Transportation
The companies featured in the following
pages are local leaders in the growing
event transportation industry. No event is
too big for these experienced professionals.
From limos and buses, to trolleys and antique
cars, contact these service providers to transform
your ordinary business meeting into an
extravagant affair.
Air Travel
The Metroplex is served by nine international
and 19 domestic airlines via DFW International
Airport, Love Field, Alliance Airport
and 11 surrounding reliever airports. The City
of Dallas operates Dallas Executive Airport just
south of downtown and a public-use heliport/
vertiport near the convention center. Adding
to the city’s overall convenience, direct flight
time from Dallas/Fort Worth to nearly any city
in the continental United States takes four
hours or less.
Dallas/FortWorth International Airport
This massive airport is recognized as the
world’s third largest in land mass and third
busiest in operations. Dallas/Fort Worth International
handled 685,491 operations and
nearly 60 million passengers in 2007, including
724,140.3 metric tons of cargo and more than
5 million international passengers. There are
seven runways, five terminals and 152 boarding
gates. The consolidated International Terminal
D is capable of serving 32,000 passengers per
day and its customs facility can process up to
2,800 people per hour. The airport features
three FAA control towers, eight Samsung Mobile
Travel Centers, manned information booths and
high-speed wireless Internet access in all terminals,
nonstop service to 173 destinations and
approximately 62 daily international nonstop
departures.
Love Field
Just 20 minutes and seven miles from
Dallas’s central business district, Love Field
has long been a hub for regional business and
commuter travel. This general-use airport near
Cedar Springs at Mockingbird Lane is owned
and operated by the City of Dallas. The facility
serves 7 million passengers a year. This airport
is home base for Southwest Airlines, which
redefined the concept of customer service. Also
servicing Love Field travelers is Express Jet and
American Airlines/American Eagle. Seven fullservice,
fixed-base operators at Love Field
provide a variety of services including fuel,
maintenance, hangar rentals and charters.
Expected to have significant impact on
travel to and from Dallas/Fort Worth in the
years to come, the Wright Amendment
Reform Act was approved by Congress in late
2006. This agreement ended two decades of
air travel controversy, paving the way for
more equitable airline competition and lower
airfares. The compromise could draw an estimated
2 million new passengers annually to
North Texas and produce fare savings of
$259 million per year, according to DFW
International Airport.
Ground Transportation
Transportation efficiency is an essential
element of any corporate business meeting or
hosting event. The Metroplex complements
this belief with a carefully orchestrated infrastructure
of roadways. To further support
ground mobility, Dallas/Fort Worth is noted
with the highest utilization rate of High Occupancy
Vehicle (HOV) lanes of any major metropolitan
area in the country.
Shuttles/Taxis
Hold onto your luggage—airport shuttle
services are considered an efficient and
affordable method of transportation for visitors
to the city. Both airports in the Metroplex
are amply supplied with ground transportation
companies that run shuttles back and forth
from hotels, parking lots, shopping venues and other popular pick-up/drop-off points.
For more information about ground transportation
at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, call
972-574-5878.
Rental Cars
Renting cars in the Metroplex is a common
way of accommodating visitors to the city.
Many of the top automobile rental companies
have offices at DFW International Airport,
Love Field, at some of the large local hotels
such as the Westin Hotel Galleria and select
Metroplex locations.
DFW International Airport also is home to
the Consolidated Car Center. The two-story
130,000-square-foot car rental center sits on
250 acres and includes 10 individual car
rental companies. The facility houses 5,000
cars within 1.4 million square feet of garage.
The car center is approximately eight minutes
from the most distant terminal. For more
information, call 972-574-8970.
Limousines & Stretch SUVs
Arrive in style with an elegant and sophisticated
limousine or indulge in a Texas-styled
limousine such as a stretch SUV Excursion or
Suburban.
Companies throughout the Metroplex area
provide executive services allowing your business
attendees to ride in style. No matter
where you stay, a DFW-based service has a
luxury line of vehicles to meet your needs.
Street Cars & Trolleys
For a creative way to travel, hook up with
one of Dallas’s street cars or trolleys. McKinney Avenue Transit Authority invites you aboard its
one of four authentic early 20th century
restored trolley cars. The route travels from
downtown Dallas to the McKinney Avenue
entertainment district.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) also
offers retro-styled trolley-buses that cater to
downtown Dallas and surrounding areas. The
trolley-buses accommodate 29 passengers,
are wheelchair lift equipped and are a memorable
way to travel either individually or
reserved for a large group. For more information,
call 214-979-1111.
Buses & Vans
One of the Metroplex’s favorite Mexican
restaurants, On the Border, offers a fun way
to pick up large groups around the downtown
Dallas area and deliver them to the restaurant.
The brightly colored bus is an innovative
way to transport your group of 10 or more to
lunch or dinner. The bus service is free to
groups being picked up in downtown Dallas
between 10:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. On
weeknights and weekends, the bus costs
$250 to rent and picks up outside of the
downtown Dallas area such as from the American
Airlines Center.
Certainly there are always the more
traditional private bus charters that are in abundance
throughout the Metroplex such as Coach
USA, Eagle Tours and Dan Dipert Coaches.
DART is also a highly reliable resource for public
bus transportation around the Metroplex.
Equipped with wheel-chair lifts, DART
offers paratransit bus and van service for
eligible riders. Call 214-515-7272 for more
information.
West End Carriages
For smaller more intimate groups, the
West End offers charming horse-drawn carriages
as a way to gallop along the streets in
the West End Historic District. Enjoy the fresh
air and admire the many restaurants, shops
and tourists attractions along the way.
Rail
Amtrak
All aboard! Arriving at Union Station in
downtown Dallas are Amtrak’s passenger
trains. The station is connected by a pedestrian
tunnel to the Hyatt Regency Hotel and
Reunion Tower. Offering a wonderful traveling
alternative, trains connect Dallas with
Chicago and San Antonio. From Chicago,
connections are available to the East Coast
and from San Antonio, connections are available
to New Orleans, Los Angeles and Florida.
For more information about Amtrak, call
1-800-872-7245.
DART Light Rail &
Trinity Railway Express (TRE)
DART connects the Metroplex via its convenient
and modern light rail service reaching
from Park Lane through downtown Dallas and
extending to both West and South Oak Cliff.
DART also offers the Trinity Railway Express
that runs from Union Station in downtown
Dallas to Irving, DFW International Airport,
North Richland Hills and Fort Worth. Visit
www.dart.org for information on getting
around town.