Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[TCLT]

1 hour ago, davidclt said:

I'm wondering if any of American's execs or the board are doing what Delta's CEO, officers, directors, managing directors and Board of Directors are doing? 

Not yet.

[Richhamleigh, DC]

https://thepointsguy.com/news/april-long-haul-routes-american-delta-hawaiian-united-airlines/amp/

This isnt a good sign?  AA has three long-haul while UA and DL are continuing many more.  Why the difference?

[CLT2014]

7 hours ago, Phillydog said:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/april-long-haul-routes-american-delta-hawaiian-united-airlines/amp/

This isnt a good sign?  AA has three long-haul while UA and DL are continuing many more.  Why the difference?

I'd guess that means AA's international routes aren't very profitable even in good times and with the slow down in domestic travel to offset the international loss leaders, it doesn't make sense to really offer much international service. 

[CLT704]

My immediate guess is that United and Delta have more hubs approved for international arrivals than AA. I may be wrong but AA has DFW, MIA, JFK and LAX (later two are not fortress hubs so with low traffic makes sense to cut); DL has ATL, DTW, MSP, SEA, JFK, LAX; UA has IAH, EWR, SFO and IAD (all of which are fortress hubs). AA is also hurt by the fact that a majority of TATL traffic goes through Philadelphia, which interestingly wasn't approved by the FedGov.   

[U_R_]

1 minute ago, CLT704 said:

My immediate guess is that United and Delta have more hubs approved for international arrivals than AA. I may be wrong but AA has DFW, MIA, JFK and LAX (later two are not fortress hubs so with low traffic makes sense to cut); DL has ATL, DTW, MSP, SEA, JFK, LAX; UA has IAH, EWR, SFO and IAD (all of which are fortress hubs). AA is also hurt by the fact that a majority of TATL traffic goes through Philadelphia, which interestingly wasn't approved by the FedGov.   

I think MSP and IAH are not on the approved list by the CDC. I think Delta wanted to keep their LHR and DUB flights, but I think since Minneapolis isn't an approved airport they are funneling traffic through DTW. Also, notice how IAH only has a flight to GRU. 

As for United's hubs, I wouldn't say they have a fortress hub in SFO or EWR. I think they only have around 50% share in SFO, and in NYC they also have to compete with JFK. It also helps that they have hubs in the most important cities in the US which generate enough traffic to support these flights (SFO, LAX, NYC, IAH, ORD, IAD). Delta's core hubs (SLC, DTW, ATL, and MSP) are the real money makers and are much stronger/profitable than their coastal hubs.

[TCLT]

This doesn't directly affecting CLT since they don't fly out of here, but we have the first US airline casualty of this crisis. Compass Airlines, which does regional flying for AA and Delta, is ceasing operations as a result of the airlines' pulldown in capacity.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CaptainBobbie/status/1240673935559016448

[Madison Parkitect]

17 minutes ago, TCLT said:

This doesn't directly affecting CLT since they don't fly out of here, but we have the first US airline casualty of this crisis. Compass Airlines, which does regional flying for AA and Delta, is ceasing operations as a result of the airlines' pulldown in capacity.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CaptainBobbie/status/1240673935559016448

Yeah, Compass was the small regional carrier that AA would fly with, right? I remember seeing a lot of "operated as Compass" flights. Probably nobody will even notice, I doubt most people know that these little regional airlines operate a lot of the big airlines' small planes.

[TCLT]

1 minute ago, Madison Parkitect said:

Yeah, Compass was the small regional carrier that AA would fly with, right? I remember seeing a lot of "operated as Compass" flights. Probably nobody will even notice, I doubt most people know that these little regional airlines operate a lot of the big airlines' small planes.

They mostly flew routes out of western hubs for AA, mainly LAX. So CLT based people would probably rarely see them. And yes they were a fairly small regional. 32 aircraft (12 for Delta and 20 for AA).

[Madison Parkitect]

25 minutes ago, TCLT said:

They mostly flew routes out of western hubs for AA, mainly LAX. So CLT based people would probably rarely see them. And yes they were a fairly small regional. 32 aircraft (12 for Delta and 20 for AA).

Oh, that makes sense. I must have seen them when I'd look for Delta flights out of Seattle.

