Atlside

Do you think that US Airways may one day be taken over as many of the other former large US airlines had been in the past and if so will Charlotte no longer be a hub airport?

Did RDU make a mistake by being the only major airport in NC not to build a new major runway? Friday, April 19, 2002 Third runway seen on RDU's horizon Triangle Business Journal - by Shane Snider MORRISVILLE -- Raleigh-Durham Inter-national Airport intends to take flight with plans for a 9,500-foot runway parallel to its two existing strips -- a project that could cost the airport $200 million or more when the work is completed in 2010. A new runway has been on RDU's wish list since 1992, when the authority overseeing the facility developed a long-term master plan. Besides RDU, new runways are expected to be completed at Charlotte's Douglas International Airport and at Greensboro's Piedmont Triad International Airport. Charlotte's runway is scheduled for completion in 2004. Ted Johnson, executive director of the Greensboro airport, says the airport's plans for a 9,000-foot runway will cost about $120 million. Read more: Third runway seen on RDU's horizon - Triangle Business Journal http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/04/22/story6.html _____________________________________________ Delta Airlines to Add Flights and Seats at PTI http://www.flyfrompti.com/delta-airlines-to-add-flights-and-seats-at-pti/ April 27, 2010 Piedmont Triad, NC – Delta Airlines will add two flights from Piedmont Triad International Airport to Atlanta in June, bringing the total number of daily departures from PTI to Atlanta to 12, airport officials announced Tuesday. Delta intends to upgrade two of the departures to Atlanta from regional jets to mainline jets, maintaining the same number of departures, but increasing significantly the number of seats from PTI to Atlanta. Though built for $150 million to accommodate FedEx, the new runway is open to all aviation traffic. The runway was funded primarily through federal government grants, along with $30 million from locally generated authority revenues. ______________________________ Thursday, May. 13, 2010 Overseas flights surging in Charlotte US Airways shifts international focus away from Philadelphia By Steve Harrison The Charlotte Observer US Airways will launch Charlotte's first non-stop flight to Rome tonight - the latest expansion of international service that has significantly increased the Queen City's overseas connections. In the last year, US Airways has announced or started non-stops from Charlotte to Paris, Rome, Ottawa, Rio de Janeiro, and Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos in Mexico. The airline said more international flights may be coming to Charlotte because it has a surplus of long-range aircraft after it cut flights in some markets. The airport's third parallel runway adjacent to I-485 opened in February. The Charlotte Chamber has long believed that Charlotte's extensive domestic non-stops are crucial in persuading businesses to relocate or expand in the city. But international flights can also improve business connections and give the region prestige, the chamber has said. http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/05/13/2164987/overseas-flights-surging-in-charlotte.html The $325 million project was funded by the federal government and general airport revenue bonds. It also included road relocation and adjoining roadway construction.

Here's a nice view of the regional buses from the transit sites and Flickr. PART High Point Winston-Salem Greensboro

It doesn't. A jet can not take off simultaneously at those 2 runways next to one another that close. Just take a look at other airports. Runways cannot be side by side like that and handle simultaneous take off and landings. But, the main point is as of the completion of the new runway at GSO they are up and ready for expansion. They have 3 jet runways. RDU has only 2. RDU should not allow themselves to get set back like this. They should be proactive and always be ahead of the game and not wait until they need it and the cost is even more.

That does look as if it's One First Union under construction.

For a new runway, as shown in the location above, that is the location already proposed. But, this doesn't allow the option the multiple flights at the sametime. The runway would be too close to the existing runway at RDU.

