DFW has a Fast Pass & pre-made gates. Plus: Pendleton Round-Up returns.

Cut the TSA line AND get free food at DFW

A new amenity that may soon become an airport staple is a program that allows travelers to reserve a time to pass through the TSA checkpoint.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) offers this service – called SEA Spot Saver – from 4 am to noon – at several checkpoints.

Now Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is piloting a similar program.

Launched this week, the DFW Fast Pass program allows travelers who don’t have TSA Precheck or Clear to make a reservation to go to the front of the checkpoint line at the Terminal D checkpoint D18. There is no cost to use the service and reservations can be made up to 7 days in advance.

And, as a nice bonus, DFW is giving passengers who use the service a complementary food or retail offering (while supplies last).

DFW plug-in gates

As part of DFW’s Terminal C renovation, the airport shared a timelapse video of its “High C” gates being moved onto piers at the terminal. Take a look – this may be the way all airport terminals get built in the future.

Where We’d Go: The Pendleton Round-Up

Incorporating many community traditions and the dedication of hundreds of volunteers, the 111-year-old Pendleton Round-Up – one of the country’s oldest rodeos – is back this year and ready to roll in a tiny town in eastern Oregon that is so very Old West.

The festivities include Main Street Cowboy shows, an outdoor cowboy breakfast, and the Westward Ho! Parade, which may be the largest non-motorized parade in the U.S. The real action though is in the historic Pendleton Round-Up Arena, where the classic greeting isn’t ‘hello’ or even ‘howdy,’ but ‘Let’er Buck!” Events include Bareback Bronc Riding, Saddle Bronc Riding, Bull Riding, and Steer Roping, among others.

This rodeo even has its own whiskey. The multi-million-dollar annual licensing fee helps boost the rodeo’s operating budget and contributes to the economic well-being of Pendleton. The town has a year-round population of about 16,000 but welcomes more than 50,000 visitors during the Round-Up.

Thanks for visiting Stuck at the Airport. Subscribe to get daily travel tidbits. And follow me on Twitter at @hbaskas and Instagram.

 

3 thoughts on “DFW has a Fast Pass & pre-made gates. Plus: Pendleton Round-Up returns.

  1. Michael says:

    Thanks for your reply, Harriet. I also received a reply from the DFW staff, and they confirm what you said, and they apologized for the confusion.

    Maybe in the future they will add a Fast Pass checkpoint to Terminal A. That would be handy for those of us using the Metro.

  2. Agree, it is not that clear. Perhaps it is just reassuring you that since you can only use the Fast Past to go through security at D18 that you will be able to get to your gates in other terminals.

  3. Michael says:

    Hello. I’m interested in trying the new DFW Security Fast Pass program. I will check in from home, and already have my boarding pass, with no checked bags. I will be arriving at DFW on the Metro train, and thus will be at Terminal A.

    On the DFW Security Fast Pass signup page (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/dfwsecurityfastpass), it says “If you check in from home or remotely and already have your boarding pass with no checked bags and do not require an airline ticket counter, DFW’s Skylink train connects ALL 5 terminals”.

    This makes it sound as though anyone who meets those criteria, would be able to use the Skylink train to go to Terminal D and then go through checkpoint D 18. But my understanding is that the Skylink train is only airside (in other words, after TSA security). So how could the Skylink train be useful in this situation?

Comments are closed.