CltFlyer

Here is the official Avelo press release. 2 weekly (Thursday's and Sunday's) beginning May 2nd. Introductory fares of $62 one way. https://www.aveloair.com/route-announcements/avelo-airlines-expands-service-from-new-haven-with-four-new-destinations-atlanta-charlotte-knoxville-and-destin

Not CLT specific but Charlotte area specific. Concord-Padgett Regional Airport has an announcement tomorrow and appears to be in line for new service on Ultra Low Cost Carrier Avelo Airlines! Original flights would be to New Haven, CT with the likelihood of flights to Florida coming in the future. Avelo has already set up a base at RDU and operate to several other airports in the Carolinas in Wilmington, Asheville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Greenville, SC. I supposed they found Concord to less costly and less congested. This will be Concord's 2nd carrier along with Allegiant.

A good possibility seems like it might be the (almost) brand new airline Bermudair. For those unfamiliar, they are an Bermudian based airline that commenced operation in May 2023. They operate smaller Embraer 175 aircraft and are trying to create a niche between airports that didn't have or had limited service to Bermuda. They just announced Baltimore and Orlando, but people have pointed out that there is slack in the fleet for another route that could time well with RDU. I could see them making sense in RDU with frequency of 3 to 4 times week to cater to the ever-growing Northeastern transplant population in the Raleigh Durham area. Charlotte already has a daily flight, but I could seem room for this flight as well. On another note, the Burger King in the atrium caught fire for the 2nd time in less than 2 years! It happened later at night so little disruption and no injuries were reported. https://www.wbtv.com/2024/02/02/crews-battle-overnight-fire-restaurant-inside-clt-airport/ Maybe they should just replace it with something else, because the location clearly doesn't want to be open.

Apparently this draft is from back in May 2023. https://downloads.ctfassets.net/jaw4bomip9l3/XFuFUxxOVJWw4Zeq4esBO/e4642102a60381008df3eea2e92b4ff8/Sheet-3__ALP_Future.pdf Looks like the demolition of E, Small extension of D, Satellite concourse, and 5th runway are still in the masterplan On another note. Volaris is adding a third weekly flight to Guadalajara, Mexico starting in April.

Tom Dundon knows this as well. In his statement he said that while he prefers Raleigh (obviously), that he would put the team in the city that works the best. https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/mlb-in-nc-carolina-hurricanes-owner-leading-charge-to-bring-a-team-to-the-tar-heel-state-charlotte-north-carolina-mlb-expansion/275-7998ddf4-7b71-4b2a-8b0e-e7e8d7c88262

On the flip side. Our connecting power allows secondary west coast (Orange County, Ontario, Portland (Ore), Sacramento, etc...) to work. An evening departure to the west coast and red eye back to CLT arriving early morning the next is operationally the same as having the plane "overnight" somewhere like New Orleans, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, etc.... If they can generate enough connections it makes the flight worthwhile as opposed to the aircraft just sitting somewhere. I see they selected that approach with Spokane (GEG), so hopefully it can be the "next" secondary market to be successful like that.

American is adding several night flights this summer to Mountain West destinations this coming summer! https://airlinegeeks.com/2023/12/23/american-adds-new-charlotte-routes-in-2024/ New Destinations: Calgary, AB (Canada) Spokane, WA Service Resumptions: Bozeman, MT Jackson Hole, WY Calgary: Saturdays Only- June 8th through August 31st. Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Outbound flight leaves Charlotte at 9:17 am. Arrives into Calgary at 11:45am Return flight departs Calgary at 12:46pm. Arrives into Charlotte at 7:17pm Spokane: Daily- June 5th through September 3rd. Aircraft: Airbus A321 Outbound flight departs Charlotte at 6:10pm. Arrives into Spokane at 8:54pm Return flight departs Spokane at 10:20pm. Arrives into Charlotte at 6:24am the following day Bozeman: Saturdays Only- June 8th through August 31st. Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Outbound flight departs Charlotte at 9:20am. Arrives into Bozeman at 11:17am Return flight departs Bozeman at 12:31pm. Arrives into Charlotte at 6:35pm Jackson Hole: Daily- June 5th through September 3rd. Aircraft: Airbus A319 Outbound flight departs Charlotte at 9:15am. Arrives into Jackson Hole at 11:24am Return flight departs Jackson Hole at 12:05pm. Arrives into Charlotte at 6:00pm All in all some very interesting summer vacation destinations! Our Canada offering has expanded significantly with Vancouver already announced and now Calgary. While Jackson Hole, Calgary, and Bozeman are all timed for for vacation traffic. Spokane is timed more aligned to Portland, Ore, Sacramento, Ontario, and Orange County. It suggests it could have the ability to go year round at some point?

