Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[SydneyCarton]

Google it.  It’s a well-established fact.  Further, I’ll bet that NY-Lon is one of the most heavily traveled international routes for private aircraft.  If all of those private flights were added to the commercial demand, the numbers would be even greater.

More importantly, as Charlotte becomes a global financial center, it might get that supersonic flight to London as well.  I’m guessing that within ten years, Clt-London will be a very heavily traveled route as the QC’s dominance in finance grows.

Edited August 4, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[kermit]

54 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

More importantly, as Charlotte becomes a global financial center, it might get that supersonic flight to London as well.  

People from Greensboro up to the Maryland Eastern Shore are going to be super-bummed about the daily sonic-booms. 

Edited August 4, 2020 by kermit

[CLT>]

Long way to go till CLT joins the uber profitable route club, but it is the most profitable hub in the world.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/top-airline-routes-by-revenue/

 

And for CLT

At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the tenth busiest airport, American’s number one revenue destination was:

DFW   $84 million

ORD  $71 million

LAX  $69 million

BOS  $66 million

LGA $65 million

The first three are American hubs. At Charlotte, American operates the world’s third largest single airline hub with 674 daily departures.

This doesn't include other airlines revenues on duplicative routes either which I'm sure would bump LGA up a few spots with the DL service added in

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2018/08/01/for-american-delta-and-united-nothing-beats-hub-to-hub-and-new-york-flying/#37ed439d7a68

[elrodvt]

But London is 'brexiting” global finance. ;-)

Maybe to Brussels or Zurich instead.

[SydneyCarton]

The bottom line is that within ten years, I expect that Charlotte will have a lot of direct flights to global financial centers like London, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Singapore, etc.  since it is slowly but surely emerging into a global financial center itself.  I think that the private jet traffic will also increase dramatically.

Edited August 5, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[csweet]

16 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

The bottom line is that within ten years, I expect that Charlotte will have a lot of direct flights to global financial centers like London, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Singapore, etc.  since it is slowly but surely emerging into a global financial center itself.  I think that the private jet traffic will also increase dramatically.

Not so sure about that at all, your takes have been wild over the past 48 hours to say the least. What airline is going to put a plane on these Singapore and Shanghai routes? AA has made it clear that they are not adding Pacific routes from CLT. Why is private jet traffic increasing? Yes there are new corporate hangars being built, but beyond that couldn't the rich and famous just take the space shuttle you were talking about? 

[SydneyCarton]

1 hour ago, csweet said:

Not so sure about that at all, your takes have been wild over the past 48 hours to say the least. What airline is going to put a plane on these Singapore and Shanghai routes? AA has made it clear that they are not adding Pacific routes from CLT. Why is private jet traffic increasing? Yes there are new corporate hangars being built, but beyond that couldn't the rich and famous just take the space shuttle you were talking about? 

I think that it will happen as Charlotte grows as a financial center.    

Edited August 5, 2020 by SydneyCarton

[cltcane]

39 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

I think that it will happen as Charlotte grows as a financial center.    

The types of financial services jobs in Charlotte DO NOT generate any meaningful international travel demand.  Folks here make a good living supporting domestic consumer and small business banking operations and doing back office work (things like risk, compliance, legal, technology, HR, etc.), but those aren’t jobs that often require domestic travel, much less international travel.  I think Charlotte will continue to add those types of jobs, but that will not get us non-stops to any global financial centers that are not already served from CLT.  With modern technology that allows global teams to engage virtually (I talk to my teammates in APAC, EMEA and LATAM daily), banks are not going to buy enough business class seats to send employees from cost centers (vs. profit centers) halfway around the world for face-to-face meetings to make non-stop flights viable.  Any additional international service we get once air travel recovers post-COVID will be due to AA’s prioritization of CLT as a low-cost connecting hub and the introduction of long range narrowbodies that make service to secondary European leisure destinations feasible, not because Charlotte has emerged as a global financial hub. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by cltcane

[wilmore]

1 hour ago, SydneyCarton said:

I think that it will happen as Charlotte grows as a financial center.    

What do you think people will be traveling from Charlotte to global financial centers for? 

Who are the types of people traveling internationally for business, and why will more of them be based in Charlotte in the future? Not to mention, the pandemic may have significantly decreased the long-term demand for international biz travel. 

[CLT2014]

The biggest driver of international business travel to / from Charlotte is not even finance. 

It is the global industrial and manufacturing companies. Ingersoll Rand / Trane Technologies, Sealed Air, Seimens, Framatome, Electrolux, Schaeffler Group, Continental Tire, SPX, Nucor Steel, Domtar, National Gypsum, Jeld-wen, Albermarle Chemical, et... are companies with global manufacturing operations, factories around the world, international customers, global sales force, et. 