[gman430]

American Airlines is grounding nearly half of its fleet and canceling 55,000 flights next month, according to an internal message sent to employees obtained by CNN. 

The airline also expects “demand to fall even more before it gets better," the message stated.

The striking numbers in an internal email from American Airlines President Robert Isom include a reduction of international flights by 75% and domestic flights by 30% in April, “with plans to reduce it even further in May.”

The message said American would park 130 wide body and 320 narrow body planes. The airline has told regulators that its core fleet includes 942 aircraft.

The airline, which is the world's largest, also said it is continuing efforts to reduce the number of employees it pays, by expanding voluntary leave programs and “offering an early out” to employees with at least 15 years of service.

Edited March 19, 2020 by gman430

[gman430]

AA just took out a $1 billion loan also. 

[stiluvclt]

Hey KJH (or whomever may have a valid answer, usually KJH) ,

If all of the construction projects at the airport are partially funded by Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Revenues and Customer Facility Charge (CFC) Revenues, is it possible that this may cause some "slow-down"?

I sure hope that's not the case but for the airport and for that matter all of the great projects downtown that are funded by hedge funds and large bank construction loans , I sure hope we don't get something like that unfinished hotel project on Kings Drive back in the late 60s and early 70s. That thang was sho ugly!

 

[KJHburg]

34 minutes ago, stiluvclt said:

Hey KJH (or whomever may have a valid answer, usually KJH) ,

If all of the construction projects at the airport are partially funded by Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Revenues and Customer Facility Charge (CFC) Revenues, is it possible that this may cause some "slow-down"?

I sure hope that's not the case but for the airport and for that matter all of the great projects downtown that are funded by hedge funds and large bank construction loans , I sure hope we don't get something like that unfinished hotel project on Kings Drive back in the late 60s and early 70s. That thang was sho ugly!

 

I can't imagine any project slowing down or stopping that is currently underway. the impact will be for future projects and again that depends on how quickly travel bounces back. 

[a2theb]

Are the airport projects fully funded via PFC before beginning or do they rely on continued revenue rolling in?

[CLT2014]

16 minutes ago, a2theb said:

Are the airport projects fully funded via PFC before beginning or do they rely on continued revenue rolling in?

These projects rely on continued revenue rolling in for cash flow to finance the projects.

[TCLT]

internal email from American Airlines President Robert Isom

The letter referenced in gman430's post is posted on AA's investor relations site as an SEC filing.

https://americanairlines.gcs-web.com/static-files/873ebdae-5ff4-453c-ba64-30cad3b19d8a

Edited March 20, 2020 by TCLT

[urbanlover568]

Delete

Edited March 20, 2020 by urbanlover568

[LKN704]

I flew back home to DC today. Some observations:

1. I was the only person in line at TSA at the E Checkpoint, not a soul in standard or pre-check. There were however 30-40 TSA officers standing around. This was the first time in years that my bag was "selected" for screening. I wonder if they were bored. 

2. The Centurion Lounge was busier than I expected, but still quiet. There is a nice corner at the Eastern part of the lounge where there are floor to ceiling windows facing D/E and the skyline. Most other areas have frosted glass panels. All CLs are closing tomorrow systemwide because of COVID19, and I felt bad for the staff. The bar was closed and they only had boxed lunches. 

3. The airport seemed busy but at the same time quiet. Very hard to describe. People seemed to be getting off planes and connecting (I saw folks running for the flight information display boards once leaving the jetbridge) but no one seemed to be boarding flights. Very bizarre. My flight to DCA was out of C14 and when walking through C flights to various cities were boarding yet no one was actually boarding. A mainline flight to Melbourne FL (never knew AA had mainline on that route...obviously won't last now!) was boarding but no one got on except maybe 10-12 people. 

4. My flight to DCA (an Airbus A320) had maybe 30-40. First was full. Everyone theoretically could have had their whole row but towards the front some entire rows were occupied...maybe folks wanted to get off first? The entire beverage service in Coach took maybe 3 minutes. 

5. Some people wiped down everything excessively, others acted without a care in the world. I saw a lady wipe down the compartment door containing the oxygen masks (If you EVER have to touch that during the flight there is a bigger problem than COVID19) and the window in front of AND behind her, while some people didn't wipe anything down. 

6. The flight crew on this flight (and the AA flight last week) were much more cheery than normal. They genuinely seemed happy to be there, and were very caring. Both the captain and the lead flight attendant made announcements how important to them personally that we were there and were grateful for our business. The captain and the lead FA wished everyone good health upon deplaning. It was a very touching and somewhat surreal experience. 

7. None of the crew were wearing gloves (as on the flight last week) except during trash pickup, which they normally do. I wonder if it was an age/generational thing. The crew on my flight today was older (65-75 year old range) and given how relaxed they were, and after having worked through other Pandemics, wonder if this is somewhat been there/done that for them. 

[TCLT]

https://thepointsguy.com/news/april-long-haul-routes-american-delta-hawaiian-united-airlines/amp/ This isnt a good sign?  AA has three long-haul while UA and DL are continuing many more.  Why the difference?  

 

United has eliminated all international flying other than a handful of flights to Mexico.

 

https://hub.united.com/2020-03-20-united-airlines-continues-draw-down-of-international-schedule-2645554693.html

 

It’s going to be pointless to try to discern anything by comparing schedules between airlines. Nothing is profitable at this point and they’re all drawing down flying at an extreme rate. There may be a day or two lag between new announcements but that really won’t tell us anything other than how quickly each airline chooses to announce changes (and maybe I suppose how willing an airline is to burn cash).

[11 HouseBZ]

13 hours ago, LKN704 said:

This was the first time in years that my bag was "selected" for screening. I wonder if they were bored. 

Half joking, are you white? The last 5-10 years I've been "randomly" selected probably half of the time. But I'm also brown (light skin black) and tall. Lol hope they were as nice as your flight crew. 

P.S. This is not a politicized race comment, I purely want to know. Personally I think my height is the reason. Or because I volunteered to test each TSA checkpoint 10 years ago and they still have a photo of me as one to aggravate and harass. (I got fake contraband through 3 out of 5 gates, so that they failed).

Edited March 21, 2020 by 11 HouseBZ

[gman430]

Well, this isn’t good: https://www.foxcarolina.com/coronavirus/faa-to-suspend-flights-to-nyc-area-and-philadelphia-airports/article_a0bf309b-69ab-548c-96db-f6912ed94cab.html

[stw52]

6 minutes ago, gman430 said:

Well, this isn’t good: https://www.foxcarolina.com/coronavirus/faa-to-suspend-flights-to-nyc-area-and-philadelphia-airports/article_a0bf309b-69ab-548c-96db-f6912ed94cab.html

NYC flights have resumed.

[TCLT]

Latest plea from airline CEOs to Congress for bailout money. It reiterates the request made earlier this week for at least $58 billion dollars in aid, although there are new commitments made in this letter including promises to protect jobs and eliminate share buybacks and dividends. I linked the full letter, but the commitment portion is below.

Quote

If worker payroll protection grants are enacted, equaling at least $29 billion, participating passenger and cargo air carriers will not furlough employees or conduct reductions in force through August 31, 2020.

If loans and/or loan guarantees are enacted, equaling at least $29 billion, participating passenger and cargo air carriers commit to: Placing limits on executive compensation;  Eliminating stock buy backs over the life of the loans; and Eliminating stock dividends for the life of the loans.

 

Charlotte Regional Business Alliance tweeted their support for the assistance, for whatever that's worth.

Edited March 21, 2020 by TCLT
added Charlotte Alliance tweet.

[davidclt]

2 minutes ago, TCLT said:

Latest plea from airline CEOs to Congress for bailout money. It reiterates the request made earlier this week for at least $58 billion dollars in aid, although there are new commitments made in this letter including promises to protect jobs and eliminate share buybacks and dividends. I linked the full letter, but the commitment portion is below.

I'd also like a commitment from the airline CEOs that receive this support through the crisis that once this crisis passes, and the loans are repaid, they will take proactive, measurable steps to use the profits gained in good times to prepare their companies for future crises, not use the profits to buy back shares or pay dividends in excess of 1% or their "rainy day" fund that is built to weather future crises.

I say this as an American and an investor, things need to change in the financial markets, healthcare and our politics nationally. Feeding the quarterly results beast and the short-term thinking that engenders is doing no one any favors.

[urbanlover568]

Airlines preparing for US domestic shutdown.

 

https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/aviation/489161-us-airlines-drafting-plans-for-potential-shutdown-report