I was born in Dallas in the late 80s, but had family in Seattle. So for decades until we moved to Idaho, I was a regular passenger flying American mad dogs out of DFW.

I remember riding the slow but fun AATtrain from the C gates to visit all the other terminals to pass time before my departure, I miss seeing hundreds of Delta aircraft (especially the L-1011s) when they had a major hub at Dallas, the vast array of shiny metallic American planes as far as the eye could see, and even the old plane spotting park that was removed sometime in the last decade...never been to the new location.

On recent visits to DFW, while it’s still an amazing airport, it doesn’t resemble the place I grew up traveling through. The new international terminal is quite a sight, but again, it’s the new generation at DFW along with that sky train (which is very cool, I will say)

Does anyone else have similar fond memories of DFW in the 1980s-2003 time range? What about the CR Smith museum? I remember visiting when the flagship DC-3 was parked outside.

Anyone else feel nostalgia for the good old days at DFW?

SeattleAviation wrote:

Anyone else feel nostalgia for the good old days at DFW?

no

Fond memories of the TrAAin, and having to come back through security? No. None.

Thank god for the SkyTrain, 'cuz connecting at DFW used to be one big pain in the you-know-what.

Concordes visits by way of Braniff and AF-BA.

Unfortunately, in all my years traveling through DFW, I don’t think I ever saw a single 747. Odd for one of the largest airports in the world.

Some rare finds back in the 87-89 timeframe (my time there) that were great to see:
Thai and Korean 747s
BCal DC-10-30s
AA 747 SPs
LH A340-200s
And I’ll second the DL L10s. There might even have been a -500 in the mix, but not sure about that.

I have been flying through DFW since its opened. I miss the the original trams and you can still see the right of way left on the west side of International Parkway, but the Skytrain has made DFW the connecting hub it is today. Without it, no Terminal D. I miss the good ole days when Delta and AA fought it out. Don't miss the early days of hubbing when DL and AA schedule planners thought it was a great idea to schedule all flights to depart between 6-630pm. Hated that evening bank.

Random thoughts-

1. DFW controllers knew how to move metal using the older four N/S parallel runways, before the addition of the two N/S runways. On VFR days, it would be cool see four sets of arrival landings lights staggered (ala SFO does today). Using the inner takeoff runways for arrivals too, it was an amazing arrival rate back then.

2. Crandall's AA was always tinkering with then 2E and 3E. Such as cramming two stubby winged MD80s per normal gate area to get more use out of the existing gates.

3. The old Founder's park was better than the new one.

So many memories.

The trAAin was unique for sure but the Skylink is far more useful and efficient. I know what you mean about the dual AA/DL hub with BN in the mix prior to that. I always liked the dynamic of the dual hubs we saw in years past (EA/DL in ATL, CO/UA in DEN, PA/EA in MIA, TW/OZ in STL, etc). It seems that ORD is the last man standing as far as a true mid-continent legacy airline dual hub. I do think DFW (at least preCovid) was quite “goldeny” and doing quite well however. A massive AA hub with thousands of daily operations all over the worlds on all kinds of metal, a vibrant line up of international carriers serving 5 continents, focus city operations for DL and NK, direct rail links to Dallas and Ft. Worth, etc. I for one thinks that at least pre covid and hopefully again in the near future, that DFW is doing quite well and is quite unique.

For 10+ years after the original Braniff stopped flying, the mechanical FIDS screens in parts of their old terminal were frozen with the flights planned for the shutdown day in 1982. It was an eerie time capsule - a moment frozen in time.

Nice video collection of the earlier DFW days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0aHtT9DltA

My memories of the original trams was the Spanish announcements being given with a HUGE Texas drawl. It made me laugh. I used to fly in there in the early 80's driving new cars to DFW and then flying back to FSM on Metro Airlines Convair 580s!

LASVegan wrote:

The trAAin was unique for sure but the Skylink is far more useful and efficient.

Not to mention the unique view afforded by the Skylink. There aren’t many airports where you can get that look down view of the aircraft and observe airport operations from such a high vantage point.

