LKN704

I just can't see Qatar here..the PDEW (passengers daily each way) on the route is practically zero. Emirates to DXB is much more likely, but still not probable, especially in today's economy. Boeing 787s are smaller than 777s (which BA used to fly here) and A346s (which LH flies here). They are about the same size as an A330. They would have no problem taking off here in CLT. Remember IAH's metro population is currently 6 million people. About 3 times as larger than Metrolina. Plus, Qatar is in the Middle East (think oil) and Houston is the oil capital of the US. There is plenty of O/D on the route. Qatar wouldn't fly there for connections anyway. Qatar is going to join Oneworld and IAH is a Star Alliance hub. Kind of. I'm not exactly positive and I'm not giving any guarantees, but my source has been right about several other things at CLT. Not really. BA bought the 787s to replace the 763s, which will be on their way out in the coming years.

I don't really like the way the article is written. LAN will never enter Phoenix...there are just bigger and better places to fly into. LAN doesn't even serve Dallas, AA's largest hub. Plus, LAN serves LAX, which offers practically all relevant connections on AA that PHX will. CLT has a greater chance of getting LAN than PHX. I've discussed BA in CLT before...look for an announcement probably this fall or winter. Equipment will likely start off with a 763 or 787. Lufthansa may very well leave Charlotte, but I think they will attempt to continue the route, or at least transfer the flight to Frankfurt after the codeshare ends.

JetBlue never flew Charlotte-Orlando. That was AirTran, who cut it August of 2012. JetBlue did fly Charlotte-Ft. Lauderdale, and the flight performed great. Then JetBlue changed the departure time from Charlotte to something really bizarre...7 pm (The original departure time was at 9:45 am-perfect for cruise ship passengers) and the route eventually failed. Here is the original press release: http://investor.jetblue.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=131045&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1042764&highlight UA flew Charlotte-Denver up until about 2007 or so, but discontinued it when they started to retire their 737s. I predict that it will be back, and I think UA may even start Charlotte-San Francisco. I think Alaska will eventually end up serving CLT, but not until the AA/US merger is complete. Alaska will end up running out of places to expand on the East Coast, at which that point they will forced to attempt more secondary markets. I agree. I believe that what they mean is probably an increase in frequencies. Ultimately, I believe Charlotte will gain two airlines in the coming years: BA, who served Charlotte from 94-02 and probably Alaska. I just hope we don't lose our Lufthansa connection with this merger. Munich is such a delight connecting through compared to the pain in the rear that is Heathrow.

Wasn't there one at Concord Mills when it first opened? Maybe I'm thinking of the Fox Sports Grill, can't remember. I too have always wondered why we do not have a Hard Rock Café. Not that the food is gourmet, as I would rather go to a local restaurant and support it, but it just makes me wonder, especially when you see the cities that do have Hard Rock Cafes...some are a little bizarre.

Dallas-Love cannot be flown at this time from CLT, due to the Wright Amendment, which I believe will be eliminated in 2014. In the future, I could see Southwest adding flights from Charlotte to: -Denver -St. Louis -Nashville -Dallas/Love

Almost, but the system at DFW is only accessible airside. The CLT people mover will be designed to connect the Main Terminal building with parking. While I am not entirely sure, but I think when the master plan came out in 2005, the long term plan was to disconnect E from the Main Terminal and build an underground tunnel. I think the current walkway causes congestion, but I am not sure. I am not sure if those plans are still in place, I can look for an updated master plan map. Ok. That makes more sense.

By the looks of this rendering, it looks like the annex is going to be a long walk away from the Main Terminal building. I wonder what the solution will be when the International Terminal is fully built. Going from high E to the International Terminal would be quite a hike.

I think the whole satellite concourse idea is a bit confusing. If it is supposed to be part of the International Terminal, will the 4 gates used by domestic carriers eventually be seized when the International Terminal project is complete? Also, the CLT website never mentions "Satellite" just "Annex" which leads me to believe that the building will be connected to the Main Terminal in some way. I wish there was some sort of rendering out there..

According to the CLT 2015 site, it will be a separate building. However, I have seen plans that showed the Satellite connected to the International terminal. CLT 2015 states: " This project will design and construct a new international terminal building to provide additional capacity for international flights, which have been a strong growth opportunity for air carriers.The terminal, located north of Concourse A, will be comprised of three levels equipped with a ticketing lobby, baggage claim, Federal Inspection Station, and 20 to 25 gates. Construction would begin after rental car operations move to the Hourly Deck and Consolidated Rental Car Facility." Regarding the Satellite, the CLT 2015 site says: "This project plans for the construction of four additional gates north of Concourse A and will accommodate expanding air service." The site says it will begin construction in January 2014, with completion in September 2014. Also, a new ten gate addition to Concourse B is supposed to begin in January 2014 as well, with completion in July 2016. The final expansion to Concourse E is supposed to start in January 2014 as well. What I don't understand is why the Concourse B expansion is going to take 31 months, when the Satellite terminal will only take 9. The B expansion is only a little more than double the number of fates in the Satellite. Also, how is the Satellite going to be connected to the Main Terminal building? Underground tunnel? I am also confused about the addition of more escalators at the E entrance. Where are they finding the room to put them in?

