bwg

How much time would you allow to be on the safe side between flights if there is a terminal change?
Thanks!

NewbE

An hour would suffice. There's a sort of train type thing that makes moving between terminals fast and easy.

Odin

Is it domestic to international or domestic to domestic?

RoamsAround

There's a "Sky Tram" at DFW that inside the secure area and connects all the terminals. It takes less than 3 minutes to get from one terminal to the next (say from A to B) and no more than 15 minutes to get between the furthest terminals (say from A to D).

Now, allow a minimum of 1 hour connection time if you are connecting between an incoming domestic to any outbound domestic flight. Allow a minimum of 90 minutes if you are arriving on an international flight and have to clear immigration and customs.

Remember best case scenario, you'll need around 10 to 15 minutes to deplane, another 5 or so minutes to get to the Sky Tram station, say 3 minutes wait for the next Tram, say 10 minutes to get to your connecting terminal and 3 to 5 minutes to get from the station to your departure gate. - that's something like 30 to 35 minutes assuming your inbound flight arrives at the gate on time. A slight delay on the tarmac and you could easily use up more of your cushion. Also keep in mind your connecting flight will begin boarding about 30 minutes prior to scheduled take-off.

If you are connecting from an international flight allow plenty of time to clear immigration, claim any checked luggage and clear customs. Add that to the timeline mentioned above.

bwg

thanks everyone- it is a domestic flight. And thanks especially to RoamsAround for the complete description and time table

NewbE

Whereas he could have just said "an hour" and still been right. This place cracks me up!

RoamsAround

Sorry you feel put out NewbE but if you re-read my post I did say "...allow a minimum of 1 hour connection time if you are connecting between an incoming domestic to any outbound domestic flight...". (First sentence 2nd paragraph)

My "time line" was just to demonstrate how quickly you can use up 30 to 45 minutes of a 1 hour connecting time just getting on/off an airplane. Obviously OP found that info helpful (and maybe interesting) which is what this forum is all about.

Odin

<<Whereas he could have just said "an hour" and still been right.>> But an hour would not be enough if it was domestic to international or vv and the OP did not say what the connection was for.

doug_stallings

To be honest, domestic to international is irrelevant as long as you check in 3 hours before the international flight. Bags will be checked, and there's no difference in going from one flight to the next, whether it's domestic or international, though they do tend to close the doors a bit earlier on an international flight, and I'd never schedule my connection for less than an hour, but that's for me, not because you can't make the connection.

Coming back you need more time because you have to pick up bags and go through immigration and customs, then re-check.

The minimum legal connection at DFW for American is actually 40 minutes, and I've often made connections with that little time. But it gives you no cushion if your flight is late. But it's doable. I feel more comfortable with an hour of course.

needmorevacation

Please be aware- I live in the metroplex and fly in/out of DFW too often. You may LAND on time, but the last 5 times I've flown in I've had to wait for an open gate on the tarmac for anywhere between 40 and 70 minutes.