Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[CLT2014]

31 minutes ago, xapostrophe said:

i would bet its expanding into A as united, swa, air canada jet blue frontier and spirit move into the new A concourse.  leaving those gates open for AA.

That's what I was thinking too. I think the VP either mis-spoke and said 2019 or the computer that records the transcripts typed it wrong (there are typos throughout) and should have said / put 2018. 

[teeg]

1 hour ago, CLT2014 said:

That's what I was thinking too. I think the VP either mis-spoke and said 2019 or the computer that records the transcripts typed it wrong (there are typos throughout) and should have said / put 2018. 

A Concourse it is.  This just hit my news feed:

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/04/27/aa-continues-to-grow-presence-at-cl.html

"These are the new gates that we will acquire once the other airlines move out of the old A concourse," an American Airlines Group Inc. spokeswoman in Charlotte told CBJ. "It will take about a year to renovate the old gates and then we will have access to them."

[CLT2014]

I wonder if they will try to quickly renovate Concourse A and keep the gates empty over a year so they can do construction easier than the Concourse B renovation is going as a working terminal. 

I also wonder if Delta will stay put or be moved to the end of old-Concourse A down where United is located and AA takes the gates closer to the main concourse to minimize walking distance for connections. With Delta mainly serving local travelers it seems like it would make sense to put them at the end as people won't be as tight on time and then their gates will be clustered, but it might not be worth it to move all the IT equipment and below terminal equipment, etc... 

Edited April 27, 2018 by CLT2014

[KJHburg]

Great new retail and dining options coming to CLT including 2 Charlotte brewers.  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/05/01/as-new-retail-concepts-come-on-board-at-charlotte.html?ana=e_ae_set1&s=article_du&ed=2018-05-01&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1525204899&j=81333341

[LKN704]

Anyone know the exact or targeted date A-North will be open?

I’m flying AC on July 19 and I’m curious to see if it’ll be open by then. 

[navigator319]

13 hours ago, LKN704 said:

Anyone know the exact or targeted date A-North will be open?

I’m flying AC on July 19 and I’m curious to see if it’ll be open by then. 

That project is on track to finish in June, with flight service expected to begin in late July, Haley Gentry, chief business and innovation officer at Charlotte Douglas, said on Tuesday.

[teeg]

Today's American Airlines "Tell Me Why" internal podcast discussed Winter 2018 network changes announces this morning.  A lot of it centered around changes in Miami and Chicago, but Charlotte picked up a couple of flights (weekly service to Eleuthera and Marsh Harbour in The Bahamas), which were addressed at 11:20:

https://soundcloud.com/american-airlines-internal-news/17-may-2-2018-creating-long-term-profitability-vasu-raja

Ron DeFeo, VP Global Communications: It seems like Charlotte and DFW are always getting the new routes.  Is that right, and tell me why, if so.

Vasu Raja, VP Network and Schedule Planning: ... as we see it, there are only three mega hubs on Earth.  And what we call a mega hub is a hub that can earn profits that are abnormal to the industry, that are greater than what other hubs can earn across the business, but can also support 700 daily departures, all day, every day.  We think there are three of those in the world.  We have two of them.  ... Fortunately, we have the capacity to grow Dallas and Charlotte as we get more gates next year. ... It is no surprise that those hubs tend to have our highest unit revenue performance.  They tend to do really well when challenged by fuel prices or competition, whatever the case might be, so yes, we are big there, we will continue to be big there, and these route are a further sign of our commitment to grow there.  

[KJHburg]

2 new Bahamian destinations coming this winter.  

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2018/05/02/aa-adding-flights-at-clt-to-two-new-tropical.html?ana=e_clt_bn_newsalert&u=oAaDx%2B74FoP4qOJ%2By4AU6dhJPpc&t=1525282857&j=81356731

[Crucial_Infra]

5 hours ago, teeg said:

Vasu Raja, VP Network and Schedule Planning: ... as we see it, there are only three mega hubs on Earth.  And what we call a mega hub is a hub that can earn profits that are abnormal to the industry, that are greater than what other hubs can earn across the business, but can also support 700 daily departures, all day, every day.  We think there are three of those in the world.  We have two of them.  ... Fortunately, we have the capacity to grow Dallas and Charlotte as we get more gates next year. ... It is no surprise that those hubs tend to have our highest unit revenue performance.  They tend to do really well when challenged by fuel prices or competition, whatever the case might be, so yes, we are big there, we will continue to be big there, and these route are a further sign of our commitment to grow there.  

Am I to understand that AA considers Dallas and Charlotte to be two of only three "mega hubs" in the world? Does anyone know what the third mega hub is using their definition?

Edited May 2, 2018 by Crucial_Infra

[CLT2014]

5 minutes ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Am I to understand that AA considers Dallas and Charlotte to be two of only three "mega hubs" in the world? Does anyone know what the third mega hub is using their definition?

Certainly Atlanta

[kermit]

37 minutes ago, Crucial_Infra said:

Am I to understand that AA considers Dallas and Charlotte to be two of only three "mega hubs" in the world? Does anyone know what the third mega hub is using their definition?

NM

Edited May 2, 2018 by kermit

[skymiler]

3 minutes ago, kermit said:

O'Hare is their third busiest, Philadelphia is not far behind however.

(ATL is Delta)

Think he means the 3rd one is not an AA Hub.  He stated we have two of them.  So could be ATL.

[kermit]

1 minute ago, skymiler said:

Think he means the 3rd one is not an AA Hub.  He stated we have two of them.  So could be ATL.

yea, my reading comprehension was impaired. Mea cupla

[teeg]

1. Atlanta

2. Dallas

3. Charlotte

[KJHburg]

Airport pick up this evening.  and wow Bojangles is really going to cause passengers to miss their connections with all their signage.  I got there early and walked from end of E to A wow is our airport large.   I have not been to E in years because I always fly the big jets. 

[atlrvr]

I thought the new jetways we're supposed to be glass/transparent. 

[ssh214]

33 minutes ago, atlrvr said:

I thought the new jetways we're supposed to be glass/transparent. 

That’s how the costs stay down I guess

...

I don’t get the comment that the world only has three megahubs... Dubai, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Istanbul, etc... those are not considered megahubs??

i know he used abnormal profitability as a qualifier but I’m sure those megahubs make just as much as ATL, DFW, and CLT (I know I’m just being picky)

i am glad about the comment nonetheless :).... I really hope São Paulo comes back eventually, I live in Miami and I cringe every time I’m in MIA and I walk past a gate with GRU as the destination and think Charlotte doesn’t have that flight...

[15895]

1 hour ago, saamh said:

That’s how the costs stay down I guess

...

I don’t get the comment that the world only has three megahubs... Dubai, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Istanbul, etc... those are not considered megahubs??

i know he used abnormal profitability as a qualifier but I’m sure those megahubs make just as much as ATL, DFW, and CLT (I know I’m just being picky)

i am glad about the comment nonetheless :).... I really hope São Paulo comes back eventually, I live in Miami and I cringe every time I’m in MIA and I walk past a gate with GRU as the destination and think Charlotte doesn’t have that flight...

I think megahub as in 700+ flights for a single airline 

[ssh214]

4 hours ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

I think megahub as in 700+ flights for a single airline 

Yea to my surprise I did the research, the other cities that I mentioned aren’t very close with their respective airline hub operations... London for instance has about 514 flights a day...

Pleasantly surprised and impressed that Charlotte is in the top 3 it seems of airline hub operations by respective airline flight movements

[stiluvclt]

Could someone provide me with an explanation: This "Phase VIII" of "E" Concourse, (1) are there certain jets that just can't accommodate air bridges? (2) Does the term "shielded from the elements" mean it is enclosed i.e. HVAC? It seems like (and I haven't strolled through "E" in many years)it is one band-aid built on top of another. I mean, why not streamline "E" like A-North will turn out? Are these small regional jets not designed for regular gates? Just askin'......

[xapostrophe]

4 hours ago, stiluvclt said:

Could someone provide me with an explanation: This "Phase VIII" of "E" Concourse, (1) are there certain jets that just can't accommodate air bridges? (2) Does the term "shielded from the elements" mean it is enclosed i.e. HVAC? It seems like (and I haven't strolled through "E" in many years)it is one band-aid built on top of another. I mean, why not streamline "E" like A-North will turn out? Are these small regional jets not designed for regular gates? Just askin'......

1. With e originally bring built with 1 story it's jet Bridges would have a tough time meeting up with the 170/175s as they sit taller than the crj.

2. Based upon the construction so far at e I would say it will all be enclosed and include a/c.

We use the normal Gates and terminals everywhere except Charlotte and Philadelphia.  The bridges usually have to stoop pretty low for us but it works just fine.  I think the single height terminals that usairways had built in PHL and CLT are moronic.  If the terminals were all mixed use like in Atlanta or most other places we go it would be significantly smoother operation.  More Gates for everyone.

[KJHburg]

Photos of the roadway system out front today when I went over there this morning on business.  Last week I took photos of new Terminal A I know someone was asking. 

[stiluvclt]

Nice shots KJHburg. Thanks.

 

[xapostrophe]

I will be truly amazed if the complete this project by the projected summer 2018 timeline.    

[CLT2014]

If you are a Priority Pass lounge access card holder, Charlotte-Douglas has now been added to the network with the new Minute Suites located in the Atrium.  1 hour of a private minute suite access will count toward your lounge usage allocation. 

https://www.prioritypass.com/en/loungesearch?entity=a7026927-4755-4543-9297-571b815ab13d