Cool your jets

Dallas-Fort Worth lands on new list of best places for long layovers

Lots of shopping and dining at DFW Airport.

DFW Airport

Given the Christmas-week travel nightmare for anyone flying, or working for, Southwest Airlines, it's natural for travelers to be thinking some version of, "What if that happens to me? Please don't let that happen to me."

Lawn Love has been thinking about that, too. Well, perhaps not specifically about that week. But, the timing of the company's latest survey is coincidental. Lawn Love ranked the best and worst cities for long layovers, and Texas cities do well overall. Dallas (and, surely they mean Dallas-Fort Worth) came in seventh, while Houston ranked fourth.

Dallas' top-10 placement was due in part to its number of airline lounges. The city places fifth in that ranking. DFW's got 19 of them, including four American Airlines Admirals Clubs and the airline's Flagship Lounge. Also represented are Delta, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qatar, and United airlines. All provide travelers with space and quiet to chill while waiting on that flight.

In other categories, Dallas ranked No. 4 for delays, No. 13 for cancellations, No. 16 for "getting around," No. 25 for "things to do," No. 11 for "staying and eating," No. 57 for affordability, and No. 75 for safety.

Houston has travelers covered if a long layover means the need for a hotel stay. That city ranked third in number of accommodations.

Houston ranked 15th in terms of attractions, and 35th in terms of its share of cancelled departures, which means folks heading out of the city's two airports are likely to make their destinations without a lot of disruptions.

San Antonio and Austin round out the top 20 in Lawn Love's rankings, with the Alamo City placing 17th overall, and Austin taking 20th. Both cities fare well in terms of delays. They place 48th and 44th respectively, which means travelers are more likely to leave on time and get to where they're going. The two cities also fall into the top 20 when it comes to accommodations and dining options, finishing 15th and 19th respectively.

So, who fared among the worst? Hawaii. The Aloha State might be paradise on the ground and home to some stunning patches of sand, but the it's got four cities in the top 10 for worst places for a long layover. On the other hand, three of those four (Hilo, Kailua Kona, Honolulu and Lihue) get top marks for having the shortest departure delays.

All something to ponder as travelers pack their suitcases and plan to hit the road for 2023.

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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.

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