We complain, but forget how fortunate we are when it comes to construction. Charlotte literally has more 20+ story buildings under construction (8)/planned (14) than a city like Richmond has total (14 existing/1 under construction/1 planned). Over the past decade Charlotte has a small to midsize city's worth of buildings under construction at any given time. For most cities, that's unfathomable growth. We are incredibly fortunate. To keep in mind though. A.) Not every tower is going to be a marquee/"flagship" building B.) There's a mile long list of cities who would kill to have a 110 East being built. We are incredibly fortunate to be seeing this explosive growth right in front of our eyes and lest not forget that 30 years ago or so we were no more than a city like Richmond/Oklahoma City in terms of buildings (No disrespect at all to these cities as a whole! Simply comparing the skylines) In the words of a southern mother. "Let's not act too big for our britches." The growth we have seen in the past 2 decades is simply mind numbing and doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Uh oh....who's that lurking in the corner??

Unless there has been a major change in the prospective routing. There appears to be a typo in the section about the Charlotte to Atlanta greenfield HSR. The original proposal was for a stop in Anderson, SC. If it is changing to Augusta, GA that would take it around 90 miles further south of the originally proposed route.

This has potential to be one of the "biggest" sporting events Charlotte has ever hosted. A quick look at the bracket shows that our semi final has the potential to be a USA vs Brazil in a championship contender deciding match! I would argue this will be just as good exposure as getting to hold a few group matches for the World Cup of which could having varying degrees of relevance to the outcome of the tournament. As much as Tepper gets (rightfully) criticized for his mismanaging of the Panthers. This is an absolutely massive win for Charlotte that has potential to draw international tourism to Charlotte.

Brightline from LA to Vegas is a very common sense one even at 3 billion. Today on a Tuesday (a day of the week that typically sees less flights) there are around 80 flights between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas of those 73 are commercial flights and who knows how many thousands of cars going strictly between the 2. Especially in an area where you are less constricted by population, this is a "low hanging fruit" market to fund improved rail transit and lower carbon emission.

They are different markets for the reasons you mentioned but as far as where people going to Tulum are currently flying into. I imagine it's currently Cancun. So in that sense it's a "reliever". I think once the all of the new security check points are open and the project is complete, the fact that it will be much more efficient than the current set up will relieve lobby congestion in that way. I do think, however, it is short sighted on the airport's part to not really be adding more check in counters though, instead they seem to just be replacing the existing counters with more modern counters. I wonder if they will come to regret that at some point in the future, as currently there is not much open counter space that I'm aware of for new carrier expansion.

Another new route announcement. https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2023/Tokyo-to-Tulum-American-Airlines-unveils-new-international-routes-to-enhance-2024-travels-NET-RTS-11/ AA will begin service to the new Tulum, Mexico airport on March 28th, 2024. It's more of a "reliever" airport/market for Cancun with Tulum being around 80 miles south/southwest of Cancun down the Yucatan Peninsula. American is the third US carrier to announce new service to Tulum after Delta and Spirit. They are also increasing frequency this summer to Caribbean destinations Barbados (BGI), Liberia Costa Rica (LIR), and St. Thomas (STT).

Not only is the east terminal front open, but so is the first of the new security checkpoints. Checkpoint 1 replaces old checkpoints A and B. https://x.com/CLTAirport/status/1722683537952764107?s=20 "The Eastside of the new TLE lobby is now open in #CLTairport. The new ticket lobby, baggage claim, and tunnel space will include additional elevators, escalators and terminal curb front entrance doors 3 and 4 are now open. #DestinationCLT" https://x.com/CLTAirport/status/1721542291867779386?s=20 "Now open at #CLTairport: Checkpoint 1 The new checkpoint has eight screening lanes, which includes six Automated Screening Lanes that make the screening process faster for passengers. With the new checkpoint’s opening, Checkpoint D will close. No other changes are anticipated to the security screening process until after the holiday travel season. By early 2025, the Airport will have consolidated five screening areas into three numbered security checkpoints."

