As my plane touched down in Dallas, I could already make out my chauffeur waiting on the apron, the jet-black SUV glimmering in the Texas sun. It wasn’t long before my luggage was whisked away and we were driving across the airfield, past rows of planes waiting at their gates—so close that I could read their tail numbers. Our destination? A new private terminal operated by the company PS, which offers a curious promise to commercial fliers: Travel with us, and you will never step foot in the airport.
Ten minutes later, my driver dropped me off at PS’s sleek new 12,200-square-foot private terminal at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), where I was greeted by caviar and Champagne and escorted to my own private suite. Between the goodie-filled drawers, marble sinks, and the rainfall shower, I could have spent my whole time in the bathroom, where I had my pick of Le Labo products, plush towels, and comfy robes. It wasn’t like any airport lounge I had ever been to, rivaling even first class. And yet, it’s still a fraction of the cost of flying private.
PS first launched at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in 2017, then called “The Private Suite.” As the name implies, all PS terminals have their own private, line-free TSA security screenings and dedicated Customs and Immigration checkpoints separate from the crowds. While this has earned the brand a reputation of being a “celebrity terminal,” PS CEO Amina Belouizdad Porter says public figures actually make up “a very, very small portion” of the customer base. The real clientele are premium business travelers, families, and travelers going for celebratory splurges, she says.
“If you fly from LA to New York and back in first class, these days, that’s around $4,000. If you do that private, that’s probably $100,000,” Porter explains. “The gap is so big, and there are many people that want to bridge that.”
For the last decade, PS has continued to expand. After renaming itself to PS in 2020, it opened a terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in 2023. The PS terminal at DFW opened on June 1 and was quickly followed by another PS location at Miami International Airport (MIA) later that month. This October, I flew between the two new terminals to get a better idea of how the exclusive service works behind the scenes—and who it’s actually for.
