Using Southwest Airlines to fly south to Amtrak route?

[trackrat888]

I am thinking of using Southwest to fly to Dallas and do my railfanning down there one way from Albany NY and take Amtrak home 2 months later. Would not the airport fees and taxes be more then the ticket itself? Did Amtrak have or still does have any deals with Airlines?

[CMStPnP]

Buried in the Frontier Airlines frequent flyer program is a program where you can exchange Frequent Flyer miles for an Amtrak ticket with sleeping accomodations.....good luck finding it.    It was part of Midwest Express frequent flyer program before that airline was merged into Frontier.   Last I used it, Frontier was familiar with it but Amtrak treated me like I landed from the moon.

Amtrak used to have a fly one way return by rail but they do not use Southwest as far as I know, it was either United or American (think it was United) and the one way airline ticket was full fare and fairly expensive.

[Anonymous]

trackrat888

I am thinking of using Southwest to fly to Dallas and do my railfanning down there one way from Albany NY and take Amtrak home 2 months later. Would not the airport fees and taxes be more then the ticket itself? Did Amtrak have or still does have any deals with Airlines? 

I don't know when you are planning to visit Dallas for some train watching. Early spring is a nice time in Dallas.  

If you flew to Dallas on March 21st, which is the first day of spring, a seat on Southwest could be had for $179.  Other fares range from $278 to $473. All of Southwest's flights out of Albany for Dallas involve one stop.

If you returned to Albany after approximately two months in Big D, a coach seat on Amtrak would cost $220, whilst a sleeper would be $728.

One of the best spots to watch trains in Dallas is Union Station.  There you can see trains from the UP, BNSF, Dallas Garland Northeastern, Amtrak, and the Trinity Railway Express.  You can also see heaps of DART's light rail vehicles.  And you can ride the TRE to Fort Worth.  It doesn't cost much, especially if you are a senior and buy a day pass, which is also good on DART and the T, which is Fort Worth's public transit system.

Amtrak offers rail and sail packages to New Orleans and Seattle.  I don't see any information about rail and fly packages.  But you should check with Amtrak's Train Vacation and Package Deals Department for information re: flying one way and returning by train or vice versa.