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Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion


uptownliving

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when they have finished expanding the runways, it may help draw more hub traffic, as long as that business model continues at usairways, and as long as usairways continues to run.

CLT will grow with the city, but will have a hard time being as large as atl, dulles, dfw, etc. i doubt it will be that large anytime this generation.

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the land across 485 will never really be available to the airport. It is already planned for a whole new residential section of charlotte.

In the unlikely event that air traffic through charlotte makes it impossible to fit within the confines of 85, 485, B Graham Pkwy, and West Blvd/Garden Pkwy... then i'm sure concord airport will start growing to steal some of the small jet traffic.

That actually reminds me of a major reason why charlotte will not be as large as some of the other airports you mentioned... there is too much competition from all the airports less than a few hours drive away. RDU, PTI, CLT, GSP, etc. can all quickly absorb capacity if charlotte starts hit walls on cost.

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That actually reminds me of a major reason why charlotte will not be as large as some of the other airports you mentioned... there is too much competition from all the airports less than a few hours drive away.  RDU, PTI, CLT, GSP, etc. can all quickly absorb  capacity if charlotte starts hit walls on cost.

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What would optimally help Charlotteans is express train service to neighboring city airports - Greenville SC, Greensboro NC & Raleigh NC. Screw having a bigger airport, when you have the potential to have great competition between the 3 airports.

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It could use some work... They should modernize the outside - it's a little outdated. And whats with the Nascar themed 'Welcome to Charlotte' sign painted on a concrete wall? Real classy, lol...

I think RDU has a nicer sign/entrance to their airport.

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It could use some work... They should modernize the outside - it's a little outdated. And whats with the Nascar themed 'Welcome to Charlotte' sign painted on a concrete wall? Real classy, lol...

I think RDU has a nicer sign/entrance to their airport.

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RDU's sign is really cool. it has carved class if i remember right.

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I think at this time it is ranked as the 16 largest airport in terms of total operations.  Atlanta is either 1 or 2 (with Chicago O'Hare).

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Charlotte will never be an Atlanta, but neither will London. Atlanta is the busiest passenger airport in the world.

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I use to work at ATA in Charlotte before they closed down Charlotte ATA service. And from what I was told by fellow employee's is that they are coming into Charlotte. However I still feel this is just employee rumor because I have found no concrete evidence they will come into the Charlotte market, being they already service Raleigh. However since they are codesharing with ATA, and ATA no longer services Charlotte that is also a possability they may want to service this market. I think it will depend on other factors. Like if the AmericanWest/US Airways deal goes thru, and how many gates they will operate at Charlotte Douglas. Also there is a rumor JetBlue is suppose to come in to Charlotte.

Edited by fulcrumsf
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I fly a lot, and I would rate Charlotte's airport as one of the nicer ones.

It's not that big in size, but looks better than a lot of other airports.

My favorites are Denver, Houston and San Francisco. I LOVE the transit at SFO, I can land, hop on a train, go to BART and be dowtown without ever hitting the street.

Don't care for Pheonix, Jacksonville, Orlando (sorry...too much construction, although the trams are nice), Oakland, Midway or Dallas.

O'Hare and Hartsfield are just too damn big.

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I love Denver's too, but I didn't care for San Francisco's at all. Charlotte does have a good one, just the right size - other medium sized airports I like are San Diego & Washington Reagon. As for Hartsfield-Jackson I do in fact like it but probably b/c I'm used to it (or I'm an overzealous booster who loves everything in Atlanta ;)).

Airports I don't care for are Newark, Dulles, & DFW.

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Without a doubt Dulles is the worst large airport in the country, followed by Cinci.....I like Denver's ok, but it is not the most efficient airport. I can't really think of any airport that I love. I think Charlotte's is very manageable, and quick to navigate. I actually like Miami's even though it is rather large.

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After working there a very long time, I tend to agree that Charlotte/Douglas is a little tired. A lot is done on the cheap. When Concouse D was expanded, they opted to go for cheaper terazzo. The multi-colored zig-zag design now abrutply stops in front of Johnston and Murphy shoes and becomes simply white terazzo. Looks kind of pathetic.

Also, baggage claim is horrific. It's dark, dreary, and has really low ceilings. It still has the same pea green carpet that was installed when it was built in 1983. Can't really say it screams "Welcome to Charlotte". More like, "How do you like the new trailer?"

I'm also not sure of why they are obsessed with mauve out there. Every bloody accent color is mauve. Is somebody stuck in the 80s or what?

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i'll have to look up what color "mauve" is, but you are right, the baggage claim area is downright embarassing.

I read a while ago that it is slated for renovation sometime in the next few years.

Overall though, i'm glad that CLT was built in such a way over time to minimize debt and cost. It protects the airport (and the city taxpayers) from being financially at-risk if usairways collapses.

If it is just a matter of floor materials... i can deal with the cheaper as long as it isn't tacky. (i think terrazo is unnoticeable to regular people, rather than drawing negative attention)... as i said before, though, the nasty green baggage claim area is the latter.

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