Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[kickazzz2000]

5 hours ago, Cadi40 said:

You can thank Charlottes topography and tree lines for that. Some of it is visible from 485. Not visible in many other areas.

Yup.  Visitors from Florida and Texas sometimes wonder if theres anything here.

[Cadi40]

6 hours ago, kickazzz2000 said:

Yup.  Visitors from Florida and Texas sometimes wonder if theres anything here.

As someone from Florida I can confirm this, If Charlotte were less hilly and the tree line was less intense then it would like like a large urban area. Although sadly give it another 5-10 years and Charlotte will be more visible due to the amount of development and cutting of trees.

[KJHburg]

New terminal this morning and new  control tower.  

[NCMike1990]

The new control tower makes CLT feel like an even bigger airport.

[dubone]

http://www.cltairport.com/News/Pages/CLTToTemporarilyCloseRunway523ForTaxiwayReconstruction.aspx

Interesting that the diagonal runway is getting reconstruction but will close with the next 5 years with the 4th parallel runway.   Maybe that pavement will be needed anyway in the long run for taxiway, etc.

[allthingsplanes]

It’s not.  It’s impacted by reconstruction of another taxiway so it can’t serve as a runway during that time.  At least that’s how I read that.

[dubone]

I see now that nuance I missed earlier.  Thanks.

[LKN704]

Currently sitting at RDU waiting for their Delta flight to Seattle, and I have to say their new Terminal 2 is really nice. One of the nicest terminals I’ve been to in the USA, actually. 

[Miesian Corners]

13 hours ago, LKN704 said:

Currently sitting at RDU waiting for their Delta flight to Seattle, and I have to say their new Terminal 2 is really nice. One of the nicest terminals I’ve been to in the USA, actually. 

It's a beautiful building. It also cost $550 million. Contrast that with CLT's new main terminal, roadway expansion, A, B, and C renovations, E expansion, D&E food court, and A North have a combined total price tag of $626 million. I think we're getting a lot more for our money.

I hate that CLT is so boring architecturally, but being inexpensive to operate is what keeps us as AA's second biggest hub. I'm just glad Cagle is now at the helm rather than Larry the Cable Guy. Cagle actually wants the airport to be as nice as it can be without looking cheap. Jerry didn't care.

 

Press Release from American this afternoon:

Boeing order adds 47 replacement aircraft and simplifies overall fleet strategy

American Airlines today announced an order for 47 new Boeing 787 widebody aircraft consisting of 22 787-8s scheduled to begin arriving in 2020 and 25 787-9s scheduled to begin arriving in 2023. The 787-8s will replace American’s Boeing 767-300s, while later 787-9 deliveries will replace Airbus A330-300s and older 777-200 widebody aircraft. The entire order of new 787s will be powered with General Electric’s GEnx-1B engines.

American currently operates a fleet of 35 787s to destinations such as Tokyo, São Paulo and Paris. American will operate 89 787s once all aircraft under its previous order and the order announced today are delivered.

As part of the strategy to simplify its fleet, American agreed with Airbus today to terminate its order for 22 A350s, which was originally placed by US Airways.

“We have two excellent partners in Boeing and Airbus and our relationship with both manufacturers goes back many years. Both offer specific aircraft that provide us with the right lift on specific missions across our global network,” said President Robert Isom. “This was a difficult decision between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 and A330neo and we thank both manufacturers for their aggressive efforts to earn more of American’s business. In the end, our goal to simplify our fleet made the 787 a more compelling choice.”

When compared to the aircraft they will replace, the 787 will provide the airline with improved fuel efficiency, lower maintenance costs, greater range, and an enhanced customer experience. Notably, the 787 earns American’s highest overall customer satisfaction scores among widebodies, as well as in the areas of seat comfort, carry-on storage space and in-flight entertainment.

“Today’s announcement is influenced by our goal to simplify our fleet and reduce the number of aircraft types we operate. Our prior plan would have had us operating five widebody aircraft types, and with today’s announcement we will soon reduce that to three,” Chief Financial Officer Derek Kerr said. “These new replacement aircraft are consistent with our previous plans for the size of our widebody fleet.”

“We see significant advantages to carrying common fleet types, including creating less friction in our operation when aircraft swaps are necessary, reducing inventory needs, and creating a more consistent service for customers and team members.”

As part of today’s order, American has also reached an agreement with Boeing to defer the delivery of 40 737 MAX aircraft previously scheduled to arrive between 2020 and 2022. The revised delivery schedule will better align with planned retirements of other narrowbody aircraft.

[CLT2014]

Well there goes the awesome 2-4-2 configuration of the A330's for more 3-3-3 787's. Instead of 22% of economy seats being middle seats, back to the popular 33% configuration and no seats for couples/companions without a seat mate. 

I'll miss the A330 layout. For companion fliers, It is nice to get the 2 seats on the window and have nobody else in the row with you for 8 hours. 

Edited April 7, 2018 by CLT2014

[LKN704]

Especially sad considering having flown both the 787 and A350 in Economy, the A350 was way more comfortable. The small bit of extra width in the seats really matters.  The 787 was cramped, and I didn't feel the effects of the lower altitude and higher humidity levels that everyone talks about. It was just a normal plane with electronic dimmable window shades, and automatic flushing toilets in the bathroom.

[CLT704]

Well considering that 332s aren't being replaced  by the new 787 orders and that article a couple weeks back said they would move the 330s to CLT, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved all the -200s here for INTL flying. Just a hunch though. 

[xapostrophe]

2 hours ago, CLT704 said:

Well considering that 332s aren't being replaced  by the new 787 orders and that article a couple weeks back said they would move the 330s to CLT, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved all the -200s here for INTL flying. Just a hunch though. 

I feel like the 787 will find it's way too Philly and the 330 to clt.  Still leaves a ton of 330s so maybe it shifts to another hub as well?

[CLT704]

1 hour ago, xapostrophe said:

I feel like the 787 will find it's way too Philly and the 330 to clt.  Still leaves a ton of 330s so maybe it shifts to another hub as well?

Good point, we currently use 8 A330s in the summer (out of a fleet of 24): 5 -200s and 3 -300s. There are 15 A332s, so if we assume that current -300 routes go to -200, there would be 7 332s left. That article did say we were in line for more INTL expansion, therefore we can assume more 332 routes from CLT. Lets say that AA resume MAN, GRU and GIG (they won't but lets assume) then that would use 5 other frames and one A330 always appears to be used as a spare. 

Edited April 7, 2018 by CLT704
EDIT: Yeah, I messed up. MAN would use only 1

[atlrvr]

Manchester should only require 1, right?

3rd London or 2nd Madrid seems somewhat likely.   Amsterdam or Berlin (since we are talking post 2020) also decent possibilities.

[LKN704]

I'm still somewhat surprised AA has tried running CLT-MAD year round now given the partnership with Iberia. Though I will say the US-Spain market is highly seasonal in nature and AA already has three year-round Spanish gateways in the US-I don't know if a Charlotte flight is warranted in the Winter. 

[KJHburg]

I have always wondered why we don't have a nonstop to Amsterdam.  Such a big business center

[urbanpirate]

not a fan of the blue roofing

[stiluvclt]

Once it's covered in naphtha-kerosene residue you'll like it much more.

 

[Miesian Corners]

16 hours ago, LKN704 said:

I'm still somewhat surprised AA has tried running CLT-MAD year round now given the partnership with Iberia. Though I will say the US-Spain market is highly seasonal in nature and AA already has three year-round Spanish gateways in the US-I don't know if a Charlotte flight is warranted in the Winter. 

I agree. I've never understood why AA funnels all winter traffic to Europe through BA's Heathrow hub. Heathrow is a cluster; it's the most miserable connecting hub in the world. If they utilized Madrid instead, passengers could connect easily within the EU (and as a bonus, no passport control stop on the return). And Madrid is one glorious airport. Absolutely beautiful and easy to navigate.

[SentioVenia]

C-17s arrived at the ANG yesterday.   These replace the C-130s that had been with the 145th AW for awhile.  Prepare for these flying low over the city!

Edited April 8, 2018 by SentioVenia

[nakers2]

On 4/8/2018 at 1:27 PM, Miesian Corners said:

I agree. I've never understood why AA funnels all winter traffic to Europe through BA's Heathrow hub. Heathrow is a cluster; it's the most miserable connecting hub in the world. If they utilized Madrid instead, passengers could connect easily within the EU (and as a bonus, no passport control stop on the return). And Madrid is one glorious airport. Absolutely beautiful and easy to navigate.

I don't about easy, at least when you're making a connection, I had to go up, and down, and take a train, and then go up again, and go through like three freakin' checkpoints, and then my flight to Brussels was all the way at the end of the terminal, which is massive. Beautiful design though, I will say that. 

[cjd5050]

^{So a user on reddit posted this photo and I thought it was nice....}

[joshuavmc]

Anybody have an update on how the renovation of Concourse B is going? How’s the new floor looking? Haven’t sent an update on this topic in a while. 

[xapostrophe]

4 hours ago, joshuavmc said:

Anybody have an update on how the renovation of Concourse B is going? How’s the new floor looking? Haven’t sent an update on this topic in a while. 

i was just down there in B today.  its still pretty rough.  not sure whats taking so long.  but they have begun to polish the  new floor near the end.  It does look nice.  when its done it should look brighter and feel larger.  i suspect it'll be nice, but it feels like this process is taking WAY too long.    They were working in in A tonight on the ceilings.