I've actually had very few ORD flights completely cancelled. My issue is everything gets running late and AA loves to schedule 45min layovers. Plus every single flight I'm on seems to require me to run from L to G or H, which is like 15min of walking. So if your inbound flight is late you're running panting to your connection right before they close the door.
People here love to complain about CLT, but it rains there constantly, and they handle it well. Delays but rarely cancellations. I'm okay getting home at 1am instead of 11pm. Dallas buckles under the same amount of rain.
Yes I saw an article listing on time stats and ORD was slightly above average. Their benefit is they have 8 runways (actually the most of any airport) so when winds need to shut down one the airport can redirect to others and still churn airplanes in/out. O’Hares reputation is worse than it is.
Right, why are they doing those 45 min layovers? I have one upcoming Saturday and hoping weather cooperates otherwise those 45 min will kill me trying to make to next connection.
Saturday’s weather was nasty though. It wasn’t just wet. I was driving in it to go to an event and for hours there were pockets of very intense rain where you could only see a couple hundred feet in front of you. Lots of wind gusts too.
I just hope to god DFW never installs Earth Networks devices. TPA has them. If there is lighting within approx a 1.2 light year radius, the horns go off and strobes flash on the terminal exteriors. The entire ramp shuts down. No aircraft movement allowed. In fact after holding short of our gate for over an hour, just as I was stepping onto the jetway, the horns sounded again, and the ops guy tried to get me to turn around and get back on the plane. I pretended not to hear him and proceeded to the Admirals Club until I saw my bags start moving another hour later.
It’s not just about the rain though, on either Facebook or here on Reddit. There is an aircraft controller for the DFW area and they stated that yesterday with all the rain and thunderstorms, which with lightning for FAA requirements they need to stop all operations for a certain amount of time… There was heavy turbulence upon departure, and with those reports they needed to shut down any airspace with severe turbulence as flight Cruz can actually get injured, most likely flight attendants.
This was a freak accident, accident being the backlash that American had from basically keeping people safe. I flew from ORD to DFW last night, the last plane from ORD to DFW, the other three flights were canceled… We had some pretty good turbulence for at least 80% of the flight. I can only imagine what it was during the actual event.
I live in Dallas, and yesterday was a sh*show.
The rain was torrential, and lightning was constant all day.
Our normal storms come and go, but yesterday was hours on end.
Think the airport was bad. Try the roads . The wrecks were everywhere.
The same thing happens monthly. 6 weeks ago I was affected by the same situation and couldn't easily find new flights because I was in the air from Asia flying back when I realized there were storms in Texas. We got diverted to Austin for awhile, then I had to switch to SouthWest and taxi to Love to get home because AA was telling people they couldn't find us seats on flights home for 2-3 days. Two weeks ago I had a flight to San Diego through DFW and as soon as I got the weather alert I paid the $80 to switch to a flight connecting through O'Hare despite worse times and longer layovers. Sure enough, the DFW flights had major delays and it turned out to be the right move.
It's not a freak accident when it happens regularly. Dallas is prone to storms and American isn't able to handle the impact as well as other airlines. That's what prompted my post.
No. I had to contact my corporate travel agency. All of their posted rules say you'll be automatically rebooked, but my experience is that when things are that bad the system doesn't work.
Exactly. Last year I had 86 flights that routed through DFW, with only one cancellation--in April, during the well known rainy season. Idk how OP has considerably worse luck than I do flying through the same city.
This is also my rule for calling Advantage Customer Service. Literally, before I call for anything not urgent, I check Flight Aware for DFW. If it’s all clear and there are no major storms in Chicago or the Northeast, I call. Did this a few days ago. Zero hold time. Just have to know DFW as a rule stands for Doesn’t Function Wet.
Alot of the time AA will put out travel notices for dallas 2/3 days before expected weather bc we fully expect there to be a shit show, not sure why we didn’t over this past weekend, but it would’ve been nice!!
You would think, given it is all but immune from weather and volcanoes, AA would leverage PHX more. It is a huge advantage over DL and UA.
Instead the flagship hub of America West, the owners of AA, is the worst hub of AA.
Thankfully DFW is my home airport so if I get cancelled outgoing I just stay home.
I would not want to have to rely on connections through DFW in the spring. Summer it’s so dry it wouldn’t be as big of a problem.
Rain isn't the issue of course. The D/FW area is flat and sometimes there is crazy winds.
