Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[DeeMan]

Here is an interesting article about America's best airports. They rank CLT 15th.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-22/airports-from-hell/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsR4

[uptownliving]

The winds died down a bit and the Honolulu actually went non-stop today...but it still took about an hour longer than expected due to the high head winds.

[uptownliving]

Anyone see the interview with Airport Director Jerry Orr on WBTV tonight? He looked like a homeless man they pulled in off the street. Good grief man...take a shower, shave, and put on some decent clothes if you are going to be on TV representing one of the largest airports on Planet Earth.

And in typical Jerry style he leaves with a nice quote at the end of his piece: "It all boils down to who should be looking at you naked"

Here is the video:

http://www.wbtv.com/global/category.asp?c=151146&clipId=&topVideoCatNo=128873&topVideoCatNoB=132534&topVideoCatNoC=135991&topVideoCatNoD=139409&autoStart=true&clipId=4417681

[Guest]

Anyone see the interview with Airport Director Jerry Orr on WBTV tonight? He looked like a homeless man they pulled in off the street. Good grief man...take a shower, shave, and put on some decent clothes if you are going to be on TV representing one of the largest airports on Planet Earth.

And in typical Jerry style he leaves with a nice quote at the end of his piece: "It all boils down to who should be looking at you naked"

Here is the video:

http://www.wbtv.com/...&clipId=4417681

Man the last bit by the anchor was a flat out lie. I flew on the 27th out of Charlotte and it was a disaster. I got there 2 hours early and got to my plane 1 minute before they closed the doors. I spent around an hour checking in and around an hour waiting for security, it was a HUGE MESS!

[Miesian Corners]

Anyone see the interview with Airport Director Jerry Orr on WBTV tonight? He looked like a homeless man they pulled in off the street. Good grief man...take a shower, shave, and put on some decent clothes if you are going to be on TV representing one of the largest airports on Planet Earth.

And in typical Jerry style he leaves with a nice quote at the end of his piece: "It all boils down to who should be looking at you naked"

Here is the video:

http://www.wbtv.com/...&clipId=4417681

Actually, he says "nekkid". Dear God!

[New Name]

Actually, he says "nekkid". Dear God!

Ugh. I'll never understand a public figurehead using Southern slang. You get paid to be a figurehead. Act like it.

[JayGee]

Ugh. I'll never understand a public figurehead using Southern slang. You get paid to be a figurehead. Act like it.

And you think he actually realizes its southern slang?

[JerseyBoy]

I went to CLT during the summer and spent a couple of hours photographing planes from the observation area. I've just gotten around to uploading them after all of this time, so enjoy!

Additional photos and larger sizes can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cosmophotos/sets/72157623085008856/

[caterpillar2]

Ugh. I'll never understand a public figurehead using Southern slang. You get paid to be a figurehead. Act like it.

It is called dialect. Just because someone pronounces a word in a manner that is not satisfying to you doesn't mean that the person is ignorant or not educated. Look at politicials like JFK and others from New England that pronounce words that seem "improper" to others n other parts of the country. Being properly dressed for an occasion is one issue, the way one pronounces a word is another. By the way, "nakked" isn't Southern slang. It is just a pronunciation that is obviously objectable to you. I prefer the more standard pronunciation but I won't be petite. You might not want to ever visit the north of England or Scotland. You will really be offended with the way they pronounce words. LOL! But, who cares how one speaks just so flights to Dublin, Madrid, Stockholm, and Rome are acquired.

[HopHead]

The new runway at CLT airport officially opens tomorrow (Wednesday). The first flight to leave the runway will depart at 7:15 am. Now, can we get started on that terminal expansion already?

[Miesian Corners]

It is called dialect. Just because someone pronounces a word in a manner that is not satisfying to you doesn't mean that the person is ignorant or not educated. Look at politicials like JFK and others from New England that pronounce words that seem "improper" to others n other parts of the country. Being properly dressed for an occasion is one issue, the way one pronounces a word is another. By the way, "nakked" isn't Southern slang. It is just a pronunciation that is obviously objectable to you. I prefer the more standard pronunciation but I won't be petite. You might not want to ever visit the north of England or Scotland. You will really be offended with the way they pronounce words. LOL! But, who cares how one speaks just so flights to Dublin, Madrid, Stockholm, and Rome are acquired.

Well, it's up to US Airways for those things to happen, NOT Jerry. As for his accent, it's not the way he pronounces words that really bothers me, its the fact he uses incorrect grammar. When USAir flight 1016 crashed in 1994, he was on CNN and he proclaimed on live TV "...it was the worst thing I ever seen--they was arms and legs everwhere!" Yeah--tasteful coming from the aviation director. And just what families needed to hear about their loved ones after a horrible event.

[HopHead]

For crying out loud... talk about dialect, accents, etc in the coffee house. I could care less about this as it has nothing to do with the airport itself.

[Miesian Corners]

For crying out loud... talk about dialect, accents, etc in the coffee house. I could care less about this as it has nothing to do with the airport itself.

Sorry to offend, but I have to deal with it every day at work and it's embarrassing. He represents the 24th biggest airport in the world--he should know how to put on a decent public face. After all, he is the highest paid public official in Mecklenburg County.