Now I am not sure if this is true or not, but if it is, it bothers me. US Airways is the airport's largest customer, and it is their business. The company has every right to give input on Jerry's successor. The hub will not be successful if there is not a good partnership between CLT and AA/US. As each day goes on, an airport authority starts to sound better to me. On a different note, the CLT 2015 page on the airport's website has been updated to include projects such as the INTL terminal and Concourse A/B/E expansions. http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/Airport/Pages/CLT2015FutureProposedProjects.aspx http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/Airport/Pages/CLT2015UpcomingProjects.aspx

On the construction chart, near the bottom, there is a row that says "System Fare Collection (Project Wide)". CATS isn't installing fare gates, are they? Thinking about it, the date on the chart seems to be in line with the dates on the 3-car capacity expansion, so maybe we will see them put in place system wide.

Regarding a hypothetical merger and Lufthansa, it's difficult to tell whether the Munich flight stays or goes. While yes, Lufthansa does have contracts on the flight (BMW, Siemens, Daimler, Continental Ag, etc..). It's hard to tell whether Lufthansa would choose to continue the flight after the contracts expire. While there is a significant amount of O/D (origin and destination) travel between Charlotte and Munich, I have my doubts about whether Lufthansa could profitably serve CLT without a codeshare. What I believe will likely happen IMHO, is for Lufthansa to attempt to continue the Munich service, albeit with an A333 or an A343 year-round instead of a A346. The flight will operate at a reduce frequency than it does now. If that doesn't work, Lufthansa will probably launch Charlotte-Frankfurt will a A343 with a two-class cabin, as there is enough O/D traffic on CLT-FRA for Lufthansa to make the flight work, and I'm willing to bet that some of those contracts, excluding BMW could transfer over. The Frankfurt flight will all depend on how the AA takes on Germany. AA has always been weak in Germany. I'm 99.999% positive that "the world's favourite airline" will resume service to CLT once the merger is completed, likely with a three-class (Business, Premium Economy, Economy) 767-300 departing in the early evening. A CLT-Europe daylight will not work, only major cities on the lines of Boston and New York can make a flight like that work, simply because most business travelers would prefer to take a redeye to Europe. As for LAN, probably never going to happen. Even if they did, they would fly to Lima, Buenos Aires, or Santiago. LAN does not have a hub in Rio, although their sister carrier, TAM does.

If US Airways is awarded CLT-LHR, CLT-LGW will terminate. On a different note, I have noticed that they have added more "compass signs" at the entrances to Concourses A, B, and C, as well as near the security checkpoints. These are the same signs as the ones near Concourse D/E as well as in the parking garage. They look good IMO.

sorry jednc! I think its funny when people say "the route didn't perform well on Delta from Atlanta, so it certainly won't perform well on US from Charlotte". This isn't always the case. Delta couldn't make Ottawa work from Atlanta, but US is somehow making it work from Charlotte. I think Charlotte-Tel Aviv may have a shot. Charlotte is in the bible belt after all, tons of Christian groups go to Israel each year. Charlotte also has a small but growing Jewish population. Combined with Florida connections,if US markets it right, they might just be able to make it work.

IIRC the second weekly flight was axed for the slow season, I think it will be reinstated during winter. As much as I would love to see ANA and Avianca here, I think it all depends on whether US stays in *. Once DEN gets its NRT service next year, CLT will be the largest US airport without service to Asia. I do think Asia service will come, whether on US, ANA, JAL, or AA. I have heard numerous rumors that US may launch CLT-TLV once more A332s arrive. While gate space was a problem, keep in mind that federal law requires that a gate be available to an airline that wants to serve a new city. The main problem was ticket space. I think it is extremely likely that BA will resume service to CLT, the main question is when. I have my doubts regarding CLTs ability to successfully have two European carriers at once...even PHL struggles with that.

Not to sabatoge this thread, and I didn't see this posted anywhere, but as CATS evolves over time, could we see a possibility of a Smart Card/Smart Ticket system in place? Similar to the Charlie Ticket in Boston or the Breeze Card in Atlanta.

The Terminal Eastside expansion opened today, along with Checkpoint E. I wonder what the plans are for that ticket counter space built, and if its already occupied. I seem to remember Insel Air not having a proper ticket counter. I'm heading to San Francisco later this week and I'll check it out. Anyway, I was snooping around the Copa website the other day, and noticed under their destination page, there was a picture of Charlotte. With Copa joining the star alliance, and with a US codeshare, maybe Copa to the QC isn't out of the question. frommers.copaair.com

I was looking around the web, and I saw this architect website that I guess will be completing the master plan, and they have conceptual drawings for both the people mover, and the new terminal. People mover link: http://www.twgarchitects.com/portfolio_detail.asp?portfolio_aviation=10 New Terminal link: http://www.twgarchitects.com/portfolio_detail.asp?portfolio_aviation=13 The part that confuses me the most is the two set of buildings behind the new hourly deck/rental car center. One of the buildings say "New Commuter Terminal", and the next says "New International Terminal". What will these be used for, check in/baggage claim? Both buildings seem to be connected to Concourse E and Terminal 2(Concourse F?) by some sort of underground tunnel/train.