I'm not an airline employee, however, I did visit the CR Smith Museum on December 12, 2020. You'll be happy to know the DC3 is now indoors and properly displayed. You can go inside the plane too. I'm currently on a two night visit to DFW and staying at one of the Hyatt's. Today, I walked over to Terminal C and found the remnants of the old Skytrain or whatever it was originally called. Last week DFW celebrated its 47th birthday. As they say, today is the good ole' days. Your memory is from the late 80's and I'm old enough to remember visiting DFW during an open house prior to opening. My dad brought me to the airport and we rode the Skytrain. It was shaky, rocky, rolling, but soooo much fun.

I avoid DFW like the plague. Never been there, DAL yes.

Oh I definitely have a lot of nostalgia for it.
Acres and acres of brown painted everything. EVERYTHING.
And the two derelict Braniff (Braniff II or III I guess, whichever one revived the "Ultra" scheme) 727's parked at the end of one horseshoe (I was too young to know which terminal), one orange and one green.
I loved the TrAAin... it made connections much easier, since it was inside security. Used the same track and cars as the AirTrans. But of course, SkyLink is way more better. But for those who weren't impressed by the original, you should do some reading on what it was SUPPOSED to be. Baggage automation, garbage collection, passenger movement... pretty awesome plans, that just didn't pan out.
I also miss F100's, 727's, Super 80's, DC-10's, and L-1011's... plus the occasional UPS DC-8-72.
And the terminals, back when Branding was more than mere Marketing.
I also miss the variety- Rio, Continental meatball, United rainbow, ATA, Vanguard, TWA, Northwest, USAir.... Midwest Express! ASA's Brasilias. American Eagle Gulfstream I's and Saabs.

Yeah, DFW today may be way better than it was in the past, but... the past was pretty sweet, too.

OzarkD9S wrote:

I avoid DFW like the plague. Never been there, DAL yes.

Not sure why.

It's my favorite large connecting airport in the world. It isn't pretty or fancy like DOH, SIN, HKG etc. but you can't go from any gate to any gate in < 12 mins anywhere else.

mjba257 wrote:

Thank god for the SkyTrain, 'cuz connecting at DFW used to be one big pain in the you-know-what.

trAAin was before my time, but I've heard the horror stories.

I posted these a while back that I made 3 decades ago...

https://youtu.be/rsZ8TIyTr_Q

https://youtu.be/lemLIg-8hWo

https://youtu.be/qSBp5YXBQRI

Don’t judge on the shaky camera work
Tried the stabilizer

OzarkD9S wrote:

I avoid DFW like the plague. Never been there, DAL yes.

A pretty dumb statement to say if you’ve never been there. You have no legitimate reason to avoid it like a plague.

LASVegan wrote:

The trAAin was unique for sure but the Skylink is far more useful and efficient. I know what you mean about the dual AA/DL hub with BN in the mix prior to that. I always liked the dynamic of the dual hubs we saw in years past (EA/DL in ATL, CO/UA in DEN, PA/EA in MIA, TW/OZ in STL, etc). It seems that ORD is the last man standing as far as a true mid-continent legacy airline dual hub. I do think DFW (at least preCovid) was quite “goldeny” and doing quite well however. A massive AA hub with thousands of daily operations all over the worlds on all kinds of metal, a vibrant line up of international carriers serving 5 continents, focus city operations for DL and NK, direct rail links to Dallas and Ft. Worth, etc. I for one thinks that at least pre covid and hopefully again in the near future, that DFW is doing quite well and is quite unique.

It never had ‘thousands of daily operations’. That is QUITE the exaggeration.