[Miesian Corners]

Construction has begun on the additional security check points for international travelers who currently have long wait times at TSA rescreening upon clearing US Customs and Immigration. Anticipated completion is May.

[sharkdawg]

Construction has begun on the additional security check points for international travelers who currently have long wait times at TSA rescreening upon clearing US Customs and Immigration. Anticipated completion is May.

Do you feel that the expansion will accommodate much future growth in international flights through CLT?

[cltbwimob]

While doing my daily surfing, I came across a comment on A.net about Delta being in talks to merge with US. Although I seriously doubt the rumor (makes virtually no sense for the 2 to merge), could someone who works for either verify or debunk the rumor? I know some who post here work for US Airways, and I would like their input.

Edited January 17, 2010 by cltbwimob

[15895]

While doing my daily surfing, I came across a comment on A.net about Delta being in talks to merge with US. Although I seriously doubt the rumor (makes virtually no sense for the 2 to merge), could someone who works for either verify or debunk the rumor? I know some who post here work for US Airways, and I would like their input.

Common sense says that a Delta/US merger would never ever ever happen....

[Miesian Corners]

Rumor mill on airliners.net. There have been rumors for nearly a year now that US would split in two: AA would take the East operation and Republic Air Holdings would take the West. It all stems from the inability of the airline to merge the East and West pilot groups (a really long story). I'll believe it when it happens.

[uptownliving]

Do you feel that the expansion will accommodate much future growth in international flights through CLT?

What they are doing now is really playing "catch up" with the current demand. The true expansion in International Capacity would come if/when they build the new International Terminal where the current Rental Car facilities are.

[Miesian Corners]

Power is down to Concourse C this morning. It's been out since 4 a.m. Airplanes are lined up to get a gate on B or D, so I imagine taxi holds are awful. To add salt to an already open wound, the FIDS system in baggage claim is also down (no one knows which carousel their bags are arriving on). Add that to a place already a disaster due to northeastern snow, and you have a clusterf***.

[uptownliving]

The monitors have been down in Baggage Claim for quite a while now...I flew a week ago and they were down. This whole monitor replacement project seems to have stopped after they did the ticket lobby. Everywhere else in the terminal is still on the old CRT screens....it really makes the airport look VERY dated and run down. They have had the new LCD monitors on site for almost a year now...they should have been installed by now...hell they should have been installed 6 months ago.

[tozmervo]

On WFAE this morning they said that the formal dedication of the third runway takes place today. Glad to see they got the terminal into shape for the occasion

[Skyybutter]

This is taken from USAirways annual Leadership Conference....

Members of US Airways’ senior management team spoke to the

group about how we delivered on our Reliability, Convenience

and Appearance (RCA) goals for 2009 and how we’ll put them

to work this year to deliver a reliable customer experience while

working toward returning our airline to sustained profitability.

Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said, “Even though we’ve

done everything right over the past year, we weren’t profitable,

so we need to focus on continuing to deliver a strong operating

performance and maximizing our revenue performance this year.

We’re doing a great job, but it is discouraging that we didn’t see

profits.”

President Scott Kirby told attendees, “We did a remarkable job

raising money thanks to the finance team. Our partners recognize

our potential and they want to continue to support US Airways,

so we can’t let them down by running anything less than the

airline we’ve built over the past three years. We’re optimistic

about 2010 – the economy is improving and we’re seeing an

impressive turnaround in corporate revenue.”

Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom noted, “2009 was

US Airways’ best year on operating measures since the merger.

Over the past few years, everyone has gathered around a plan

and focused on making sure we run a reliable operation, which

translates into a better experience for our customers and costsavings

for our airline.”

See page 2 to learn more about the goals we’re focused on for 2010.

Continue to Deliver a Strong Core Operating Performance

Our focus on delivering a reliable performance for our customers over the past few

years has helped significantly reduce our number of mishandled bags and the number of

customer complaints we receive.

In 2009 we clocked 29 days with a mishandled bag ratio (MBR) of less tha 2 per 1,000

and paid out seven Triple Play payouts to employees for ranking in the top three spots for

on-time performance, MBRs and complaints during the year.

This year we’ll continue to build on this momentum and keep our focus on making sure

our aircraft depart on time – or “D:00” – while making sure customers arrive on time with

their bags. And when there are irregular ops, making sure we take care of our customers.

Maximize Revenue Performance

Over the past two years, we’ve made big changes to our way of doing business by

charging customers for what they choose to use.

Charging for checked bags, premium seat assignments and other “a la carte” products

and services will bring in approximately $500 million annually to our airline. To put this

number in perspective, our most profitable year was in 2006, when US Airways made a

profit of about $500 million.

In short – the fees are here to stay because they’re making a tremendous difference to

our bottom line.

Widen our CASM Advantage vs. Legacy Carriers

Even as our airline shrank five percent in capacity, we reduced CASM (or Cost Per

Available Seat Mile) by .3 percent. We’ve done this largely by running a great operation

and our focus this year is to continue that momentum by getting flights out on time,

reducing aircraft damages and making sure that we’re spending money in areas that are

helping put us back on the path to sustained profitability.