The article did once again mention the new C-DE connector that was mentioned a few months ago. Perhaps the airport is trying to keep that under wraps? AA still hasn't "confirmed" the new club space that was mentioned. I wonder what the time line for that project is? I'm sure it won't actually begin construction until the terminal lobby expansion is complete or close to it.

Here's a good article with an up to date timeline and some extra pictures. https://charlotte.axios.com/342356/charlotte-airport-will-soon-open-renovated-checkpoint-and-portion-of-terminal-lobby/ " 1. Checkpoint 1 will open by early November It was previously known as checkpoint B, and it closed last spring for renovations. The airport is consolidating its five checkpoints into three with improved technology to help speed up the process of going through security. The new checkpoint will have eight lanes, six of which will be automated. Two lanes will be standard. This is already in place at Checkpoint E. Many tasks TSA agents had to perform manually, like refilling bins, will now be done automatically. Of note: Everything must go in a bin if you’re in one of the six automated lanes. Yes, everything means you need to place your carry-on luggage in a bin. 2. Checkpoint 2 will open toward the end of the project Checkpoint 2 will encompass what is currently checkpoints C and D. Checkpoint E will become checkpoint 3 in a few months. For now, TSA pre-check will remain at checkpoint C. The airport will have 22 security lanes once renovations are complete. Standard lanes allow for larger items, like strollers (which won’t fit into bins), to be screened. 3. The east side of the expanded terminal lobby will open by early November The west side of the expanded lobby opened in summer 2022, as we reported. Opening both sides up will free up space for passengers. 4. You can get food before going through security Queens Charlotte’s Kitchen opened on Oct. 13.A short distance from the Queen Charlotte statue, the business serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, wine, beer and cocktails, plus Charlotte-based Pure Intentions Coffee. 5. Canopy construction is expected to finish late 2024 The first sky bridge will open in the first quarter of 2024, Christine said."

Charlotte FC wins and clinches their first playoff appearance! https://x.com/MLS/status/1715883525722034631?s=20

In other news, CLT finally has it's first "sit down" restaurant option outside of security. Queen Charlotte's Kitchen in the baggage claim. https://x.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/1712806291708543302?s=20 https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/new-food-option-opens-charlotte-douglas-airport/QZVF6ABZVJAJPEACBNTBCNXB54/

A new Mexican restaurant is coming to the Ally center! Their first restaurant outside of NYC and Atlantic City! Dos Caminos https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-around-town/c5-development/article280440514.html

A little bit more info on the flight. It will operate June 5th through September 3rd. A very typical "season" for Vancouver flights. The flight will leave CLT at 6:25pm arriving into YVR at 9:15pm. The return flight will leave YVR at 10:10pm arriving back into CLT the following morning at 6:27am. A very typical schedule for "secondary" west coast flights from CLT. https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/10/12/american-airlines-aa-clt-airport-vancouver-canada.html

Somewhat of a "flashy" add for next summer! AA will be starting Charlotte to Vancouver on June 5th, 2024. It is buried in the announcement but it seems to be daily and I assume summer seasonal. An awesome add! Vancouver is my favorite city in Canada and is a starting point for many Alaskan cruises. https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2023/American-Airlines-adds-more-ways-to-escape-to-the-Cape-and-coves-of-New-England-in-2024-NET-RTS-10/default.aspx "new service from Charlotte (CLT) to Vancouver, Canada (YVR), will launch for the first time, offering the only nonstop service between North Carolina and British Columbia. "

I know I'm slightly biased (my alma mater is Auburn), but I will say that acceptance rates aren't always an indicator of how good a school is. I'll use University of Alabama vs Auburn as an indicator. For years Alabama had around a 50% acceptance rate to Auburn's 75% or so, but Auburn actually had (slightly) higher test score requirements. It's just that Alabama had a much larger amount of people applying, many who were unqualified due to the popularity of their sports program. It seems that it has evened out recently though. Auburn also has nearly identical acceptance rate (71%) (if not lower) /requirements to AAU schools such as Oregon (93%), and CU Boulder (79.6%) and higher/similar average GPA/test scores etc... I'm not suggesting that schools like Auburn (and USC) are on the same level as the UFs and Texas, but the gap is not as large as perceived.

94% of all funding goes to highways, but the best they could muster for I-77 was adding toll lanes built by a sketchy overseas company while also eliminating HOV lanes too????

A huge deal for my hometown of Mocksville (Davie County)!! Some pretty incredible company for a smallish (43K population) rural county.