DFW Featured in Newly Published Book, “The World Connected: DFW International Airport, Taking Flight into the 21st Century”

(DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT – May 11, 2007) – DFW International Airport and its massive effort to build the new International Terminal D and Skylink train under challenging economic and security conditions is highlighted in a new book entitled “The World Connected: DFW International Airport, Taking Flight Into the 21st Century.” Written by local author Ginger Ebinger, the 272-page volume chronicles the planning, design and construction of DFW’s $2.8-billion Capital Development Program (CDP), the largest expansion in the Airport’s history which opened just four years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the resulting economic difficulties on the global aviation industry. 

“The World Connected” also features an in-depth look at the rich history of aviation in North Texas stretching back to the early 1900s with stories and photographs of the area’s aviation pioneers, through the vision and creation of DFW International Airport. The book culminates with the most recent major milestones in DFW’s history: the resolution of the Wright Amendment debate and the partnership with Chesapeake Energy to drill for natural gas on the Airport’s 18,000 acres. 

“There have been books written about DFW in the past, but never anything approaching the beauty and depth of this book,” said Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW. “There are so many interesting stories which are part of the legendary history of aviation in Dallas and Fort Worth, and of course DFW is re-writing history every day with our new facilities and our growth plans for the decades ahead.” 

The book details many of the goals, design concepts and challenges facing the Airport’s developers and visionaries, from the beginning of construction in 1968 to other key points in history. 

“DFW executives faced a very difficult and unique set of circumstances in the days following the 9/11 attacks,” said author Ginger Ebinger. “The fact that they were able to complete the new international terminal and Skylink on time and under budget says a lot about the world-class team that DFW employs.” 

 “The World Connected” takes readers on an illustrated tour of the massive CDP construction project that produced International Terminal D and the DFW Grand Hyatt Hotel, Skylink and other major Airport improvements completed in 2005. 

Additionally, the new book contains an entire section detailing each of the 37 works of art that comprise DFW’s bold and compelling $6-million Art Program, which includes works inside International Terminal D and all ten Skylink stations as well as the Nasher Sculpture Garden. 

More than 18 months in the making, “The World Connected” was researched and developed with the assistance of the DFW Airport Public Affairs Department as well as the Communications team from the DFW Capital Development Program. 

“Our team put a great deal of hard work and research into this book, and I truly think it brings the incredible history of DFW up to date,” said Ken Capps, vice president of public affairs at DFW. “We are pleased it even has a happy ending with the Wright Amendment compromise and the Chesapeake deal.”

The book also contains hundreds of photographs collected from DFW’s Records Management Department, the Dallas Public Library’s Dallas History and Archives Division, the University of Texas at Arlington’s Special Collections Division and other archival sources. 

“Anyone interested in aviation will find this book fascinating,” said Duff Tussing of DSA Publishing of McKinney, Texas, the book’s publisher. “It really captures the romance and spirit of flying that has long captivated the American public, and the colorful local history presented here makes it a very entertaining read.”

The book retails for $39.95 and will be available via secure online purchase at www.celebratedfw.com, as well as at the four Hudson Booksellers stores at DFW, located in the terminals at A16, B20, C24 and E13. The publisher independently financed the book through sponsor advertising and sales, and the Airport receives no money or royalties from sales of the book.