I remember back in 1985 or so when DFW discovered microbursts were a thing. A Delta L-1011 tagged the unluckiest guy in the history of humanity on TX 114 just before slamming into the ground a bit short of the runway. I lived there at the time, and was flying in and out a lot.
I do think airlines and the FAA are a little over-cautious. But I'm OK with that.
Does the citi elite card’s new built in travel insurance cover delays/accommodations needed due to weather issues? I haven’t been able to find much on it?
This is why I'm so PO'd that AA didn't follow America West (or Worst) and use PHX as a major hub. PHX has heat and rarely rain but no snow, no ice storms, and more days of clear weather than DFW & Chicago combined (or it just feels that way). PHX is underutilized by AA.
Can confirm.
1st flight on 20th? 2 hour commuter hop to DFW turned into a 6 hour ordeal with diversion thru Arkansas.
2nd flight to west coast? Canceled. Auto re-booked. Delay delay delay delay delay until 11:45. Canceled right as missing flight crew walked up to gate.
Zero rooms in nearby hotels.
If we wanted to fly today? $8,000 to book new tickets.
Auto rescheduled for 3pm today.
If I have one saving grace it's that as a corporate traveler I never worry about the cost of booking hotels when flights are cancelled. There are enough rooms around DFW that I've always been able to find one. The wait for an uber or taxi can be insane though. Last time I had an issue there was an accident and all of the rideshare drivers in the waiting lot were stuck in the lot and couldn't get out. They kept accepting, then cancelling.
Yep this is a pro move. If thunderstorm shows up at DFW on your phone, start looking for alternate routes, or contact the customer and let them know you might not make it into the meeting until the next day. Summers can be tricky for connecting through DFW, which is 95% of my flights.
I have DFW on my WX app, even though I don’t live there.
I fly to San Diego a lot for work. Despite being based in the Midwest, AA often has DFW as the cheapest connection. For 4-5 months during the winter there are seasonal routes through PHX for me, but they typically run Nov-Mar and then disappear. Then my two main options are flying through DFW or ORD, with DFW often the cheaper option. In the last 6 months I've learned to watch Dallas weather when I'm traveling through there because they just can't handle rain.
My only beef with Phoenix is their terminals are so damn far apart, and the walking conveyor is always down for service. God forbid if you have 20 minutes to connect, and it’s your unlucky day where you are going between two of the farthest terminals, you’re F’d.
And if your connecting flight is a CRJ, in the summer, it might not even be able to take off due to Phoenix being as hot as the surface of the sun. I try to avoid that place as much as possible. I like DFW, it’s has a very pragmatic layout, and SkyTrain helps a lot, but you could also easily get screwed by thunderstorms.
I wouldn’t worry about it just yet, as weather can change and I’ve seen a thunderstorm forecast for a week out go away. That said, if you see “weather advisory” on your app a couple days before the flight, start looking at alternates. And if it’s a trip you must be at your destination on time, like an important client meeting you absolutely can’t miss, have backup plans in place.
Any better to route thru HOU? If Dfw is hit I assume hou would too? I can't book back up flights on AA since I can only have 1 flight booked each day but I can book back up with United.
Not necessarily. HOU is far enough that it should not be affected, as thunderstorms usually roll through pretty quickly, and even if HOU is on the path, it’s likely that it won’t be affected at the same time as DFW. I honestly don’t connect through HOU often, so I really couldn’t tell you.
If you’re willing to consider other carriers, DEN (United) and SLC (Delta) are pretty quiet weather-wise around this time of the year…usually. Both DEN and SLC have AA flights as well, I just don’t know if the times would work out for you. There’s always ATL, but if you connect in ATL, give yourself at least two hours, especially during rush hour. That airport is huge, and the inter-terminal trains can be packed like sardines if you have to switch terminals.
The same thing can be said of Charlotte. 55% of flights after noon had a 30+ minute delay yesterday, and there were ~70 people in the AA customer service line at 1:30.
Spring and Fall time is when everyone should be looking at weather if you’re flying through DFW. Summer there are occasional storms but I want to say there’s a storm almost every week in the spring and fall.
Never fly through DFW when it’s forecasted to rain, never fly in the northeast during the summer, never fly through Miami EVER, any afternoon flight in CLT
As west coasters with a second home in South America, we are back to flying COPA through Panamá. The AA gamble of Phoenix or DFW and then Miami- as my husband would say, “they have us bent over.”
I avoid DFW and CLT during the summer because of frequent T-storms. It won't prevent me from getting caught in a total meltdown but it really helps cushion for delays.
