Hometown Glory

Dallas-Fort Worth: As awesome a place to visit as it is to live

Dallas-Fort Worth is a hot summer spot.

Photo courtesy of Fort Worth CVB

If you haven't already planned on getting out of town this summer, know there's a good chance people will be coming here during their precious time off. According to recent rankings from WalletHub, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is the No. 6 best summer travel destination.

The site used 30 key metrics to compare the 80 largest metro areas and identify the most budget-friendly and fun-filled summer destinations. Dallas-Fort Worth is apparently cheap and entertaining.

The data takes into account factors such as cost of the cheapest flight to number of attractions to diversity of activities. DFW claims the coveted title of least amount of travel hassles and costs (our airports are pretty great), and the No. 9 rating for local costs means bumming around the city is fairly affordable too.

Where we don't score so high is attractions, with a 26th overall ranking. Our weather is on the brighter side, at No. 19, which might sound puzzling to anyone who's familiar with Texas in the summer.

Houston also makes the top 10, with a pretty impressive ranking of sixth for fewest travel headaches contributing to its overall No. 9 placement. That No. 26 weather score though? Apparently WalletHub thinks Houston's more temperate than Denver, San Diego, and even Austin from May through August.

Austin does show up at No. 17 overall, and although San Antonio sits at No. 50, it's actually in the 10 worst cities for summer weather.

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Holiday News

American Airlines anticipates record-setting Thanksgiving 2024 travel

Photo courtesy of American Airlines

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The holidays are looming and American Airlines is ramping up. Over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, the Fort Worth-based airline expects to welcome 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.

This is encouraging news. One hates to rain on their parade, but in June 2024, the one flight I scheduled this year, my flight was canceled less than 24 hours before it was scheduled to 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 option offered was: Feel free to reschedule your flight.

Thanksgiving facts and figures
American’s travel period 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.

1,500 mainline and regional aircraft will travel nearly 65 million miles between November 21 and December 3.

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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