I currently live in an area serviced by a tiny regional airport, itself serviced by only one regularly scheduled airline, American Eagle, which flies to its primary hub, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Because of this, I have had the opportunity to frequent the semicircular terminals of DFW countless times over the past two years both to travel myself and to pick up/drop off friends and family - OK, not "countless," but well over 50. Most of my personal travel experience has been transfers between American and American Eagle, with a few connections to other airlines, as well as driving to/from DFW to continue/finish my travel by air. When flying in the pilot's seat, I have avoided this huge airport, instead using the many surrounding and smaller airstrips nearby.

LOCATION:
DFW, as its name implies, is located roughly between the two cities of the metroplex, though it falls more in the neighborhood of Fort Worth, the smaller and western of the two neighbors. DFW affords American and the other airlines that service it several advantages - reasonable weather for most of the year, a favorable tax climate. Another reason DFW is a choice over its primary competitor - Dallas Love - is the (unfair, in my opinion) market protection in the form of federal regulations limiting which destinations can be served from Love. This means that SouthWest fans trying to fly from Dallas are limited to the surrounding states.

GETTING THERE:
Obviously, one usually flies into an airport. But if you plan to drive, the location and design makes this relatively painless. The beltway systems of the metroplex provide easy access to two entrances - North and South. When you arrive, you pick up a ticket at the entry gate, where your license plate is recorded (the paranoid part of me dislikes this). Rarely have I seen a line longer than 2 or 3 cars at any gate. From there, you proceed to the terminal or parking area you desire.

LAYOUT:
DFW is immense. In fact, from the air it sometimes is hard to pick out because your mind's eye is looking for something far smaller. The passenger portion is arranged in 4 semicircular terminals (soon to be 5), arranged on either side of the north-south access road, between the acres and acres of runways.

Terminal A:
American
American Eagle (most of American Eagle's flights are in Terminal A2, which is reached by a 2-3 minute shuttlebus ride from the north end of Terminal A)
TACA

Terminal B:
American (Gates B2-B13)
America West
ATA
Champion
Continental
Frontier
Mesa
Midwest Express
USAir
British Airways
Korean Air
Lufthansa
National
United

Terminal C:
American Airlines

Terminal E:
AirTran
Delta
Delta Connection
NorthWest
AeroMexico
Air Canada

Parking
Three levels of parking are provided - remote (North and South) at $5/day, express at $9/day, and covered Infield at $16/day. Shuttles bring you from parking locations to your terminal and back. A better option, I believe, is to use one of the remote parking services - the Parking Spot offers parking for $7 or 9 (depending on if you want a hail roof or not) per day, with locations outside the North and South entrances. As you park, their bright yellow and black spotted bus pulls up, the driver helps load your luggage, and within 5 minutes you are at your terminal.

Drop Off/Pick Up
The arrangement of the airport makes this very quick and keeps the congestion to a minimum. Simply drive on the access route until you get to your exit for the terminal. Once you get on the terminal access roads, they seem to loop aimlessly - but don't worry, they'll get there. The one critique I have for driving access to DFW is that on your first visits you will have several times where you doubt that you've taken the right road - it just looks like you're driving into a construction zone. But I've never gotten lost (definitely can't say that about Boston Logan!). As you get to the area of the terminal you want, you will have three choices for exit - Departure, Arrival, and parking. The parking here is infield parking and is simple enough. If you're planning on dropping or picking up someone, however, don't bother with the "arrival" (lower level) exit - take the "departures." The upper level is where both the ticket counters and baggage claim areas are, and there is 1hr parking available just across the street from the terminal. The parking shuttles (DFW and private) and rental shuttles meet you on the lower floor.

Rental Cars
All major rental car companies maintain a location at DFW, though the lots are not near the terminals. You get there by taking a bus from the lower level (elevators or escalators available from the baggage claim area). The rentalcar area is best called a "terminal" unto itself, and is quite modern, airy, and pleasantly designed. From dropoff to the ticket counter is about 10 minutes.

Check-In
With the ability to check-in and print your boarding passes at home (or your hotel if you have Internet and printer access) combined with the efficient curbside checkin spots, you are on your way to the security checkpoints in minutes. Most airlines have incorporated self-serve counters for E-ticket customers as well. Lines for paper tickets or those who don't wish to use the above services can run somewhat long. Bag screening is relatively efficient, but can be somewhat confusing because, quite frankly, the terminals were not designed to accomodate passengers checking in, and then having to move their bags to another location other than the ticket counter.