Engage Employees in Our Shared Future

2009 was a testament to the hard work and dedication of our 31,000 employees. Though

it’s frustrating to work so hard and have outside factors influence our airline’s profitability,

we need to keep doing what we’re doing in 2010 (no backsliding on our RCA goals).

We’re going to invest in technologies, training and automated tools to allow for better

service recovery.

Even better, we’re going to help our customers become more self-sufficient online and at

the airport, which will reduce waiting time in lines and on the phones with Reservations.

And we’re making all the right changes to ensure we’ll be around for the long run by

cutting capacity, running an excellent operation and managing budgets accordingly. The

plan in 2010 is to keep doing what we’re doing, and delivering consistent results and

service.

Ensuring Long-Term Value Is Maximized

In 2009, we took several important steps to financially and strategically position the airline

for success in 2010 and beyond. These initiatives included our proposed slot transaction

with Delta Air Lines; refocusing our operation on our core network strengths in CLT, PHL,

PHX and DCA; and completing a series of financial transactions and aircraft deferrals that

are projected to improve our available cash by approximately $450 million in aggregate

by the end of 2010. During the fourth quarter alone, the company raised funds to finance

the purchase of 10 aircraft which cost nearly $500 million combined. This along with the

deferral of 54 aircraft and other transactions improved our liquidity by approximately $150

million in 2009.

Looking ahead, we entered 2010 with $2.0 billion in total available cash and investments

of which $0.5 billion was restricted. In 2010, returning to profitability is a key imperative

for our company. We are confident that the cost-cutting and strategic moves we initiated

over the past year, combined with the improving economy and continued operational

excellence, have put US Airways back on the path to sustained profitability.

US-DL Slot Transaction Update

Earlier this week the Department of Transportation (DOT)

issued a ruling regarding US Airways’ proposed slot

transaction with Delta Air Lines. Although granting tentative

approval, in its decision the DOT states it would require

both airlines to divest 33 percent (14 of the 42 roundtrip slot

pairs) at DCA that US Airways would obtain from Delta and

16 percent (20 of the 125 roundtrip slot pairs) at LGA that

we would transfer to Delta. Furthermore, we could only sell

those assets to carriers that control fewer than five percent

of the slots at each airport, and if we are unsuccessful in that

sale, DOT will simply take the slots away from us.

In a letter to employees, President Scott Kirby noted that we

are disappointed by the DOT’s decision first, as it represents

a significant portion of the proposed economic benefits we

would achieve. DOT is asking both us and Delta to give

up 16 percent of the proposed transaction at LGA and 33

percent of the transaction at DCA and they are limiting the

potential field of airlines that can purchase the slots from

us. Second, for a hub-and-spoke carrier like US Airways,

this proposed ruling and divestiture negatively impacts both

the consumer and economic benefits that would have been

created by the proposed transaction. Third, this decision will

result in the loss of opportunity for our country’s smallerand

medium-sized communities that would have benefited

from new service from both DCA and LGA as a result of this

transaction.

While we are still analyzing the DOT’s proposed ruling, we

expect that if the DOT’s order is implemented as proposed

(there is a 30-day public comment period before the ruling

becomes final) the transaction will not go forward.

If the order stands as proposed and the transaction does

not go forward, we will continue to fly our regional jet

and turboprop operation at LGA but we will not be able

to expand at DCA. We also will not be able to offer our

customers the new international flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil

and Tokyo, Japan that we would have secured from Delta. As

we have consistently said though, LGA remains a valuable

asset, which we will continue to operate and support as next

steps are determined

[uptownliving]

Couple of Airport Updates:

- US Airways Express intends to add six additional aircraft to two hub banks (there are 8-9 banks per day) using Concourse E, starting in March. In order to accommodate the additional aircraft, the Airport must immediately add another 120-foot section to the concourse to provide temporary walkways and more gate space for the additional passenger load. This is surprising since Concourse E already has 32 gates and its most recent expansion is barely 2 years old.

- The airport will be replacing/updating all the Ramp Information Displays on the exterior of the Concourses at each gate for B,C,D, and E (all US Airways gates). They feed flight information from US Airways IT system to the RIDS displays that are used by ground crews to prepare the aircraft for departure.

- The Airport is currently bidding a new parking revenue control system for all parking facilities. The new system will take 18 months to install and implement. My guess is this new system will be more automated meaning less human cashiers.

[uptownliving]

I was reading a blurb about the new runway opening at the airport and this little tidbit jumped out of the page at me "Charlotte is the 2nd busiest airport on the East Coast"

So I went to the Airports Council International that tracks these stats and sure enough...there it is for YTD November 2009 (latest stats) Charlotte was the #2 Airport on the East Coast behind Atlanta based on # of flights. Another way of ranking airports is by # of Passengers and in that list Charlotte was #3 on the East Coast behind Atlanta and JFK.

So to put it another way Charlotte handles more passengers and flights than Miami, Philly, Orlando, Boston, Washington Dulles, Baltimore, or Newark.