Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[Vitamin_N]

8 hours ago, NcSc74 said:

I can tell with 100% certainty people in the northeast have no idea there are 10 million residents in NC and swear its all farmland.  I just came back from NY and I had to hold my temper due to the ignorance.  

The author Nassim Taleb ("Fooled by Randomness","Black Swan") just tweeted out a picture of his dinner last night with this description: "Squid ink paella in, of all places, Ralleigh-Durham". [sic]

[KJHburg]

That is why all the people coming through CLT are "Surprised" to see a skyline like Charlotte has from the airport and this huge airport.   I am in Texas now and people have their own preconceived notions about the people here.   People who say this or that about NC or Texas are just plain ignorant.  I have had the great fortunate to visit all 50 states and almost every large city in the country.  While people are different there are many people in NYC or California who have never been beyond the adjacent state.  Travel expands the mind.  So grab a flight from CLT and visit some part of America you have been to this summer. 

[NikolaTesla]

3 hours ago, Temeteron said:

Is this Darijo?

Haha Nope! I am guessing this is an Eastern European friend of yours?? 

1 hour ago, KJHburg said:

That is why all the people coming through CLT are "Surprised" to see a skyline like Charlotte has from the airport and this huge airport.   I am in Texas now and people have their own preconceived notions about the people here.   People who say this or that about NC or Texas are just plain ignorant.  I have had the great fortunate to visit all 50 states and almost every large city in the country.  While people are different there are many people in NYC or California who have never been beyond the adjacent state.  Travel expands the mind.  So grab a flight from CLT and visit some part of America you have been to this summer. 

Always a great idea, that's exactly how i feel about travel.  I stay at hostels when i travel and love it, it gives me an opportunity to meet people of many different backgrounds. 

[JacksonH]

On 3/7/2019 at 8:27 AM, queensguy06 said:

I know we're veering off topic, but I did want to comment on this, as I've had the same issue with NC/SC here in Denver.  For the most part, the younger, more mobile demographics moving to Denver are familiar with Charlotte, especially those moving from the East Coast.  The people I find that are more unaware of Charlotte and whether it's in North or South Carolina tend to be people who have lived here most of their lives (typically aged 40+), and really anyone from the West Coast.  For them, the East Coast is well out of their sphere of influence, so outside of the major cities (NY, Boston, DC, Atlanta, Miami) there really is a geographic disconnect of where cities and even STATES are located on a map.  And this makes sense to me - as when I moved here to Denver (which mind you is still 1,200 miles to the CA coast) I couldn't tell you where any cities in California were outside of San Diego, LA, SanFran, and Sacramento.  People thought I was rather ignorant for not knowing the major beaches of CA and where they are LOL. 

A lot of people know there is a North and South Carolina, but just lump them in together kinda like I do with the Dakotas.  I think part of that can be attributed to one of their main associations being the Carolina Panthers. This lack of knowledge tends to drop as you move up in education level and salary - both of which I think are indicative of more business travel/connections to the East Coast, among other things.

And to be fair - Charlotte IS on the state line; the MSA includes several major suburbs I lived in (Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Tega Cay) all in SC.

You hit the nail on the head there.  Now that you mention it, the people I know here in California who are familiar with Charlotte and where it is are transplants from the East.  But for people from western states, it's another story.  My brother was visiting last year and I remember being somewhere and talking to a local person who asked my brother where he was from.  My brother just said "Charlotte," assuming, as most people from Charlotte do, that everyone is familiar with it.  But that guy just gave him a blank "what's a Charlotte?" kind of look.  Yesterday, I met with my financial advisor.  We were talking politics and he mentioned the KKK march in Charlotte.  Just like my other friend who made this same error, I had to correct him that the march was in Charlottesville, not Charlotte.  And like I mentioned before, I was having to correct a friend last week (twice) that Charlotte is not in South Carolina.  It gets tiresome.  Again, I think Charlotte needs to host a Super Bowl.  That might help with awareness.

[JacksonH]

13 hours ago, NcSc74 said:

That lets you know it will be a while before perception catches up to the world.  I say an MSA of 4 mil and a full fledged airport district will do the job.

