Dive Brief:
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is expanding the scope of its new Terminal F, bringing the cost of the project to $4 billion, the airport announced on May 1. American Airlines will occupy the entire building.
- The new plan is to more than double the number of gates at DFW’s sixth terminal to 31, add facilities to grow international operations, expand customer amenities, build a parking garage and create a single building for passenger check-in, per the release. Customers will be able to move between terminals via a new Skylink station.
- American Airlines cited a positive long-term outlook for growth in passengers and of the North Texas region as the impetus for the expansion, according to a news release from the airline. The original Terminal F work, which broke ground in 2024 and was priced at $1.6 billion, is slated to wrap in 2027, with the newly added project components planned to come online in additional phases.
Dive Insight:
Industry watchers say Fort Worth-based American Airlines’ move is an effort to compete with Southwest Airlines, which primarily operates out of Love Field nearby, according to the Dallas Business Journal. American also currently has a presence in all the existing terminals at DFW.
The design-build team for the Terminal F concourse and Skylink station is Innovation Next+, a joint venture made up of:
- Chicago-based Archer Western Construction.
- New York City-headquartered Turner.
- Atlanta-based H. J. Russell & Co.
- Dallas-headquartered Phillips May Corp.
- Carcon Industries of Dallas.
PGAL, Gensler and Muller2 are the design team.
In 2023, DFW and American Airlines reached a 10-year use and lease agreement that included capital investments such as the construction of Terminal F as a 15-gate facility. The new plan extends its use and lease agreement through 2043, and will enable additional capacity for widebody aircraft and international flight processing as well as more shops, restaurants and public art.
Dallas Fort Worth is the world’s third-busiest airport by passenger traffic, according to Airports Council International, serving nearly 82 million travelers annually and housing 28 airlines.
The new agreement is expected to provide certainty and cost predictability that will support the continued growth of both parties, according to the airline.
“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,” said American Airlines CEO Robert Isom in the release. “Terminal F will elevate our customer experience in a big way, providing customers with a fantastic new facility and state-of-the-art amenities.”
The project is part of the airport’s ongoing DFW Forward capital plan, with a total of more than $12 billion in improvements and expansions either planned or underway, per the airport.
This includes the ongoing $3 billion effort to rework Terminal C and to expand Terminal A. The building team is made up of Austin Commercial and Azteca Enterprises, both based in Dallas, as well as Carrollton, Texas-headquartered Alpha & Omega.