Security
This is starting to get somewhat standardized throughout the country now that TSA is running it. The ample number of security checkpoints means that lines don't tend to get very long, even during busy periods. Part of this, I believe, is that the vast majority of traffic in/out of DFW is in the form of connections, not travel origination. I have never had problems with security personnel (Before or after the conversion). The National Guard has been replaced with permanent DFW police patrols.

GETTING AROUND:
This is very easy... if you're only departing/arriving, or if you're transfering between the same airlines. Otherwise, it's a hassle. Walking at a moderate pace will bring you from one end of a terminal to the other in less than 10 minutes. From the South end of Terminal A, the "Skybridge" connects it to Terminal B (over the access highway), and a walkway brings you to Terminal C. A free "TRAAIN" - a quiet 3-car electric tram that holds about 20 passengers in each car - leaves the stations (two in terminals A and C, one in B) every two minutes and brings you between A, C, and the AA portions of B, with a round-trip taking about 10-15 minutes. Passenger assist vehicles can bring you to your gate as well, if you're older, handicapped, or really tight on your connections (these often are much faster than using the TRAAIN). The Airport Train can get you to the other portions of the airport, but is a bit more of a hassle to get to (you have to leave security). Helpful guides man desks throughout the terminals, and are identified by their green jackets and hats (which interestingly are Aussie Akubra-style, vs. "cowboy").

EATING/SHOPPING:
Airports are not my idea of a place to shop - I try to ensure I pick up my family souvenirs and gifts on the local economy. That being said, there are a good smattering of Texas gift shops with typical airport prices and 7% tax on top. Restaurants are plentiful and quite varied in the main terminals, my favorite stop being the several Au Bon Pain walk-up counters. Chilis, Fridays, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell, and several other chains are represented, along with several Seattle's Best coffee joints. The unique offering is the La Bodega winery (terminal A), which advertises itself as the only true winery in an airport. After talking to the manager, I discovered that it does maintain the capability of pressing, fermenting, aging, and bottling wine onsite, but does not do so. Instead, it offers a great selection of the better TX wines, served over a small bar which is an excellent place to pass time in conversation with others, especially if you are delayed. A note of warning - if you are flying out of the A2 satellite terminal, eat in Terminal A before you go - the offerings in A2 are limited and higher priced.

FACILITIES:
American offers its Admiral's Clubs in all three of its terminals. I am not a member, but on one of the legs of my last trip, the lead stewardess (ahem, flight attendant) gave me a free daily pass (merely for being friendly and polite - see my Top Travel Tips for more on that), so I'll have to go next time I'm delayed a significant time.

If I have one critique for facilities, it is the haphazard location of the restrooms throughout the terminals. The restrooms themselves are large, clean, and well-maintained for the most part, but can be a healthy walk from many gates. An exception to the "clean and well-maintained" rule is the men's restroom in the C terminal next to the Admiral's club, which for more than 2 months now has had two urinals bagged inoperative, and be quite dirty.

HOTELS:
There is a great selection of most major chain hotels clustered around both entrances, particularly the North entrance. My favorites are the two Embassy Suites properties, reviews of which are linked below:
Embassy Suites DFW North at Outdoor World
Embassy Suites DFW South - coming soon
In addition, Hyatt maintains a property in the center of the airport itself, which friends have told me is quite nice, but pricey. Since free shuttles will get you to your gate in approximately the same time from the outside hotels as the Hyatt, I don't imagine it's worth the premium unless you just love Hyatts.

NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
If you have a few hours to burn, a free shuttle will bring you to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, which is a treat for the outdoorsman. From there, one can walk across the (huge) parking lot to the outlandishly huge Grapevine Mills mall. Other than that, there's not much to do in a few hours. If you have more time due to a cancellation, a cab to the Fort Worth Cultural District and Stockyards is worth the trip.

OVERALL:
This is one of the better Hub airports. The layout of the airport itself is perhaps its greatest strength, with a lot of forethought obviously put into the plan. My complaints are few - centered about the location itself (the metroplex offers a lot, but it sprawls and is not an exceptional city, although Fort Worth continues to improve in this regard), some minor annoyances like the C-terminal bathroom, and the difficulty connecting to airlines other than American/American Eagle.

SHAMELESS LINKS:
Eleven and a half hours to kill? Fly direct to Switzerland from DFW and stay at th Hilton Airport Zurich

If you're flying that long, you may wish to consider a seat cushion, like the Therm-a-rest Sport Seat

Join Jetbluefan's and Jo.com's airport Write-Off

Recommended: Yes

Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime