Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[cltheel.sdl]

If NWA were bought out, that would be a blessing for frequent travelers like me. I hate that airline with all the passion that one could hate an airline with. Lost bags, cancelled flights, and delays are expected with NWA.

But I would severely miss US Air. Many people say "US Scare" but I very rarely have any problems with them or their schedules. And, their treatment of frequent fliers is awesome -- US's upgrade program is the best in the industry. I get upgraded to first class on about 90% of flights without paying for it and it would be tough to get used to flying in coach every week after the way that US Air has treated me as a frequent flier for the past couple years.

I've had good experiences with USAir up until my current flight plans. I used my frequent flier miles and was scheduled for a 9:30 AM flight to Seattle. They moved me (involuntarily) to 6:30 PM flight. This really screws over my plans. So I called them and they told me that I had never made a 9:30 AM reservation, and I had the freaking reservation with confirmation number in my hand. The lady told me that US Air would never move someone from a flight more than +/- 2 hours from their previous flight, so this was impossible she said. I knew she was obviously lying to me, because I had the 9:30 flight info in my hand, so then she started back-peddling and saying that "O sir, we see that you made a 5 PM reservation" which I never ever did. But since that was within 2 hours of the 6:30 flight she said it was within regulations to move me, which is bullcrap because I was never on a 5 PM flight, I was on a 9:30 AM flight. So then I asked to speak with her manager, who was equally worthless. Can they do that to me? Does anyone know how I can fix this problem, as they obviously don't give a damn about my schedule. Was I moved off the flight b/c I am using frequent flier miles and they overbooked the 9:30 AM flight with paying customers?

If this doesn't get resolved, I am done with US Airways and their crappy FF program.

[Adam4884]

But I would severely miss US Air. Many people say "US Scare" but I very rarely have any problems with them or their schedules. And, their treatment of frequent fliers is awesome -- US's upgrade program is the best in the industry. I get upgraded to first class on about 90% of flights without paying for it and it would be tough to get used to flying in coach every week after the way that US Air has treated me as a frequent flier for the past couple years.

I generally enjoy US Airways as well, they have some of the friendliest flight crews among us airlines in my opinion, in particular their CLT crews are usually pretty fun. Customer service at the counter in CLT as improved over the past couple of years from what i've seen but I still think the folks in Arizona are making some huge mistakes in the overall management of the airline, though its just me. From what I hear CLT is one of the better run stations in the US Airways system.

[Adam4884]

I've had good experiences with USAir up until my current flight plans. I used my frequent flier miles and was scheduled for a 9:30 AM flight to Seattle. They moved me (involuntarily) to 6:30 PM flight. This really screws over my plans. So I called them and they told me that I had never made a 9:30 AM reservation, and I had the freaking reservation with confirmation number in my hand. The lady told me that US Air would never move someone from a flight more than +/- 2 hours from their previous flight, so this was impossible she said. I knew she was obviously lying to me, because I had the 9:30 flight info in my hand, so then she started back-peddling and saying that "O sir, we see that you made a 5 PM reservation" which I never ever did. But since that was within 2 hours of the 6:30 flight she said it was within regulations to move me, which is bullcrap because I was never on a 5 PM flight, I was on a 9:30 AM flight. So then I asked to speak with her manager, who was equally worthless. Can they do that to me? Does anyone know how I can fix this problem, as they obviously don't give a damn about my schedule. Was I moved off the flight b/c I am using frequent flier miles and they overbooked the 9:30 AM flight with paying customers?

If this doesn't get resolved, I am done with US Airways and their crappy FF program.

Oh that would really tick me off. Since they obviously don't believe you I would see if there is a customer service supervisor in Charlotte that can help you, there has to be one. They are not going to believe you unless they see proof that you made your reservation for the 9:30 AM flight to Seattle. If that doesn't work try going higher up, if that doesn't work i'd take the road you are going and empty your miles for an award ticket (or tickets) on another Star Alliance carrier. I can recommend Air New Zealand if you are looking at going down under

[atlrvr]

My sister-in-law had a similar experience. She made frequent flyer reservations weeks in advance of a flight to Denver and had a confirmation number. When she arrived at the airport, they had "un-confirmed her" because they claim she failed to call and re-confirm, which is of course ridiculous because she had a pritned confirmed intenarary in her hand from them.

The only way she could get on that flight was to use double miles, which meant she rode coach for the same number of miles as 1st class.

In general though, I think USAirways is above average for mainline carriers. I try not to fly American, because I find its hubs to be so inconvenient, and in-flight service to be a bare-minimum. I equally try to avoid Delta, because I always seem to get transferred to Cincy (which is far worse than Atlanta in my opinion). I haven't flow Continental in over 10 years so I can't comment. I probably like United best, just because I can't remember any problems and the hubs are convenient, though I don't care for Dulles, O'Hare or Denver. NW I've had the most problems with (twice being in situations that required the plane to evacuated on the tarmac, one of which followed an in-flight emergency) and many times delayed due to inclement weather, though for some reason, I really like NW (just not there expansive fleet of DC9s). It's probably because I used to travel to the northwest a lot, so they provided the most direct service.

For discount carriers, I ABHOR Airtran. I've never had a good experience and will only fly them for personl trips if I have to book last minute and everyone else is full or over $1000 for last minute fares. I enjoy JetBlue, and believe once their new terminal at JFK opens, that it will be one of the best airlines operating. I've never flown Southwest or Frontier.

If I had to guess, I agree that NWA will probably be the next to fall. As much as I think their route structure makes sense to mesh with USAirways, there may not be enough overlap to significantly reduce capacity. Also, I would assume the NWA has the oldest fleet of any mainline, so updating it would be expensive. Those DC9s need to go, and the Embraer 190 (which USAirways is purchasing a lot of) would be an ideal replacement as it is a dream of a small plane to fly in.

I think there will have to be some reduction in the budget category, and hopefully AirTran will be the first to go, though I believe they are trying to by Midwest, which would be a shame

[cltheel.sdl]

At least I know I can relate to some people now. So do you think if I went to the airport sometime this week and got the people at the check in to look at it I could get it fixed?

[JerseyBoy]

For discount carriers, I ABHOR Airtran. I've never had a good experience and will only fly them for personl trips if I have to book last minute and everyone else is full or over $1000 for last minute fares. I enjoy JetBlue, and believe once their new terminal at JFK opens, that it will be one of the best airlines operating. I've never flown Southwest or Frontier.

Really? I've flown with them many times to Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale and have never had one problem with them. New planes, nice amenities, and friendly pilots and flight attendants. At times their rates can't be beat.

[cltheel.sdl]

For me personally, the top carriers I've flown with are:

1. Delta (only 1 delayed flight ever b/c we were waiting for them to load soldiers' bodies on the plane from Iraq, which I respect)

2. US Airways (up until now)

3. American/United (overall good experiences, lots of layovers though)

I think those are the only ones I've flown.

[28202]

At least I know I can relate to some people now. So do you think if I went to the airport sometime this week and got the people at the check in to look at it I could get it fixed?

That is usually the way I get the best response... It has worked several times when India and the so called supervisor said nothing could be done. Good luck.

[Adam4884]

At least I know I can relate to some people now. So do you think if I went to the airport sometime this week and got the people at the check in to look at it I could get it fixed?

I would give it a shot, even if the ticket agents can't help you ask if you can speak to some sort of supervisor there. The US Airways CLT staff has really improved in the last couple of years so I say its worth a shot.

I haven't flow Continental in over 10 years so I can't comment.

I love Continental! In my opinion they are the best airline in the USA right now, I always receive very professional service with them.

[rockhilljames]

In general though, I think USAirways is above average for mainline carriers. I try not to fly American, because I find its hubs to be so inconvenient, and in-flight service to be a bare-minimum. I equally try to avoid Delta, because I always seem to get transferred to Cincy (which is far worse than Atlanta in my opinion). I haven't flow Continental in over 10 years so I can't comment. I probably like United best, just because I can't remember any problems and the hubs are convenient, though I don't care for Dulles, O'Hare or Denver. NW I've had the most problems with (twice being in situations that required the plane to evacuated on the tarmac, one of which followed an in-flight emergency) and many times delayed due to inclement weather, though for some reason, I really like NW (just not there expansive fleet of DC9s). It's probably because I used to travel to the northwest a lot, so they provided the most direct service.

For discount carriers, I ABHOR Airtran. I've never had a good experience and will only fly them for personl trips if I have to book last minute and everyone else is full or over $1000 for last minute fares. I enjoy JetBlue, and believe once their new terminal at JFK opens, that it will be one of the best airlines operating. I've never flown Southwest or Frontier.

If I had to guess, I agree that NWA will probably be the next to fall. As much as I think their route structure makes sense to mesh with USAirways, there may not be enough overlap to significantly reduce capacity. Also, I would assume the NWA has the oldest fleet of any mainline, so updating it would be expensive. Those DC9s need to go, and the Embraer 190 (which USAirways is purchasing a lot of) would be an ideal replacement as it is a dream of a small plane to fly in.

I think there will have to be some reduction in the budget category, and hopefully AirTran will be the first to go, though I believe they are trying to by Midwest, which would be a shame

I agree for the most part. I recently flew on NWA and I was on one of the DC9s. All I could think of was that the plane was older than me. Nice.

Airtran is awful. I try not to fly them...but I'm going down to Orlando in two weeks on them. I pray the exprience is a good one.

USAir is OK. I fly them the most, so they're problems are probably magnified. I swear to GOD though that they are NEVER on time. NEVER.

Continental is great, I fly them the second most, and they're really good.

I'm also with you about the new Embraer's. It's the nicest regional jet I've ever flown on. Fast as crap too!

[Raintree21]

Gulfstream may be flying into Charlotte from Athens, GA come this fall if the DOT approves their bid to take the service from Air MidWest according to The Athens Banner Herald.

Edited July 28, 2007 by Raintree21

[davidals]

Vienna, Austria? I never would have guessed that. Any European service is good although that would have been about 10th on my list for Charlotte, it's still a good thing if it happens although i firmly believe Asia service is much more needed for the South.

Between banking and RTP, the NC need for an Asia route will only grow during the next few years. It will happen eventually.

[Raintree21]

The CBJ is reporting that Passenger traffic at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport rose 9.7 percent in June from the same month last year but cargo traffic fell 24 percent during the same period.

[Justadude]

Flew AirTran for a total of 4 flights this past week, between Charlotte-Atlanta-New Orleans. The experience was pretty good; 3 of 4 flights were on time (one was delayed 30 mins) and the luggage was where it needed to be. The only thing I'd change were some of the people on the plane but the things that the airline could control were all in good order.

[monsoon]

Channel 9 is putting news teasers on today in regards to the airport. They are implying that a recently discovered slave graveyard (if there is one) may affect construction at the airport.

[Raintree21]

I wouldn't think it would alter the plans all that much. Perhaps delay it while they do an archaeological survey and study but these things happen a lot. Usually they just move the graves it seems, as was the case when the builders at Mercy Hospital recently found a graveyard full of founding members of Charlotte.

Also, the teaser I just saw said the graveyard was found NEXT to the airport, watch at 6 to see IF this will affect airport construction. Just like local news to try to lure you in.

Edited July 31, 2007 by Raintree21

[monsoon]

......Just like local news to try to lure you in.

Especially that channel. I will make a point not to watch it just for that reason.

[Raintree21]

Whoo! Crisis averted! The big story by WSOC-TV said that there MIGHT be a slave grave yard NEAR the airport on airport owned property and they fear that future growth might jeopardize it. A geneology group said they have documents saying that there is a graveyard on land behind a church in the area but no one can locate it so they are looking around for periwinkle plants because those were often planted in slave graveyards.

Here's the link to the WSOC story.

Edited July 31, 2007 by Raintree21

[Skyybutter]

Just wanted to put a little update about the America west-Usairways merger. The pilot groups from each airline might never come to an agreement on seniority integration, therefore the rumors going through the airlines is that United may buy Usairways-east as its known, and continental may buy usairways-west(formally America West). Also be on the lookout during the week of Labor day. The pilots of Usairways-east may plan to "send a message" to upper management buy staging a sick-out. Regardless of what happens Charlotte will remain a dominant hub.

[Neo]

My sister-in-law was recently stuck in a plane for three hours at PHL (Philadelphia) with engines shut off apparently due to too much traffic. Does PHL use the same air traffic control as New York & Washington? I've heard on numerous occasions that PHL simply gets the short end of the stick being where it is at. I would think this would be an advantage that CLT has in comparison?

[cltheel.sdl]

Just an update on my predicament:

They said they overbooked my flight and there was absolutely nothing they could do. So basically the people who screwed me over were the people in charge of booking. I was able to get my flight switched to an earlier time but now I have a layover in Phoenix. I will arrive in Seattle an hour later than I would've if they hadn't overbooked my flight. I'm still pissed, but a little less pissed because the lady on the phone (who didn't have an accent this time! ) was nice and helpful in letting me get an earlier flight out of Charlotte.

[Raintree21]

USAir reported a 2.3 percent increase in the number of passenger enplanements for July according to the CBJ.

[ScottCLT]

Just wanted to put a little update about the America west-Usairways merger. The pilot groups from each airline might never come to an agreement on seniority integration, therefore the rumors going through the airlines is that United may buy Usairways-east as its known, and continental may buy usairways-west(formally America West). Also be on the lookout during the week of Labor day. The pilots of Usairways-east may plan to "send a message" to upper management buy staging a sick-out. Regardless of what happens Charlotte will remain a dominant hub.

That would really suck for frequent fliers of US Air. They treat their customers a lot better than United IMHO.

[Skyybutter]

Airlines always over book flights. The goal is to make money and empty seats dont do that. The reason they overbook is because anything can happen to people last minute. Sick, late, mis-connect and many other reasons. They usually sell about 5 seats more then the plane holds in anticipation of this.

[lptk]

That would really suck for frequent fliers of US Air. They treat their customers a lot better than United IMHO.

Interesting. I have the exact opposite opinion. The seat pitch on united has been better, and availability of seats for award travel has been better for me on United. I go out of my way to fly UA and avoid US.