2330 replies to this topic

[ah59396]

cltbwimob, on 31 December 2011 - 11:18 PM, said:

US Airways will begin service to Omaha, NE from Charlotte on March 25.

http://www.charlotte...op-flights.html


Tack Des Moines, IA on there as well.  Now I know where I'm going on my next vacation!

/sarcasm
(Only a joke, I'm sure both places are lovely)

[kermit]

ScottCLT, on 29 November 2011 - 04:35 PM, said:

Potential American/US merger?

http://www.bloomberg...bankruptcy.html

Looks like there are potential buyers for American that would not be good for US:

Quote

Delta Air Lines Inc. and private equity firm TPG Capital are separately assessing possible bids for American Airlines parent AMR Corp., with hopes that AMR's troubles present another opportunity for airline consolidation, people familiar with the matter said.  

http://online.wsj.co...ories#printMode

EDIT: And while not yet in print it now looks like USair will jump into the bidding war

Edited by kermit, 12 January 2012 - 02:48 PM.

[dbull75]

^I was just going to comment and say US Airways may be jumping into the bidding war too. I would think that US Air would have the upper hand here. There would be way too many hurdles for Delta to overcome to get regulatory approval by comparison. They were recently the largest airline before the Continental/United merger. US Air is a distant 4th right now.

[ah59396]

http://www.washingto...pm_business_pop



All I can say is it's about time!  Southwest Airlines is coming to Charlotte.  I know it'll replace AirTran, but I have a good feeling about Southwest coming in.

Edited by ah59396, 21 January 2012 - 12:18 PM.

[dbull75]

It will be interesting to see how the whole "Southwest effect" pans out. Not just in Charlotte but all these other "new" markets as well. With their Airtran merger, I'm not really convinced they will do much more for the Airtran markets than Airtrain themselves already did. Most of the routes will probably stay the same and they may add one or two that doesn't already exist from the Airtran catalog (think Houston-Hobby or *maybe* Vegas). I think we're kidding ourselves if we believe Southwest is going to add a slew of new destinations compared to what Airtran had. Given all the new markets they will be absorbing they will be hard pressed to offer much more. I could be wrong, but that's the impression I get from everything I've seen. Still would be nice to have options though.

Edited by dbull75, 23 January 2012 - 09:02 AM.

[Miesian Corners]

dbull, I think you'd be right on the money with this one.  I don't look for WN to add all that much more at CLT.    

Off topic, Southwest might have finally bitten off more than it's prepared to handle.  The dismantling the hubs at ATL and BWI has already angered many AirTran employees.  Don't think this merger is going to be as smooth as the LUV mongers expected it to be.

[kermit]

The airline consolidation plot thickens:

Quote

Delta Air Lines Inc. is studying US Airways Group Inc. as a possible acquisition target, people familiar with the matter said, the latest twist in a swirl of deal-strategizing for the industry.
....
US Airways is open to being both buyer and seller and is expecting Delta to reach out, the people said.

http://online.wsj.co..._LEFTTopStories

[norm21499]

Would Delta want 2 hubs so close together!?

[ScottCLT]

A few airport updates...

LCD monitors are now up for e departures/arrivals screens in the main atrium. Still more old ones around the airport to convert, though.

The BofA business center has closed, and a new wine bar will open in its place. strangely enough, there are big HMS host logos on the signs. I tout that The Paradies Shops took over everything?

The bar/restaurant on the A concourse is closed and being converted into something else (no sign).

Looks like they are installing  visual paging system. Blue tape on the walls mark where the new monitors will go.

[dbull75]

I had to pick someone up at the airport yesterday and saw that they are already making progress on the new hourly deck. The paved area has been complete ripped up and they are now digging down. Found some more info courtesy of a press release from the airport. Looks like the old hourly decks will come down in mid-2013 to pave way for the terminal renovation:



For more information, please contact
Lee Davis, Public Affairs Manager, 704-359-4933

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 13, 2011

Construction Begins on CLT’s New Hourly Deck

Construction of CLT’s new Hourly deck is underway.  Construction zone fencing is in place, and equipment
has arrived. When completed, the new deck will contain 7 levels and 7,000 parking spaces.  The $120
million project, located in front of the existing Daily decks, is being constructed in two phases.   Phase one
includes building the back half (north end) of the deck.  After the first phase is completed in June 2013, CLT
will open the back half of the deck to the public.  The Airport will then begin phase two of the project, which
involves demolishing the two existing Hourly decks and starting work on the front half (south end) of the
new Hourly deck.  Completion is anticipated for December 2014.  

The top four floors of the new deck will house 3,200 public parking spaces.   The lower three levels of the
new deck will include a rental car return facility encompassing 3,800 rental car spaces, check-in counters
and a service area to wash and refuel the cars.  Once completed, passengers will pick-up and drop-off their
rental vehicles inside the deck, eliminating rental car shuttles to and from the terminal.  Airport rental-car
fees will fund that part of the project.  Archer Western Contractors was selected to build the deck.  CLT
customers and visitors are advised to visit cltairport.com for current parking status

[DMann]

Does anyone else think the corridor between the garages seems to be perfectly designed for light rail?

