[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by bchris02

NWA is the biggest airport in the state

Well I just figured they would have a restaurant with a menu. I don't see how it's bigger than the Little Rock airport when I can at least get a meal in Little Rock. I thought about leaving the airport and going to find a restaurant but I didn't. I just ate my pretzel and watched the cows in the nearby cow pasture. I really could have used an I-pad.
I know the OPs question has already been answered but someone else might drive past the Fort Smith airport like I did thinking it must be better because it's in NWA. I just don't see the point now.

[hognoxious]

The biggest advantage XNA in Northwest Arkansas has is the amount of direct flights offered to key cities across the country - Las Angeles, NYC-Laguardia, Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Newark NJ, Cincinnati, Orlando, Chicago, Miami, Raliegh-Durham, Washington DC, etc. along with the regional connection points like Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Atlanta, Memphis.

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by FriendlyFeller

Well I just figured they would have a restaurant with a menu. I don't see how it's bigger than the Little Rock airport when I can at least get a meal in Little Rock. I thought about leaving the airport and going to find a restaurant but I didn't. I just ate my pretzel and watched the cows in the nearby cow pasture. I really could have used an I-pad.
I know the OPs question has already been answered but someone else might drive past the Fort Smith airport like I did thinking it must be better because it's in NWA. I just don't see the point now.

Flying out of NWA is like half the cost as flying out of FS.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by rado26

We are trying to get into Arkansas from outside the U.S. We are actually trying to get to North West Arkansas Regional Airport. We wanted to use the International carriers as far as possible since we will be using employee airline discount. From the looks of things we would probably be best taking the International Airline to the nearest International Airport and then purchase tickets on a smaller commuter plane. Would you say that Tulsa is the Nearest International Airport ?

Thanks everyone for your help !

If you are flying to Tulsa, I would just rent a car and drive to NWA. Yes, it is the closest International Airport by far.
Nita

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Dr. Foosball

Tulsa is most definitely the closest. I dont know why people were suggesting Memphis.

I agree, the only reason to consider Memphis would be if you lived near Little Rock..

Nita

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Flying out of NWA is like half the cost as flying out of FS.

I don't know about the flights I was just let down by the XNA terminal, I was expecting more. Only a bar and two fast food type places and one of the food places was closed. I got there several hours early because I thought there would be more to keep me occupied. Next time I will fly out of Fort Smith or just drive to Tulsa if Fort Smith costs too much.

[Dr. Foosball]

There isn't much more in Fort Smith either. That is just the way it goes in all the really small, regional airports I have ever been to.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by Dr. Foosball

There isn't much more in Fort Smith either. That is just the way it goes in all the really small, regional airports I have ever been to.

Yeah, but this is NWA we are talking about! I was expecting magical ponies or something.

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by rado26

We are trying to get into Arkansas from outside the U.S. We are actually trying to get to North West Arkansas Regional Airport. We wanted to use the International carriers as far as possible since we will be using employee airline discount. From the looks of things we would probably be best taking the International Airline to the nearest International Airport and then purchase tickets on a smaller commuter plane. Would you say that Tulsa is the Nearest International Airport ?

Thanks everyone for your help !

Tulsa doesn't currently have any international direct arrivals. Tulsa has flights to/from 15 U.S. cities, all of which are hubs for the major carriers that serve it: American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United. In that respect, it's no more "international" than XNA, and essentially the same carriers (minus Frontier and Southwest, plus U.S. Airways) serve XNA. There are actually flights to and from 18 U.S. cities from XNA, three more than Tulsa, two more than Little Rock National (16 cities, basically the same airlines as Tulsa, minus Frontier). No one flies from Tulsa or Little Rock into XNA, so there's no way to fly to those airports and then connect to XNA.

Flying internationally into Atlanta (Delta), Chicago O'Hare (American or United), or DFW (American) is going to be your best bet -- those airports have the most flights into XNA. Charlotte (U.S. Airways) and either Newark or Houston (Continental) would also be possibilities if those are better options for you. Unfortunately, steady demand (all those folks flying in to meet/work with WalMart) means that XNA is always expensive -- it'll probably cost you an extra $500 or more to fly from any of the hub cities to XNA.

Flying into Tulsa and renting a car to get to NWA is often a cheaper option, particularly if you're going to need to rent a car anyway. Another option I've used in the past is flying into the Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) and driving to NWA -- it's often a couple hundred dollars cheaper than XNA from the same departure point, and it's only about a 2 hour drive to, say Rogers -- about the same as Tulsa.

Right now, the cheapest option is to fly into DFW and then to TUL on American; flying into IAH (Houston) and then to XNA on Continental is next cheapest, followed by DFW to XNA on American. Those are all available for under $300 round trip for dates in April. Obviously, that changes constantly, however.

[ArkansasTgirl]

Originally Posted by rackensack

Tulsa doesn't currently have any international direct arrivals. Tulsa has flights to/from 15 U.S. cities, all of which are hubs for the major carriers that serve it: American, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United. In that respect, it's no more "international" than XNA, and essentially the same carriers (minus Frontier and Southwest, plus U.S. Airways) serve XNA. There are actually flights to and from 18 U.S. cities from XNA, three more than Tulsa, two more than Little Rock National (16 cities, basically the same airlines as Tulsa, minus Frontier). No one flies from Tulsa or Little Rock into XNA, so there's no way to fly to those airports and then connect to XNA.

Flying internationally into Atlanta (Delta), Chicago O'Hare (American or United), or DFW (American) is going to be your best bet -- those airports have the most flights into XNA. Charlotte (U.S. Airways) and either Newark or Houston (Continental) would also be possibilities if those are better options for you. Unfortunately, steady demand (all those folks flying in to meet/work with WalMart) means that XNA is always expensive -- it'll probably cost you an extra $500 or more to fly from any of the hub cities to XNA.

Flying into Tulsa and renting a car to get to NWA is often a cheaper option, particularly if you're going to need to rent a car anyway. Another option I've used in the past is flying into the Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) and driving to NWA -- it's often a couple hundred dollars cheaper than XNA from the same departure point, and it's only about a 2 hour drive to, say Rogers -- about the same as Tulsa.

Right now, the cheapest option is to fly into DFW and then to TUL on American; flying into IAH (Houston) and then to XNA on Continental is next cheapest, followed by DFW to XNA on American. Those are all available for under $300 round trip for dates in April. Obviously, that changes constantly, however.

I have to agree.