Antarius wrote:

mjba257 wrote:

Thank god for the SkyTrain, 'cuz connecting at DFW used to be one big pain in the you-know-what.

trAAin was before my time, but I've heard the horror stories.

trAAin was slow and worst of all, was not airside, meaning you had to reclear security. So basically, my only option was to walk. And when transferring from Eagle to mainline, that was not fun

sldispatcher wrote:

I posted these a while back that I made 3 decades ago...

https://youtu.be/rsZ8TIyTr_Q

https://youtu.be/lemLIg-8hWo

https://youtu.be/qSBp5YXBQRI

Don’t judge on the shaky camera work
Tried the stabilizer

Wow. That was a real treat to watch. Thanks for posting

mjba257 wrote:

Antarius wrote:

mjba257 wrote:

Thank god for the SkyTrain, 'cuz connecting at DFW used to be one big pain in the you-know-what.

trAAin was before my time, but I've heard the horror stories.

trAAin was slow and worst of all, was not airside, meaning you had to reclear security. So basically, my only option was to walk. And when transferring from Eagle to mainline, that was not fun

Interesting, I did not know the trAAin was landside and not post-security. I had thought the regular DFW tram connected all terminals, and the trAAin was for 2E & 3E airside. When did AA construct the post-security connector between terminals 2E & 3E? I believe the overhead bridge to 2W (Terminal B) was built sometime in the late 90's.

For all the hate the semicircular terminals get on this forum, DFW is probably one of the easiest airports to traverse for locals, and the SkyLink enhances that status for connections.

Though DFW needs to work on improving DART light rail station access to the terminals. The TerminalLink bus is atrocious in frequency.

B595 wrote:

Some rare finds back in the 87-89 timeframe (my time there) that were great to see:
Thai and Korean 747s
BCal DC-10-30s
AA 747 SPs
LH A340-200s
And I’ll second the DL L10s. There might even have been a -500 in the mix, but not sure about that.

NZ 742s aswell. Weekly AKL-PPT/HNL-DFW-LGW-FRA vv OCT87 March 89.

SeattleAviation wrote:

Unfortunately, in all my years traveling through DFW, I don’t think I ever saw a single 747. Odd for one of the largest airports in the world.

You're too young. AA had 747 flights into DFW as late as 1984, when their remaining 747s were 'swapped' for Pan Am's ex-National DC-10s. I've got photos of AA 747s at DFW from both the 70s and early '80s. Belive DFW-HNL was the last route flown by the 747 from DFW. And, of course, Braniff had their sole 747 ('Big Orange') flying that same route every day from the airport's opening in January 1974 until their end in 1982. Joined by a few other BN 747s following the start of deregulation at the end of 1978. I also recall seeing a few Delta 747s operating scheduled flights to ATL/LAX in the mid-'70s. Have a few shots of those as well.

WTXJET wrote:

I'm not an airline employee, however, I did visit the CR Smith Museum on December 12, 2020. You'll be happy to know the DC3 is now indoors and properly displayed. You can go inside the plane too. I'm currently on a two night visit to DFW and staying at one of the Hyatt's. Today, I walked over to Terminal C and found the remnants of the old Skytrain or whatever it was originally called. Last week DFW celebrated its 47th birthday. As they say, today is the good ole' days. Your memory is from the late 80's and I'm old enough to remember visiting DFW during an open house prior to opening. My dad brought me to the airport and we rode the Skytrain. It was shaky, rocky, rolling, but soooo much fun.

It was originally called Air Trans. Well remember riding it around all of the terminals for fun in the airport's early years (mid-'70s). It used to have the habit of stopping for no apparent reason between the terminals.

My memories go back to 1974 when DFW opened. My first trip there was on a Texas International DC-9; ABQ-ROW-MAF-DFW (I avoided nonstop flights whenever possible). I began my career with AA in 1979 when they began ABQ-DFW service and DFW has been like a second home ever since. I could write "good" stories on this thread all day.

Antarius wrote:

OzarkD9S wrote:

I avoid DFW like the plague. Never been there, DAL yes.

Not sure why.

It's my favorite large connecting airport in the world. It isn't pretty or fancy like DOH, SIN, HKG etc. but you can't go from any gate to any gate in < 12 mins anywhere else.

I agree. DFW is also my favorite airport to connect in. It’s also about my favorite airport to arrive internationally. I’ve always found clearing customs fast and efficient there. Much better than MIA. LAX can be hit or miss.

I seek out connecting at DFW when feasible.

Unlike many posts I see on A.net, I’ve personally always had good experiences with AA so choose them when I can.

I do miss the MD-80 powerbacks at DFW. Those are the Golden Days I most miss.