I'd like to believe that, but unless other metros stop growing and only Charlotte grows, I don't think even an MSA of 4 million will matter.  You see, it's all relative.  Thirty some years ago, the Atlanta metro was the same size the Charlotte metro is today.  But 30 years ago, everyone knew where Atlanta was and thought of it as a major city.  The Charlotte metro at that time was half the size of the Atlanta metro and was not terribly well known.  Since that time, Atlanta and Charlotte have grown at roughly the same rate, which means Charlotte is STILL basically half the size of Atlanta.  And even though Charlotte has caught up to where Atlanta was in the '80s, and in 1980s terms, would be considered a major city, in relation to Atlanta today Charlotte is still that small city to the north.  Bring on the Super Bowl!

[JacksonH]

On 3/7/2019 at 4:47 AM, CTiger said:

I tried to create a Charlotte-based team in Fifa not long ago, and wanted to use CLT as my team's abbreviation.  I wasn't allowed to, as CLT is considered an obscene or offensive word according to EA Sports.

Thanks a lot!  In all these years I have never once associated CLT with that word, now I always will!

[Temeteron]

11 hours ago, JacksonH said:

You hit the nail on the head there.  Now that you mention it, the people I know here in California who are familiar with Charlotte and where it is are transplants from the East.  But for people from western states, it's another story.  My brother was visiting last year and I remember being somewhere and talking to a local person who asked my brother where he was from.  My brother just said "Charlotte," assuming, as most people from Charlotte do, that everyone is familiar with it.  But that guy just gave him a blank "what's a Charlotte?" kind of look.  Yesterday, I met with my financial advisor.  We were talking politics and he mentioned the KKK march in Charlotte.  Just like my other friend who made this same error, I had to correct him that the march was in Charlottesville, not Charlotte.  And like I mentioned before, I was having to correct a friend last week (twice) that Charlotte is not in South Carolina.  It gets tiresome.  Again, I think Charlotte needs to host a Super Bowl.  That might help with awareness.

We shouldn’t have to host a super bowl for awareness.  It’s 2019.  People need to use google and educate themselves

[King of the Queen City]

What would help more than anything is to see more films and TV shows set in Charlotte. This is why the New York skyline is recognizable to people all over the globe. People who have never been there feel as if they have because they have seen the skyline so many times in movies. Our photogenic skyline is made for the movies, and has looked glorious in the few films that have featured it. Our skyline has grown so much since Juwanna Mann wan filmed but look how good Charlotte looked in the opening credits:

Charlotte Skyline - Juwanna Mann

Edited March 9, 2019 by King of the Queen City

[Miesian Corners]

On 3/7/2019 at 11:56 PM, CltFlyer said:

The date of the concourse B renovations completion seems to keep being pushed back.  By the time it is done they will have been working it on for almost two years.  I understand that it takes longer working with a short time window each day, but it still feels like it is taking much longer than it should. 

Did they mentioned anything about an updated  timeline for completion of the A-Concourse renovations or the East Terminal Expansion?

I'm interested to see how they separate phases for the main terminal lobby expansion.  Perhaps by security area, ticketing area, canopy?   

Finally,  on the website it has the proposed phase 2 of A North being 16 gates.  Have they broken it down into three phases or are they going to cap it at 19 gates instead of 25?  Was there mention of the proposed  new "OAL" terminal with check in counters, baggage claim etc..?

 

East opens in June. Concourse A is scheduled for completion in January 2020. I have no info on the OAL, only that in the renderings of the terminal expansion, only AA ticket counters are present. 

[Midwoodian]

What does OAL stand for?

[TCLT]

2 minutes ago, Midwoodian said:

What does OAL stand for?

Other Air Line. In CLT's case that would be any airline other than AA.

[Cadi40]

Are there still plans in place for the surrounding areas of CLT? We need an airport district.

[KJHburg]

Aerials coming in from Houston Hobby on Southwest.  the intermodal yard and a few of the new roadways out front of the terminal.

Today. 

[nakers2]

On 3/8/2019 at 8:01 AM, Vitamin_N said:

The author Nassim Taleb ("Fooled by Randomness","Black Swan") just tweeted out a picture of his dinner last night with this description: "Squid ink paella in, of all places, Ralleigh-Durham". [sic]

The term "elitist" gets thrown around a lot these days, but this man, and the people commenting below are truly elitist. Maybe I'm just an uncultured swine, but to me, if it tastes good, then it IS good. And this is coming from someone who is well traveled. I don't look for the Michelin Star places, I look for where the locals eat.  

[csweet]

The first a321 is getting the OASIS mod in GSO today! Exciting times for us CLT flyers. 

[NikolaTesla]

1 hour ago, csweet said:

The first a321 is getting the OASIS mod in GSO today! Exciting times for us CLT flyers. 

LOL those Rockwell Collins bathrooms sure are something special...In terms of hard product between AA and Delta,  Delta seems to have the significant edge on AA.  I don't think it was the right choice to not move forward with in seat IFE and project oasis, well i don't think most travelers want 30" seat pitch that are flying on a legacy carrier in the main cabin.  It sucks even on LCC's and ULCC's, but i can understand considering the business model and price point. 

Edited March 14, 2019 by NikolaTesla

[kickazzz2000]

Why would anyone be excited about an oasis conversion?

[NikolaTesla]

5 minutes ago, kickazzz2000 said:

Why would anyone be excited about an oasis conversion?

Haha, I'm sure a little sarcasm by csweet.  Also, a week ago...AA removed 14 of the completed project oasis 738's our of service for quality of work issues and to perform further inspection.  Looks like the work was done at PAE.   I believe Project Oasis(how ironic) will give AA  an additional 4% seat capacity increase without any additional flights.  

So Project Oasis:

Cons: Less seat pitch in all classes, smaller rockwell collins slim lavatory, less workable galley space for FA's, no setback IFE, slimmer seats with less padding

Pros: Better headrests, larger bins 

 

[kickazzz2000]

5 hours ago, NikolaTesla said:

Haha, I'm sure a little sarcasm by csweet.  Also, a week ago...AA removed 14 of the completed project oasis 738's our of service for quality of work issues and to perform further inspection.  Looks like the work was done at PAE.   I believe Project Oasis(how ironic) will give AA  an additional 4% seat capacity increase without any additional flights.  

So Project Oasis:

Cons: Less seat pitch in all classes, smaller rockwell collins slim lavatory, less workable galley space for FA's, no setback IFE, slimmer seats with less padding

Pros: Better headrests, larger bins 

 

Maybe if they actually installed power ports for their “free IFE” on your own device....

[Vitamin_N]

7 hours ago, kickazzz2000 said:

Why would anyone be excited about an oasis conversion?

As noted, it's sarcasm. AA frequent flyers are not happy about it--see here and here.

[TCLT]

4 hours ago, kickazzz2000 said:

Maybe if they actually installed power ports for their “free IFE” on your own device....

Power ports and USB ports at every seat is part of the mod too. 

Edit: And a phone/tablet holder is being added to the seat backs.

Edited March 15, 2019 by TCLT

[Dale]

On 3/9/2019 at 11:16 AM, Cadi40 said:

Are there still plans in place for the surrounding areas of CLT? We need an airport district.

Yes, and any plans for an airport hotel ?

[eastsider]

It looks like another airline has quietly started service to CLT, Mexican airline VivaAerobus has begun once weekly service to Cancun. Flights can be booked through the airline or flight/hotel packages can be booked through Vacation Express. I believe that is a similar model to the Allegiant Air operation.

[CLT2014]

Silver Car by Audi is now offering rental cars at CLT (off airport location). They pick you up at the terminal and take you to a location at Yorkmount where they have a fleet of silver Audi sedans and SUVs. Prices look to be $55 per day for an A4. 

https://www.silvercar.com/

[PuppiesandKittens]

On 3/8/2019 at 8:01 AM, Vitamin_N said:

The author Nassim Taleb ("Fooled by Randomness","Black Swan") just tweeted out a picture of his dinner last night with this description: "Squid ink paella in, of all places, Ralleigh-Durham". [sic]

Yes, totally obnoxious.  Particularly as he is from Amioun, Lebanon, which is way smaller and is relatively poor.  If he doesn’t realize that RDU is a highly-educated and relatively affluent area, that shows his own lack of knowledge.

Separately, I see that Charlotte is getting an American Express Centurion Lounge, between the D and E concourses.  13,000 square feet and a cost of millions of dollars.  How does AmEx make money on these lounges: are they just viewed as a cost inherent in their credit card business?

Edited March 17, 2019 by PuppiesandKittens