[ajfunder]

Well the control tower is currently in the way but will eventually be replaced so I do believe it would be a great place for a light rail station. I hope once the Blue Line and Red Line are out of the way the city will take a serious look at the West corridor (orange line) and choose LRT over BRT or streetcar. LRT to the airport, if designed like the Blue Line, would really add a cool feature that would have a lasting impact on newcomers to Charlotte.

[ajfunder]

Here is how I would design the west corridor if it were to parallel the Norfolk Southern alignment
Station at Charlotte Gateway Station and parallel the NS mainline on the side next to BofA stadium.
The Charlotte Observer siding and spur would need to be removed.
Station at BofA stadium
Station at Summit Avenue
Widen bridge over West Moorehead street
New Bridge over I-277
Bridge over NS tracks from south side to North side (NS has many spurs on south side, only one unused one on North side.
Westover Hills Station
Station at Old Steel Creek Road (New bridge for Old Steel Creek road would be needed)
Station Morris Field Drive (New bridge for Morris Field Drive would be needed)
LRT bridge over Billy Graham Parkway
Station Billy Graham Parkway
New Bridge at R.C. Josh Birmingham Parkway
Bridge from northside of NS tracks back to south side
Run between Parking Garages (possible station)
Airport Station located in Plaza with Queen Charlotte Fountain.
I do not know how the new parking decks would effect this alignment.
This was just how I would do it, any thoughts?
https://mail.google....lacemark.kmz

[kermit]

^its not a bad plan, but it is lots of new bridges and the NS main looks kinda isolated from most of the trip generators on the west side. (and I don't think NS would be very fond of pedestrians crossing their main around station sites)

I was thinking about street running down Morehead to Wilkinson and then running in a dedicated ROW along the N side of Wilkinson (much like the plan for N Tryon on the BLE). This would provide access to the back side of Bryant Park (which is ripe for transformation), Ashely Park, Walmart and Westerly Hills. Once past Morris Field it looks like there is a whole bunch of nuthing until the airport so the cheapest route would win from here.

Both our routes leave open the question of connecting to the blue line (and I have not mentioned gateway station). Would a hybrid streetcar service which ran from the planned streetcar route to Cedar Street to Morehead and then LRT stop spacing from Morehead out to the airport work? The lower capacity of the streetcars might be a problem for the airport route but a direct blue line connection will be important (no one will choose a three seat ride with luggage).

Regardless the route, a frequent rail connection between the airport and downtown is important. BRT should only be a stopgap measure.

Edited by kermit, 05 February 2012 - 02:20 PM.

[ajfunder]

What about extending the LRT to the AMC mills along the NS mainline, turning left at current 10th Street.
From North Smith Street to North Graham Street on 10th street the road is not critical and the rail could replace the road.
From North Graham street to North Church Street the rail line could run in the median of 10th street with a station at North Church Street.
From North Church Street to north Tryon street 10th street is not critical and can be replaced by rail.
From North Tryon Street to the proposed 9th street LRT stop there is only surface lots in the way and a connection could be made there.
There is already a rail crossover in place between CTC/Arena and 7th street so trains could start at CTC, stop at 7th street, 9th street, North Church street, Gateway Station, and on to the airport.
A bonus of this is the planned LRT facility at the current Intermodal yard is in a perfect place to stage trains for both the Blue Line and the West corridor if a connection were made at 9th street.
https://mail.google....th_Image.jpg

[49er]

I think I remember a people mover type system being in the airport master plan between the decks?

[dubone]

Yeah they did have a people mover in the master plan but I don't know if they are saving room for it with the new hourly deck.  

The high speed rail plans to Atlanta, although a long time away would include a stop at the airport from what I recall, and the terminal is less than 1/2 mile from the rail corridor, so I bet they could even do a series of covered moving-walkways to go that distance.  

As for big dreams of light rail extensions and the magical use of the freight tracks, it is really expensive, and the forecast numbers for uptown to the airport route is just not large enough to justify that kind of expense.   That is how CATS/MTC ended up making this a streetcar (primarily to support economic development in the westside rather than rapid transit), making this the lowest priority line in the whole system, and a branded shuttle bus.

Speaking of the Sprinter, that route ranks 17th of bus routes in Charlotte with ~34 passengers per revenue hour.  Even the streetcar, which was the best option for that route only expects 3800 daily riders in 2034.  Definitely not a corridor we should try to throw big money at despite its symbolic significance.

[Temeteron]

Looks like CLT is getting busier and busier. The airport set a new record of over 40 million passengers this year! ....http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/02/07/2991125/passengers-set-record-at-airport.html

[ScottCLT]

The baggage claim area is looking much better - renovation is nearing completion. Given the space they had to work with, it looks pretty nice.

[norm21499]

ScottCLT, on 08 February 2012 - 09:46 PM, said:

The baggage claim area is looking much better - renovation is nearing completion. Given the space they had to work with, it looks pretty nice.

Can anyone grab any pictures of this area? is it even possible?