Edited August 5, 2020 by CLT2014

[atlrvr]

Agree....only business travel where supersonic travel makes sense is for meetings, and where a person's time is extremely valuable.  In finance, this would be the very occasional senior investment banker, where a day trip to London is worth the cost....there are so few of those roles in Charlotte that it doesn't justify a flight.  CEO happy taking company private jet with full workstation.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Cltcane and clt2014 are correct.  While I enjoy the daydream of a world where Charlotte joins the profit generating jet set of global finance, the reality of the industry's momentum and infrastructure continue to point to the City being a process hub for profits and value generated at global financial centres.  By definition there can only be a handful of such places around the world....and they are already firmly entrenched (do not accept the self serving arguments of some about the impacts of Brexit on London......it will take much more than Brexit to diminish the City's stature in this regard).  

Nothing wrong with being a processor of wealth.   It has allowed Charlotte to punch above its weight very impressively, and secure a position as a major fintech center, which is a strong growth industry.    

Our international flight options will continue to be supported by the industrial hinterland that Charlotte reigns over and as a routing option, due to its low cost, for leisure/seasonal travel to holiday destinations.   Neither of these bodes well for supersonic travel unfortunately. 

[elrodvt]

Brexit was a lame attempt at a joke. Seriously though, I do think their role will diminish some but it'll be a long time and depends on how bad the breakup goes. But then it's not my area of expertise and ”opinions are like assholes” at this point in the process.

[csweet]

Moving on from the past 2 pages of mass confusion, Forbes posted an article from the Director of Bozeman Airport stating that a CLT flight is on their immediate wishlist. Not to get excited, but if CLT could make this flight successful, could we see other secondary Western cities appear? 

[KJHburg]

19 minutes ago, csweet said:

Moving on from the past 2 pages of mass confusion, Forbes posted an article from the Director of Bozeman Airport stating that a CLT flight is on their immediate wishlist. Not to get excited, but if CLT could make this flight successful, could we see other secondary Western cities appear? 

Nice would be able to get to Yellowstone in one nonstop flight.  

[csweet]

5 minutes ago, KJHburg said:

Nice would be able to get to Yellowstone in one nonstop flight.  

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2020/08/06/this-montana-airport-finds-rare-success-at-a-troubled-time-for-airlines/#436b638354c9

 

Here is the link, interesting read in regards to YOY performance. Seems inevitable that AA will give it a go. 

[LKN704]

Ironically I had a trip planned to Kalispell/Glacier Park last month but had to cancel because a friend got sick with COVID and I was scared to go hiking alone (the thought of me the urban dweller buying bear spray and hiking in Glacier Park alone should send shivers down one's spine). I cancelled the flight around 24 hours prior to departure and the agent I spoke to on the phone said that the DFW-FCA leg was oversold. 

I had another friend that went a couple weeks after me and she said it was packed. Montana and Wyoming have really picked up within the past couple of years, but I think it is especially busy now as urbanites are looking to have a weekend away somewhere in the country.

I would be shocked if CLT didn't get a seasonal flight to Bozeman, Kalispell, and/or Jackson Hole within the next couple of years. 

As for secondary Western cities, I would like San Jose to come back. I still am not quite sure why AA dropped it as they seemed to keep extending the flight's season and I think it was up-gauged to a 321. I would also like to see Orange County and I think it would do well, however the airport is slot controlled and has other specific requirements (flight would have to use a 738, for example). I don't think AA has or could get the slots. 

AA has a decent frequent flyer base in San Jose (going back to when they had a hub there) and Orange County, and their new partnership with Alaska will only help them in both cities. 

Spokane and Boise are both too small, as is Reno. AA tried Albuquerque and it didn't work. US tried Tucson after the America West merger, and AA recently tried it again, and it didn't work a second time. I could see Colorado Springs working maybe. 

 

[elrodvt]

Here ya go supersonic dreamers:

Business Insider: Hypersonic Air Force One: Startup Hermeus tests Mach 5 aircraft engine - Business Insider.
https://www.businessinsider.com/hypersonic-air-force-one-hermeus-mach-5-2020-8

[HopHead]

Terminal Lobby Expansion progress pics from CLT Airport Twitter 

 

[KJHburg]

My brother and his family flew to Newark today on their way to Europe.  He stated CLT was much busier and had more places open for food and other things than EWR.  He says the big UNwelcome mat is out with monitors telling people to quarantine for 2 weeks if you are from 35 states plus Puerto Rico and DC including a few big states like California, Texas and Florida and of course the Carolinas.   He said there was only one TSA person checking people in and still no lines in Newark. 

Newark airport this afternoon.

Edited August 11, 2020 by KJHburg

[LKN704]

I think the tri-state area removed DC from their quarantine list last week, along with Delaware and perhaps a couple of other states.

DC has a mandatory quarantine too, but it is essentially unenforceable and simply for show IMO, considering that DC's airports are all in Virginia/Maryland. 

[rancenc]

10 minutes ago, LKN704 said:

I think the tri-state area removed DC from their quarantine list last week, along with Delaware and perhaps a couple of other states.

DC has a mandatory quarantine too, but it is essentially unenforceable and simply for show IMO, considering that DC's airports are all in Virginia/Maryland. 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2020 by rancenc

[jordan704]

8/13

[Matthew.Brendan]

Who is Douglas anyway?

[atlrvr]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Elbert_Douglas_Sr.