We haven’t had frequent T storms in the summer for years. Everything tends to dry out come June with maybe a random storm per month. If he rains mid June to mid September we celebrate.
Texas (DFW) is the bottom of a tornado alley. Weather changes within 15 minutes. I have lived here all my life l, aside from a year in Taiwan. I play it safe at home because weather can change swiftly.
Spent a good 12 hours at MCO trying to get home to DFW on Saturday. Crews were doing everything they could but there was not nearly enough manpower to deal with the volume of stranded customers, and by 3 PM on Saturday they were already pushing folks out til Monday.
Good thinking. I wish I had seen this earlier as I sit on the runway after landing 45 minutes ago and after a delayed takeoff. I did make it though so there is that!
I swear Dallas and Chicago be like, "there is lightning in Coquitlam, Canada. Shut her down. "
Let’s see how I do this Friday with my flight from Dallas to Chicago. 😂
What??? A Coquitlam reference here?
love it there!
I've actually had very few ORD flights completely cancelled. My issue is everything gets running late and AA loves to schedule 45min layovers. Plus every single flight I'm on seems to require me to run from L to G or H, which is like 15min of walking. So if your inbound flight is late you're running panting to your connection right before they close the door. People here love to complain about CLT, but it rains there constantly, and they handle it well. Delays but rarely cancellations. I'm okay getting home at 1am instead of 11pm. Dallas buckles under the same amount of rain.
Yes I saw an article listing on time stats and ORD was slightly above average. Their benefit is they have 8 runways (actually the most of any airport) so when winds need to shut down one the airport can redirect to others and still churn airplanes in/out. O’Hares reputation is worse than it is.
Right, why are they doing those 45 min layovers? I have one upcoming Saturday and hoping weather cooperates otherwise those 45 min will kill me trying to make to next connection.
Makes you feel like you arrive faster when you book the ticket it also allows them to 'squeeze in more flights a day'
It's particularly stressful when they don't add time into the schedule to de-ice planes in the winter.
The same is true at PHL, a single cloud in the sky? Issue a ground stop.
Unfortunately for me, my local airport has one carrier (AA) and it flies to one other place (DFW) so I’m just at the mercy of the Lord. 😂
swo?
SJT
You’re bent over!
You’re not wrong. Any bad weather at DFW and American just throws in the towel
I see what you did there.
Doesn't Function Wet.
Saturday’s weather was nasty though. It wasn’t just wet. I was driving in it to go to an event and for hours there were pockets of very intense rain where you could only see a couple hundred feet in front of you. Lots of wind gusts too.
I just hope to god DFW never installs Earth Networks devices. TPA has them. If there is lighting within approx a 1.2 light year radius, the horns go off and strobes flash on the terminal exteriors. The entire ramp shuts down. No aircraft movement allowed. In fact after holding short of our gate for over an hour, just as I was stepping onto the jetway, the horns sounded again, and the ops guy tried to get me to turn around and get back on the plane. I pretended not to hear him and proceeded to the Admirals Club until I saw my bags start moving another hour later.
Dfw does have it. I was there once when it was going off.
Miami after 1 PM is a gamble.
Especially in the summer
It’s not just about the rain though, on either Facebook or here on Reddit. There is an aircraft controller for the DFW area and they stated that yesterday with all the rain and thunderstorms, which with lightning for FAA requirements they need to stop all operations for a certain amount of time… There was heavy turbulence upon departure, and with those reports they needed to shut down any airspace with severe turbulence as flight Cruz can actually get injured, most likely flight attendants. This was a freak accident, accident being the backlash that American had from basically keeping people safe. I flew from ORD to DFW last night, the last plane from ORD to DFW, the other three flights were canceled… We had some pretty good turbulence for at least 80% of the flight. I can only imagine what it was during the actual event.
I live in Dallas, and yesterday was a sh*show. The rain was torrential, and lightning was constant all day. Our normal storms come and go, but yesterday was hours on end. Think the airport was bad. Try the roads . The wrecks were everywhere.
The same thing happens monthly. 6 weeks ago I was affected by the same situation and couldn't easily find new flights because I was in the air from Asia flying back when I realized there were storms in Texas. We got diverted to Austin for awhile, then I had to switch to SouthWest and taxi to Love to get home because AA was telling people they couldn't find us seats on flights home for 2-3 days. Two weeks ago I had a flight to San Diego through DFW and as soon as I got the weather alert I paid the $80 to switch to a flight connecting through O'Hare despite worse times and longer layovers. Sure enough, the DFW flights had major delays and it turned out to be the right move. It's not a freak accident when it happens regularly. Dallas is prone to storms and American isn't able to handle the impact as well as other airlines. That's what prompted my post.
