Taking off Travel blog

Parking at Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport has become a headache for passengers and drivers, according to this report from NBC. With construction taking place at Terminal A, there are now 1,600 less available spaces at the airport, and that’s likely to continue for 16 months. With parking chaos at the airport many travelers are choosing other options, such as getting someone to drop them off or relying on off airport parking solutions – and that’s where we can help. Our FastTrack Airport Parking facility is not far from the airport, has a free airport shuttle and operates year round, so whenever you’re traveling it’s a good option. Here are some of the benefits of this DFW parking facility:

• Guaranteed airport parking reservations
• Short-term or long-term
• Self-park, Covered
• Secure and well-lit fenced lot
• 24-hour surveillance
• Best available discounted rate
• We’ll handle all your luggage
• No walking – through rain or shine, hot or cold
• Complimentary, comfortable shuttles
• Continuous departures from our lot and terminal
• Quick and convenient
• Curb-to-curb service
• Earn Rewards towards free days
• Accessible parking

Now, isn’t that better than circling the airport for 45 minutes, as some have had to do?

The American Automobile Association (AAA) has released its annual Independence Day Travel Forecast, in conjunction with IHS Global Insight. The figures predict a 2.5% decline in travel by car for the upcoming holiday weekend. Still, some 39 million travelers will be on the road, going at least 50 miles from home. The survey sees gas prices as a key contributor to the downward trend:

Gas prices remain a significant headwind for not only the overall economy, but also for the travel and tourism industry. While almost 25 cents less than the nearly $4 a gallon peak of early May, the national average price for regular gasoline is still more than a dollar higher than at this time last year. The 37 percent year-over-year increase in prices far outweighs any short-term benefit that the recent five percent decline in prices over the last several weeks might provide.

However, there is some good news. For those who are traveling, holiday spending is forecast to increase. Party on!

The full report is available for download here. And if you’re one of the people on the road to the airport for the Independence Day holiday, don’t forget to check out our coupon for off airport parking savings.

We don’t want to say we told you so, but … we told you so! UK travel comparison site Travel Supermarket has published research showing that Easter holiday makers can save up to 572% off the cost of airport parking by using an off airport parking lot for an eight day stay. The average saving that could be made across the 23 airports researched equaled $177, with greater savings to be made at Heathrow, the UK’s most expensive airport for airport parking. Hmm, wonder what the savings would be on US airport parking?

Read the full story here – and don’t forget to check out our off airport parking coupons and deals.

The Middletown Press has updated its article on the nation’s most beautiful airport terminals.  As well as JFK’s Terminal 8 (American Airlines) and Terminal 5 (Jet Blue), and the upgraded Detroit and Houston terminals, it includes the recently inaugurated revamped Terminal 2 at San Francisco International and Miami International Airport’s renovation. (And yes, we do offer off airport parking at all of them.) I’ll be checking a couple of those upgrades out in person later this year.

And internationally? My current pick for best airport terminal is Heathrow’s Terminal 5. What do you think?

Travelers leaving the US from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airport will soon have a new destination to fly to – Sydney, Australia. Qantas is to start operating a service four days a week from May 16. According to the MSN report,  DFW Airport has offered the Australian airline some $3M of incentives to kick start the service, which is estimated to bring in some $130M in annual revenue. The direct flight will last just over 15 hours, with the return leg via Brisbane.

According to eTravel Blackboard, 50,000 of the 900,000+ Australians who visited the US last year went to Texas. (If you’re planning to take advantage of the new route, don’t forget you can book Dallas airport parking with us; see the main Park Ride Fly USA site for a coupon.)

ORD Airport News

In other airport news, Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) is to sell bonds worth $1bn in April to fund a planned expansion which will see the number of runways increased to 8. The move is intended to cut delays. (via Reuters)

MKE Airport News

Finally, yesterday’s announcement that all the airport parking lots at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Airport were full gives another good reason to take advantage of our Milwaukee airport parking service. As we’ve said before, booking off airport parking saves time and money, not to mention getting turned away at the gate!