Let's not forget the AMFAC hotel both east and west towers. AA was pretty much terminal C only with Eastern residing in terminal A. Pretty sure there was only the one ATC tower in the middle. That would be early 1984.

I think this is a case of looking at the past with rose colored glasses. New DFW is so, so much better than the old one. There are memories, sure, but I don't miss it.

I would like to see more videos of the old terminal interior.

B595 wrote:

Some rare finds back in the 87-89 timeframe (my time there) that were great to see:
Thai and Korean 747s
BCal DC-10-30s
AA 747 SPs
LH A340-200s
And I’ll second the DL L10s. There might even have been a -500 in the mix, but not sure about that.

Mea culpa on the LH A340-200s. That was later in the 90’s.

But according to departedflights, DL did indeed use an L1011-500 into DFW in the late 80’s timeframe. Apparently it was a domestic route, probably ATL, LAX, or HNL, because departedflights only lists Acapulco and Mexico city as DL international destinations at that time, and they wouldn’t have used it on those. Be curious if anyone knows.

I’ve flown out of and into DFW literally hundreds of times since 1981 or 1982.

To clear up one item of confusion, the old tram system was primarily outside security but for a fairly short period some cars were programmed to operate inside security (which were known as the TrAAin). You boarded and unboarded from opposite sides of the “track” depending which you were using.

It’s funny how nostalgia works. People remember things fondly because, well, I guess they like to reminisce. In reality the airport offers a better passenger experience in every dimension nowadays than it did in the golden days. Except for TSA and that’s not really the airport’s fault.

Delta flew the L1011-500 (L15) on the IAH-DFW-HNL-DFW-IAH routes back in the mid to late 80’s as flight numbers DL 17 and DL 16. I flew them many times on this route as well as just the IAH-DFW-IAH routes. It was nice to fly a wide-body in “real” business class on a roughly 40 minute flight. Their service to Hawaii was superb. I was on the DFW-HNL portion of the flight and they were showing James Bond’s “A View To A Kill.” Coincidentally as the zeppelin (in the movie) was flying over the Golden Gate Bridge - so were we! It was a sunny, beautiful day in SFO and the color of the bridge was glowing. I’ll always remember that movie and flight. Great memories!

AA737-823 wrote:

....I loved the TrAAin... it made connections much easier, since it was inside security. Used the same track and cars as the AirTrans. But of course, SkyLink is way more better. But for those who weren't impressed by the original, you should do some reading on what it was SUPPOSED to be. Baggage automation, garbage collection, passenger movement... pretty awesome plans, that just didn't pan out....

^^^^This^^^^^. And, for those old enough to remember, used to cost a quarter to board AirTrans. Used to have those turnstiles with quarter slots placed between the entry doorway from the curb (and exit from the elevator) and the actual station lobby.

The comment about garbage collection - AirTrans was indeed used for garbage collection activity. The car was just a flat bed model of the passenger cars. However, the lowest point of the bed sat much higher than the lowest point of the passenger car. For those that remember, there was always a darkened vestibule in the vicinity of the pax stations where the trash car would stop. IIRC, most of these were on a railspur on the opposite side of the tracks from the pax stations.

mga707 wrote:

It was originally called Air Trans. Well remember riding it around all of the terminals for fun in the airport's early years (mid-'70s). It used to have the habit of stopping for no apparent reason between the terminals.

^^^^And this!^^^^ - If I had a dollar for every ride I took having to connect from AA or DL to TI (and v.v.) only to have the car stop. The groans that would be elicited! And horrors if traversing AirTrans during summertime, stopped on the tracks between terminals, in a car without air conditioning.

Though I never experienced an AirTrans ride during winter, I do recall it being said the system would shut down whenever ice storms occurred. I would imagine it would also shut down whenever precipitation froze.