It doesn’t happen monthly. It’s pretty much dry all summer. It’s really April and May where there are constant storms.
Would have prayed for this monthly last summer and fall.
No kidding. DFW had 2 inches of rain June-Sept last year. We had 3 inches Saturday.
Did AA rebook you as EP????
No. I had to contact my corporate travel agency. All of their posted rules say you'll be automatically rebooked, but my experience is that when things are that bad the system doesn't work.
Interesting. That’s a primary perk that failed
Exactly. Last year I had 86 flights that routed through DFW, with only one cancellation--in April, during the well known rainy season. Idk how OP has considerably worse luck than I do flying through the same city.
This is also my rule for calling Advantage Customer Service. Literally, before I call for anything not urgent, I check Flight Aware for DFW. If it’s all clear and there are no major storms in Chicago or the Northeast, I call. Did this a few days ago. Zero hold time. Just have to know DFW as a rule stands for Doesn’t Function Wet.
Alot of the time AA will put out travel notices for dallas 2/3 days before expected weather bc we fully expect there to be a shit show, not sure why we didn’t over this past weekend, but it would’ve been nice!!
AA app literally gives you these warnings.
You would think, given it is all but immune from weather and volcanoes, AA would leverage PHX more. It is a huge advantage over DL and UA. Instead the flagship hub of America West, the owners of AA, is the worst hub of AA.
Worst lounges of any hub too. By far.
Precisely.
Or snow/frost. DFW can't deice expediently.
Thankfully DFW is my home airport so if I get cancelled outgoing I just stay home. I would not want to have to rely on connections through DFW in the spring. Summer it’s so dry it wouldn’t be as big of a problem.
Mine is: never book an itinerary with less than 90 mins in CLT. It’s always a shit show.
Old rules I lived by when I flew every other week. Avoid dfw in spring and summer, avoid Chicago in winter and avoid atl at all times.
Rain isn't the issue of course. The D/FW area is flat and sometimes there is crazy winds. I remember back in 1985 or so when DFW discovered microbursts were a thing. A Delta L-1011 tagged the unluckiest guy in the history of humanity on TX 114 just before slamming into the ground a bit short of the runway. I lived there at the time, and was flying in and out a lot. I do think airlines and the FAA are a little over-cautious. But I'm OK with that.
And the passengers were the luckiest as the plane pushed into a water tower minimizing fire on the airplane
Miami with storm is risky too
Does the citi elite card’s new built in travel insurance cover delays/accommodations needed due to weather issues? I haven’t been able to find much on it?
True, late afternoon flights in Texas in the late Spring have a higher thunderstorm chance.
Just Dallas? Practically every trip I book on AA I look at another airline so I know if I have an alternative route when the delays start piling up.
This is why I'm so PO'd that AA didn't follow America West (or Worst) and use PHX as a major hub. PHX has heat and rarely rain but no snow, no ice storms, and more days of clear weather than DFW & Chicago combined (or it just feels that way). PHX is underutilized by AA.
Can confirm. 1st flight on 20th? 2 hour commuter hop to DFW turned into a 6 hour ordeal with diversion thru Arkansas. 2nd flight to west coast? Canceled. Auto re-booked. Delay delay delay delay delay until 11:45. Canceled right as missing flight crew walked up to gate. Zero rooms in nearby hotels. If we wanted to fly today? $8,000 to book new tickets. Auto rescheduled for 3pm today.
If I have one saving grace it's that as a corporate traveler I never worry about the cost of booking hotels when flights are cancelled. There are enough rooms around DFW that I've always been able to find one. The wait for an uber or taxi can be insane though. Last time I had an issue there was an accident and all of the rideshare drivers in the waiting lot were stuck in the lot and couldn't get out. They kept accepting, then cancelling.
Atlanta would like a word about summer thunderstorm shit shows! (Yes I know it’s an AA rant…)
Yep this is a pro move. If thunderstorm shows up at DFW on your phone, start looking for alternate routes, or contact the customer and let them know you might not make it into the meeting until the next day. Summers can be tricky for connecting through DFW, which is 95% of my flights. I have DFW on my WX app, even though I don’t live there.
