American Airlines and DFW announce huge expansion at America's second-busiest airport
Quick summary
American Airlines is planning major growth at its biggest hub.
The airline and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) on Thursday announced revamped plans for a new $4 billion terminal that would bring dozens of new gates — all for American — and serve as the airport's "signature terminal experience."
The new terminal, to be known as Terminal F, will be DFW's sixth.
The new facility was already under construction, following an agreement the Fort Worth-based carrier reached with its home airport in 2023.
But Thursday's announcement brought a sizable revision to those plans, pushing up the construction timeline and significantly expanding the size of the new facility.
"DFW is American's largest and most critical hub, and with this expanded plan for Terminal F, DFW has a clear path to become the largest airline hub in the world," American CEO Robert Isom said in a statement announcing the news.
The first phase of Terminal F is currently slated to open in 2027.
DFW's new Terminal F
American's newest DFW terminal will provide the carrier with far more gate space for wide-body jets — and offer more processing capacity for passengers arriving on those inbound international flights.
Terminal F will also have dedicated areas for new lounges; renderings shared Thursday appeared to show the entrance to a new Admirals Club.
American Airlines Admirals Club access: How you can get into the airport lounge
American today has six outposts at DFW: five Admirals Clubs and a more premium Flagship Lounge.
Construction plans call for a new parking garage and a reimagined airport check-in and lobby experience, plus a new Skylink station that would more seamlessly connect customers, airside, to DFW's existing terminals.
Under previous Terminal F plans, customers would have taken the Skylink to Terminal E, then walked to the new concourse.
Terminal F will also offer a walking connection to DFW's Terminal D, currently its biggest international hub — and home to some of the airport's most premium lounges, including a Capital One Lounge and an American Express Centurion Lounge.
American's growth at DFW
American's multibillion-dollar investment in DFW comes as it has increasingly leaned on its Texas home base in recent years.
Last year, the airline flew with 33% more seats from DFW than it did a decade earlier, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Overall, the airport saw nearly 60% more seats across all airlines to international destinations last year than it did 10 years prior, in 2014, per Cirium.
That includes a notable boost in connectivity to far-flung destinations in Asia and the South Pacific, helped, in part, by nonstop service aboard American's Oneworld alliance partners like Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Japan Airlines.
That growth isn't expected to end, either: DFW CEO Sean Donohue said in November 2023 that he expected passenger traffic at DFW to rise 25% by 2030.
More flights and passengers, combined with a surging population in North Texas, had already inspired major capital projects at the airport, TPG reported last year.
Among them: a $3 billion face-lift currently in the works at Terminal C, which is currently American's terminal at the airport.
Read more: Fiji Airways announces big US expansion with a new longest route — to DFW
DFW was America's second-busiest airport last year, Airports Council International recently reported. It trailed only Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the home base of rival Delta Air Lines and perpetually the world's busiest airport.
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