LATE EDIT - Just found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh53ke7bIjw

lx2iah wrote:

Delta flew the L1011-500 (L15) on the IAH-DFW-HNL-DFW-IAH routes back in the mid to late 80’s as flight numbers DL 17 and DL 16. I flew them many times on this route as well as just the IAH-DFW-IAH routes. It was nice to fly a wide-body in “real” business class on a roughly 40 minute flight. Their service to Hawaii was superb. I was on the DFW-HNL portion of the flight and they were showing James Bond’s “A View To A Kill.” Coincidentally as the zeppelin (in the movie) was flying over the Golden Gate Bridge - so were we! It was a sunny, beautiful day in SFO and the color of the bridge was glowing. I’ll always remember that movie and flight. Great memories!

Didn't know that...that flight was definitely ATL-DFW-HNL in the 90s...thats when I flew it on the ATL-DFW leg to connect to IAH. Took it specifically to fly the L15

lx2iah wrote:

Delta flew the L1011-500 (L15) on the IAH-DFW-HNL-DFW-IAH routes back in the mid to late 80’s as flight numbers DL 17 and DL 16. I flew them many times on this route as well as just the IAH-DFW-IAH routes. It was nice to fly a wide-body in “real” business class on a roughly 40 minute flight. Their service to Hawaii was superb. I was on the DFW-HNL portion of the flight and they were showing James Bond’s “A View To A Kill.” Coincidentally as the zeppelin (in the movie) was flying over the Golden Gate Bridge - so were we! It was a sunny, beautiful day in SFO and the color of the bridge was glowing. I’ll always remember that movie and flight. Great memories!

Thanks for that. Never would have guessed DFW-IAH.

sldispatcher wrote:

I posted these a while back that I made 3 decades ago...

https://youtu.be/rsZ8TIyTr_Q

https://youtu.be/lemLIg-8hWo

https://youtu.be/qSBp5YXBQRI

Don’t judge on the shaky camera work
Tried the stabilizer

Surprised to see those AA 727-100s. Thought they would've been gone by that time.

And nice to see the BA DC-10-30 in Landor colors. The nose is really yanked up just after touchdown (~20:55 in Clip 1). Almost looks like it's in the process of rotating to go around, but it doesn't.

B595 wrote:

B595 wrote:

But according to departedflights, DL did indeed use an L1011-500 into DFW in the late 80’s timeframe. Apparently it was a domestic route, probably ATL, LAX, or HNL, because departedflights only lists Acapulco and Mexico city as DL international destinations at that time, and they wouldn’t have used it on those. Be curious if anyone knows.

Mexico City and Acapulco were always 727-200's

I spent many, many hours transiting through DFW in the 80 and 90s, I remember all the American Eagle Jetstreams that seemed to land and take off almost as a flock! and the Continental MD80s reverse thrust push backs! and of course my AA DC10s back home...

n9801f wrote:

For 10+ years after the original Braniff stopped flying, the mechanical FIDS screens in parts of their old terminal were frozen with the flights planned for the shutdown day in 1982. It was an eerie time capsule - a moment frozen in time.

Wow, that’s awesome! Any pictures of videos from that?

DL flew the L15 from DFW to FRA in the late 80s, early 90s. I flew it in business class. I remember the entire airplane filled with cigarette smoke! I also remember flying it from DFW to IAH in the late 80s.

B595 wrote:

lx2iah wrote:

Delta flew the L1011-500 (L15) on the IAH-DFW-HNL-DFW-IAH routes back in the mid to late 80’s as flight numbers DL 17 and DL 16. I flew them many times on this route as well as just the IAH-DFW-IAH routes. It was nice to fly a wide-body in “real” business class on a roughly 40 minute flight. Their service to Hawaii was superb. I was on the DFW-HNL portion of the flight and they were showing James Bond’s “A View To A Kill.” Coincidentally as the zeppelin (in the movie) was flying over the Golden Gate Bridge - so were we! It was a sunny, beautiful day in SFO and the color of the bridge was glowing. I’ll always remember that movie and flight. Great memories!

Thanks for that. Never would have guessed DFW-IAH.

During the 80's and 90's American flew numerous DC-10's from DFW to places like ELP, AUS, SAT, IAH, BNA............

