Dallas Safari Club Convention Summary

[wesheltonj]

. . . San Antonio is building up international terminal space right now
That will be done in 3-4 years . . .

Only when someone pointed out that there new terminal could not handle a B777 they made a change. But it really does not matter, San Antonio cannot support European traffic. Austin on the other-hand just added a second daily BA flight to Heathrow, along with Lufthansa to Frankfurt and KLM to Amsterdam. Austin is building a new International space, with more luggage carousels. Cargo and Business Class seats make those flight profitable. I've been told that BA could run those flight empty and still make money with cargo alone.

 

[pilar]

Only when someone pointed out that there new terminal could not handle a B777 they made a change. But it really does not matter, San Antonio cannot support European traffic. Austin on the other-hand just added a second daily BA flight to Heathrow, along with Lufthansa to Frankfurt and KLM to Amsterdam. Austin is building a new International space, with more luggage carousels. Cargo and Business Class seats make those flight profitable. I've been told that BA could run those flight empty and still make money with cargo alone.

Mas O Minos
You are correct, but Austin and San Antonio are still treated as stepchildren by the major carriers and federal government
Maybe that will change when they start deporting criminal immigrants straight from San Antonio, instead of using lobbyists backed centralized hubs?

 

[BTB Joe]

I appreciate the posts about the outfitters and the reaction to the show. I would like to see more posts about customers actually at the show. Did you enjoy it? What was your favorite? What was wrong? (Besides the weather) how was the booth layout, was it easy to navigate, etc. Try to keep it show focused, like parking, or flight availability, not (just) how bad Atlanta is. Think constructive criticism. That's something to take to a DSC board meeting. (Disclaimer - I am a board member but just a local chapter) thanks!!

I attended DSC for the first time this year. I have a few hunt quotes coming but didn’t book yet. All I purchased was a Leupold VX6 scope at a good price at EuroOptics and a couple DSC shirts.
We were able to book round trip airfare from Dulles (drove 2 hrs to get there) on Frontier for under $100. Hard to beat that. Took Uber everywhere we went and they were available despite the weather. The first morning we hitched a ride to the convention with an exhibitor who parked easily right adjacent to Lobby B. I can’t say whether parking was that easy/available for all attendees.
Our hotel was around $120 base rate but probably around $150 with taxes and fees. I thought that was very reasonable for a downtown area. Restaurants were typical for metro areas. Lots of expensive options but a fair number of standard go-to’s as well (Hard Rock, Hooters, etc.).
The weather complicated things (flight delays turned a two night stay into four nights) but that’s not on DSC. I think one guy with a plow on an F150 could have cleaned up downtown in a day (it really wasn’t much snow) but it was what it was. In any case, we spent two days at the show (Thursday and Friday) and enjoyed it.
The layout was fine and the phone app was helpful. Registration was easy (we preregistered so just needed to have a badge printed).
I found the convention to be very similar to SCI that I attended in Nashville in many respects but that is based on just walking the floor. I didn’t attend seminars, auctions, or dinners… I couldn’t gauge how the area around the convention center was due to weather. Nashville was very nice but I understand it is moving from there.
I will probably continue to visit SCI and DSC occasionally particularly when I’m contemplating DG hunts. Otherwise, I get my fix annually at GAOS in Harrisburg. It’s an easy drive for me.