The view over Summerville as we near Charleston. Photo by: Evan Berman

After a fun-filled 5 days in Dallas, TX, it was time to return to Charleston. As with the outbound, I flew a non-stop flight on American Airlines.

The review of my return flight to Charleston is part of the February in Dallas trip. For more on this trip, follow these links:

Intro

Flight: American Economy, CHS-DFW

Bruce Springsteen in Concert

Tampa Bay Lightning Game

5 Days in Dallas

Food and Drinks in Dallas

Lounges at DFW Airport

Flight: American Economy DFW-CHS (This Article)

Conclusion

Flight Info:

Route: DFW-CHS (Dallas- Fort Worth, TX’s DFW International Airport to Charleston, SC’s Charleston International Airport)

Date: Monday, February 13th, 2023

Flight: AA 2325 (American)

Plane: Boeing 737-800

Seat: 10A (Main Cabin Window)

Upgrades: None, 33rd on list for 1 first class seat!

Est. Departure: 11:34am CST (12:34pm EST)

Taxiing: 11:35am CST (12:35pm EST)

Takeoff: 11:41am CST (12:41pm EST)

Gate: C17 (Terminal C)

Est. Arrival: 2:54pm EST

Touchdown: 2:30pm EST

Arrived at Gate: 2:37pm EST

Gate: B9 (Main Terminal)

Pricing:

Flight: I booked the roundtrip flight from Charleston to Dallas for $325.79. I did just fly all the way to Norway and back in December for less than $300 but this is still a decent price for a roundtrip nonstop in the US. Keep in mind that I flew out on Wednesday and returned on a Monday so this is much lower than a quick weekend jaunt would have been.

Earnings: 966 American AAdvantage Miles– 690 Base Miles and 276 from having (entry-level) Gold Status. AA awards miles on it’s own flights based on the price spent, not the distance flown. As such, it makes sense that $138*5=690 miles were earned.

Booking:

I booked on American’s website after searching for flights on Google Flights. I played around with the dates and these were the best options.

As mentioned above, I have status with American so I was able to select a “Preferred” seat and check a bag, if I so chose. I’m team carry-on, so that was not relevant but the perk was appreciated.

Lounges:

I gave an in-depth review of the lounges at DFW that I visited in this article. In short, I headed for the main international terminal, Terminal D and visited the Capital One Lounge and the Centurion Lounge. While the Centurion Lounge offered solid drinks, the buffet paled in comparison to the incredible options available in the Capital One Lounge. In short, I believe the Capital One Lounge to be the best in the US!

I’d like to note that the Skylink (the name for the train system that connects the terminals at DFW) is quite efficient and, more importantly, airside (post-security). That means I did not have to worry about clearing security when moving from the lounges of Terminal D to Terminal C where my flight departed. I certainly wish that more airports did this!

Recap:

Much like the outbound Charleston to Dallas flight, we had a bright sunny day! I got a chance to get some work done and relax after a fun-filled weekend. Flying in the wintertime can make you subject to delays, though interestingly you are more likely to have a bumpy flight during the summertime.

American has installed free wifi on the majority of their planes and this was no exception. The wifi was fast enough to load several internet pages, but not much more. I was still unable to send or receive email.

The 737-800 we flew has a setup of 2-2 seats in First and 3-3 in Economy. The legroom is certainly better than the small regional jets but nothing compared to business/first class.

Meals:

As is typical on shorter US flights, there was no meal service provided. There were no Biscoff cookies handed out as with the outbound flight. Since this was an American flight, I was not concerned though it was something I expected given their presence on the outbound flight.

Sleep:

Since this was a short flight, I did not sleep.

Experience:

Our flight was quick and we touched down in Charleston well ahead of schedule. As I flew economy, there was no meal service and I only received a water about 45 minutes into the flight. While nothing memorable, this was an easy way to return to my home after a great time in Dallas!

Customs:

Once again, I did not need to deal with customs as this was a domestic flight.

Recap:

I purchased a roundtrip flight from Charleston to Dallas-Fort Worth for $325.79. As this was the flight home, I got a chance to relax and think about all of the great times that I had in the past few days. Next up: the conclusion!

Evan