I was 8 years old and living in Colleyville when the airport opened. In fact, I went to DFW's opening with my father. My favorite times were in 1980 when I started to drive at 15. I would drive to the airport, park at terminal 1W which was the Braniff terminal and I would start collecting timetables. I would take the Airtan around to the other terminals. Back then it actually cost 50 cents and there were turnstiles. There were several routes that connected different terminals and the parking areas and rental cars. This was a fantastic time to see all the new airlines that started flying into DFW after deregulation. Republic, New York Air, Northwest, AirOne, United, JetAmerica, Piedmont, are just some of the few that I remember .

I would also park on the shoulder of N Airfield Drive under the flight path on the west side of the airport. The road was only 2 lanes and and was surrounded by fields. It was so cool to be standing directly underneath the planes when they were only 500 ft or so over my head. I never even thought once back then that I would have the authorities tell me I couldn't plane spot there....ah good times!

When DFW first opened in 1974, there were four "hub" airlines each using one of the four horseshoe terminals; Braniff used 2W (now terminal B), Texas International used 2E (now A), American was at 3E (now C), and Delta was at 4E, (now E). There weren't many other airlines there yet (before deregulation). Eastern was in 3E with AA, I don't remember where Continental, Frontier, Mexicana, and the other few were at. In 1982 when Braniff collapsed and Texas International merged into Continental (dehubbing DFW), AA started expanding into 2E and all the other carriers except Delta moved into 2W along with the many new airlines that came after deregulation. In the late 80's, Delta expanded by building their satellite off terminal E. With all the mergers in the late 80's, many gates opened up in terminal B and after AA had filled up terminals A and C they started expanding into B, eventually making it all American Eagle. Now Eagle has outgrown B and expanded into E including Delta's old satellite.

There is a good book on the history of DFW published by Arcadia. I'm surprised Arcadia published this book as they normally focus on really old places but I'm sure glad they did. The book does talk a lot about DFW's predecessor, Amon Carter Field/Great Southwest International Airport, which was located just south of DFW. This was a very busy airport in the 1950's and 1960's, mainly serving Fort Worth.

In the 2000's American Eagle also occupied the remote terminal north of terminal A and across the taxiways. They had constant busses shuttling passengers back and forth to A. The commuters, Boutique and Southern Airways Express, use this terminal now. Through the 80's and 90's, Eagle was all jammed up in the gates at the north end of terminal A. Delta Connection had all the ASA Bandeirante's and Brasilia's crammed in to the north end of terminal E. I remember having to take a bus from an A gate to an Eagle Saab 340 which was parked close in, only about 50 feet away! They wouldn't let us walk to it.

Here’s a couple more that I remember...
AA 7 / AA 8 were the 747 flight numbers DFW-HNL-DFW
AA 5 / AA 6 were the D10 flight numbers DFW-HNL-DFW
This was approximately May / June 1984 because we took a trip to Hawaii and flew AA 7 / 8 to / from Honolulu around this time.

How about the AA Eagle Convair 580 service they had from
DFW? I flew from DFW to Tyler (TYR) to Longview (GGG) (and return) in ‘85 or ‘86 and have to say those were “unique” flights. I think the plane yawed (is that the correct terminology to use) from DFW to TYR the whole way because of thunderstorms in the area of our flight path. Never had the experience of almost flying “sideways” for 45 minutes. When we landed in Tyler, the rain was hitting the hot engine and evaporating almost instantly. What a trip!

B595 wrote:

B595 wrote:

Some rare finds back in the 87-89 timeframe (my time there) that were great to see:
Thai and Korean 747s
BCal DC-10-30s
AA 747 SPs
LH A340-200s
And I’ll second the DL L10s. There might even have been a -500 in the mix, but not sure about that.

Mea culpa on the LH A340-200s. That was later in the 90’s.

But according to departedflights, DL did indeed use an L1011-500 into DFW in the late 80’s timeframe. Apparently it was a domestic route, probably ATL, LAX, or HNL, because departedflights only lists Acapulco and Mexico city as DL international destinations at that time, and they wouldn’t have used it on those. Be curious if anyone knows.

For a while before they closed the DFW hub, Delta flew DFW-FRA with an L1011-500; also flew DFW-HNL (I think with that airplane as well).