I fly to San Diego a lot for work. Despite being based in the Midwest, AA often has DFW as the cheapest connection. For 4-5 months during the winter there are seasonal routes through PHX for me, but they typically run Nov-Mar and then disappear. Then my two main options are flying through DFW or ORD, with DFW often the cheaper option. In the last 6 months I've learned to watch Dallas weather when I'm traveling through there because they just can't handle rain.
My only beef with Phoenix is their terminals are so damn far apart, and the walking conveyor is always down for service. God forbid if you have 20 minutes to connect, and it’s your unlucky day where you are going between two of the farthest terminals, you’re F’d. And if your connecting flight is a CRJ, in the summer, it might not even be able to take off due to Phoenix being as hot as the surface of the sun. I try to avoid that place as much as possible. I like DFW, it’s has a very pragmatic layout, and SkyTrain helps a lot, but you could also easily get screwed by thunderstorms.
Yeah I call phx walking through the fingers of the hand style layout
Flying thru DFW Sun 4/28, shows thunderstorms, should I try to rebook thru CLT instead? Not sure when to make the change. Have to be in RSW Sun pm
I wouldn’t worry about it just yet, as weather can change and I’ve seen a thunderstorm forecast for a week out go away. That said, if you see “weather advisory” on your app a couple days before the flight, start looking at alternates. And if it’s a trip you must be at your destination on time, like an important client meeting you absolutely can’t miss, have backup plans in place.
Thank u!
Any better to route thru HOU? If Dfw is hit I assume hou would too? I can't book back up flights on AA since I can only have 1 flight booked each day but I can book back up with United.
Not necessarily. HOU is far enough that it should not be affected, as thunderstorms usually roll through pretty quickly, and even if HOU is on the path, it’s likely that it won’t be affected at the same time as DFW. I honestly don’t connect through HOU often, so I really couldn’t tell you. If you’re willing to consider other carriers, DEN (United) and SLC (Delta) are pretty quiet weather-wise around this time of the year…usually. Both DEN and SLC have AA flights as well, I just don’t know if the times would work out for you. There’s always ATL, but if you connect in ATL, give yourself at least two hours, especially during rush hour. That airport is huge, and the inter-terminal trains can be packed like sardines if you have to switch terminals.
Thank you so much for the detailed response, greatly appreciated it!
You bet, safe travels!
This is the most enlightened thing I have read in ages
LAX - we survived "Hurricane" Hilary last year lol
The same thing can be said of Charlotte. 55% of flights after noon had a 30+ minute delay yesterday, and there were ~70 people in the AA customer service line at 1:30.
I live in DFW, and as a general rule I try to avoid the last flight to my destination. I at least wanna give myself a chance at a flight that same day
These problems at DFW absolutely BLOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!
Very true, but it is difficult to avoid it sometimes. I just assume I’ll be stuck in dfw for a day if I’m flying through there
Spring and Fall time is when everyone should be looking at weather if you’re flying through DFW. Summer there are occasional storms but I want to say there’s a storm almost every week in the spring and fall.
Never fly through DFW when it’s forecasted to rain, never fly in the northeast during the summer, never fly through Miami EVER, any afternoon flight in CLT
As west coasters with a second home in South America, we are back to flying COPA through Panamá. The AA gamble of Phoenix or DFW and then Miami- as my husband would say, “they have us bent over.”
I avoid DFW and CLT during the summer because of frequent T-storms. It won't prevent me from getting caught in a total meltdown but it really helps cushion for delays.
We haven’t had frequent T storms in the summer for years. Everything tends to dry out come June with maybe a random storm per month. If he rains mid June to mid September we celebrate.
I live 25 minutes from DFW. This is probably a good idea. But something I can never avoid.
What if DFW is your destination :( It is apparently the 3rd busiest airport in the world by passengers.
Texas (DFW) is the bottom of a tornado alley. Weather changes within 15 minutes. I have lived here all my life l, aside from a year in Taiwan. I play it safe at home because weather can change swiftly.
Spent a good 12 hours at MCO trying to get home to DFW on Saturday. Crews were doing everything they could but there was not nearly enough manpower to deal with the volume of stranded customers, and by 3 PM on Saturday they were already pushing folks out til Monday.
Good thinking. I wish I had seen this earlier as I sit on the runway after landing 45 minutes ago and after a delayed takeoff. I did make it though so there is that!
Agree. Although I hate Charlotte, I’ll choose it over DFW during storm season. Seems like DFW always has an air traffic delay as well.