DFW vs Love Field: Which Dallas Airport to Fly From

Quick answer

Love Field (DAL) for Southwest and a quick in-and-out close to downtown Dallas. DFW for American's hub, every international flight, and anywhere on the Fort Worth side.

Airlines

DFW is American's largest hub with nonstops to more than 250 destinations, plus all other major carriers. Love Field is dominated by Southwest with a few Delta and Alaska flights.

Fares

On overlapping routes the two airports trade the low fare day by day. Our Dallas route pages cover both.

Getting there

Love Field is about 10 minutes from downtown Dallas and close to the Uptown and Park Cities neighborhoods. DFW sits between Dallas and Fort Worth, 25 to 40 minutes from either downtown, and is on DART rail via the Orange Line as well as a TEXRail line to Fort Worth. For a quick trip staying in Dallas proper, Love Field is far more convenient; for Fort Worth or the mid-cities, DFW wins.

Parking and size

Love Field is a single terminal, so parking is close and getting from curb to gate is fast. DFW is one of the largest airports in the world, with five terminals connected by the Skylink train; economy parking and terminal transfers add real time, so leave a generous margin for a connection or an international flight. Both have free cell-phone waiting lots for pickups.

Why Love Field is Southwest country

For decades the Wright Amendment restricted long-haul flights from Love Field to protect the then-new DFW, which is why Southwest built its network there and why the airport stayed small. Those limits were fully lifted in 2014, so Love Field now flies nonstop coast to coast, but a federal cap on the number of gates keeps it compact and Southwest-dominated. DFW, meanwhile, grew into American's largest hub with nonstops to more than 250 destinations.

Choose by trip

• Southwest, a quick domestic round trip, staying in Dallas or Uptown: Love Field.
• American, a connection, any international flight, or Fort Worth and the mid-cities: DFW.
• The Dallas route page prices both airports together.