVID.

Now, for the incentive: To help travelers get back on track for business and leisure travel in 2022, the company is offering $89 one-way fares for late departure times, but only through the end of February. (Normal fares are $99-$109.) The reduced fares apply to departures at 7:30 pm, 8 pm, and 8:30 pm in Dallas, Austin, and Houston.

Vonlane launched its high-end bus service in 2014 with the Dallas-to-Austin route. Each bus, which holds fewer than two dozen passengers, features amenities like Wi-Fi, satellite TV and radio, and leather seats. For many Texas travelers, it's become a convenient way to bypass the hassles of airline travel in recent years.

"Vonlane’s signature experience — including a spacious cabin, leather chairs, complimentary wifi and snacks, and on-board crew service — has created a loyal following of travelers throughout Texas and Oklahoma," the company says in the release.

For more information, schedules, and booking, visit the website.

transportation

Holiday News

American Airlines expects record-setting travel on Thanksgiving 2024

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

American Airlines ready for takeoff.

The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to process nearly 8.3 million customers across more than 77,000 flights.

According to a statement from American's COO David Seymour, the airline is having a good fall season and canceled fewer flights than its peers during October.

“Thanks to the hard work of our 130,000 team members, we canceled fewer flights than any of our major competitors this October and beat our own records for on-time departures and arrivals,” Seymour says.

That's surely good news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the only flight I booked this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before take-off. I had made hotel reservations, scheduled a pet sitter, planned events, and arranged for a friend to pick me up at the destination airport. One employee speculated that it may have been "insufficient crew." Their only solution offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
The travel window runs from November 21 to December 3, and the airline expects to carry more than 500,000 more customers than it did last year.

The most-traveled day will be Sunday, December 1. The second most-traveled day will be Monday, December 2.

The peak of peak: 1,035 mainline and regional aircraft will be enroute at 10:45 am on Sunday, December 1 — the highest number of flights handled at any given time during American’s travel period.

The airline expects to serve more than 6.8 million Biscoff cookies on board from November 21 to December 3.

Travel tips
Download the American Airlines app and check in for your flight, noting added any bags to your trip. This will save you time at the airport.

If traveling internationally, download the Mobile Passport Control app, which can speed up your entry into the U.S. Global Entry members can download the Global Entry app, which allows you to submit your entry and go straight to the officer.

Upon arrival at the airport lobby, scan your mobile boarding pass to print bag tags quickly at a kiosk. If you’re not checking bags, go straight to TSA security with your mobile boarding pass.

holidays