Great mid-1980s photos of Chralotte from Flickr

RDU does not have the land to provide the distance for a 3rd parallel runway space far enough apart for simultaneous landings. The current parallel runway is actually the only one that has the proper enough spacing. RDU can not build on the Umstead Park side

It seems like from the beginning there was a plan to close Terminal 1 (former A and B). When you think about the fact that at most US airports any terminal or concourse that was built in 1987, regardless of its use are, all still open. That's considered very young for an airport facility. Yet, at RDU they left the oldest Terminal building, former "B" and what was actually built as a temporary terminal, former Terminal "A". The first modern passenger terminal opened in 1955. Eastern Airlines started jet airline service on April 25, 1965. Delta Airlines came on June 15, 1970 and President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978 and resulted growth in the aviation industry in the 1980s. Terminal A (the blue portion building) opened January 24, 1982 with 18 gates (later in 2001 expaned to add 5 gates). The original 1955 terminal was renovated in 1983 to provide additional gates and was renamed Terminal B. On April 11, 1985 American Airlines began service at Raleigh-Durham. American Airlines also requested the opportunity to the airport its North-South hub. On May 31, 1987 the Federal Aviation Administration opened the 230ft tall control tower, the tallest in the state. On June 15, 1987 American Airlines opened the red roofed Terminal C. At hub's peak operation American Airlines operated 210 daily departures from Terminal C making RDU a major hub and a major national US airport. American Airlines made RDU an international airport on May 26, 1988 with one daily flight to Paris, France and in 1989 with flights to the United Kingdom, Bermuda and Mexico. In mid-December 1989, Eastern Air Lines' creditors and AMR Corporation (parent of American Airlines and American Eagle) agreed upon the sale of Eastern's Latin American routes from Miami. Miami subsequently became an American Airline hub in 1989, which undercut the airline's hub at Raleigh-Durham and Nashville, with most of the new Miami flights serving Northeastern cities directly, bypassing Raleigh-Durham. In 1992 Terminal A was renovated and in 1996 the newly constructed north concourse opened, providing 9 additional gates. American Airlines began downsizing its operations at Raleigh-Durham in September 1993 On February 24, 1993 American Airlines said it had agreed to delay for 18 months a final decision on closing its unprofitable Raleigh-Durham hub. International service to Paris ceased in September 1994. December 10, 1994 in a surprise announcement that was the death knell for American Airlines' hub at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, American Eagle said that it would cease all operations by early January 1995. At the beginning of 1994 American Airlines had 109 daily jet flights and by August 1994 American Eagle had 112 daily flights. By December 1994 American Airlines had only 63 jet flights daily and 94 American Eagle flights. With the pullout both American Eagle and American Airlines reduced its presence at RDU to 60 flights, down from 192 flights 11 months before in 1993 and down from 210 daily flights at its peak. With 45 daily departures remaining, the American Airlines hub at Raleigh-Durham was officially closed on May 1, 1996, one year after the closing of American's Nashville hub and shortly before the airline's termination of its San Jose hub. In March of 1995 Midway Airlines relocated its hub from Chicago to Raleigh-Durham, leasing at least 7 gates formerly used by American Airlines in Terminal C. The company had contracted with American Airlines for maintenance and had a relationship with American Airlines for frequent flier miles. By March of 2000 Midway and Corporate Airlines offered a total of 232 departures and arrivals daily at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. At the height of Midway's operations it offered almost 200 flights daily from Raleigh-Durham. The high-tech slump of 2000-01 hurt Midway, and the carrier abruptly filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on the evening of August 13, 2001.

RDU's Terminal 1 could close temporarily http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1387804.html To save money, Raleigh-Durham International Airport might temporarily close the old Terminal 1 in 2011, after it finishes building its $570 million Terminal 2. .....The airport has been in a similar position before. After Eastern Airlines went out of business in 1989, part of the building now known as Terminal 1 stayed shut for five years.

Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte ranked side by side in terms of traffic in 2007. If you take North Carolina's 3 largest airports there are 18,553,030 O&D passengers that would make all of the airports combinded about ranking of Newark or Philadelphia. Top 120 U.S. Airports Ranked By Domestic Origin-and-Destination (O&D) Traffic, Year Ended March 2007 1. Las Vegas 32,560,340 2. Los Angeles 31,169,270 3. Chicago O'Hare 28,761,370 4. Orlando 28,213,420 5. Atlanta 26,175,350 6. Phoenix 23,949,290 7. Denver 22,692,280 8. New York LaGuardia 21,938,740 9. Dallas-Fort Worth 21,571,040 10. Boston 20,675,030 11. Seattle 19,957,130 12. Newark (New York area) 19,824,960 13. Philadelphia 17,392,770 14. New York Kennedy JFK 7,371,400 15. Ft. Lauderdale (Miami area) 17,195,140 16. San Francisco 16,485,740 17. Tampa 16,140,660 18. Baltimore (Washington area) 15,780,160 19. San Diego 15,562,140 20. Detroit 15,437,130 21. Minneapolis/St. Paul 15,346,730 22. Washington National 13,681,880 23. Houston 13,504,130 24. Oakland 13,153,770 25. Chicago Midway 12,690,610 26. Honolulu 12,356,150 27. Portland 10,908,610 12 47 28. Washington Dulles 10,346,770 29. St. Louis 1 0,228,960 30. Salt Lake City 1 0,102,890 31. Sacramento SMF 9 ,676,680 32. San Jose 9 ,523,080 33. Kansas City 9 ,457,360 34. Orange County 9 ,272,920 35. Miami 9,230,050 36. Charlotte Douglas 8,395,280 37. Raleigh-Durham 8,308,760 38. Nashville 7,831,330 39. Pittsburgh 7,537,030 40. Cleveland 7,364,650 41. Fort Myers 7,229,720 42. Indianapolis 7,127,620 43. Austin 7,074,990 44. San Antonio 6 ,935,830 45. West Palm Beach (Miami area) 6 ,483,690 46. Ontario 6 ,401,650 47. Hartford 6 ,288,780 48. Columbus 6 ,187,620 49. New Orleans 6,177,040 50. San Juan 6,109,650 51. Houston Hobby 6,040,190 52. Burbank 5,623,870 53. Jacksonville 5,594,160 54. Milwaukee 5,448,230 55. Dallas Love Field 5,441,160 56. Albuquerque 5,403,620 57. Kahului 5,108,160 58. Providence 4,890,800 59. Buffalo 4,714,190 60. Reno 4,413,720 61. Cincinnati 4,310,500 62. Memphis 4,157,930 63. Tucson 3,858,940 64. Omaha 3,858,830 65. Manchester 3,713,980 66. Norfolk 3,378,680 67. Louisville 3,303,430 68. Anchorage 3,297,170 69. Oklahoma City 3,169,500 70. Richmond 3,068,760 71. Spokane 3,027,250 72. El Paso 2,991,440 73. Boise 2,931,830 74. Birmingham 2,844,490 75. Tulsa 2,829,630 76. Albany 2,717,950 77. Lihue 2,610,550 78. Rochester 2,599,610 79. Kona 2,582,760 80. Long Beach 2,541,670 81. Dayton 2,462,280 82. Islip 2,274,210 83. Little Rock 2,261,630 84. Syracuse 2,111,980 85. Greensboro Piedmont Triad 1 ,848,990 86. Colorado Springs 1,840,000 87. Grand Rapids 1,762,780 88. Savannah 1,726,880 89. Charleston SC 1,690,890 90. Des Moines 1,679,320 91. Pensacola 1,490,320 92. Knoxville 1,442,620 93. Hilo 1,438,500 94. Portland 1,423,890 95. Madison 1,388,450 96. Sarasota/Bradenton 1,386,110 97. Myrtle Beach 1,348,280 98. Jackson MS 1,342,260 99. Palm Springs 1,340,360 100. Akron/Canton 1,330,060 101. Greenville/Spartanburg 1,304,550 102. Wichita 1,270,010 103. Burlington 1,265,850 104. Columbia SC 1,137,230 105. Westchester County 1,128,900 106. Fresno 1,081,060 107. Lubbock 1,064,970 108. Harrisburg 1,061,030 109. St. Thomas 1,044,820 110. Fayetteville 1,009,460 111. Huntsville 1,002,850 112. Flint 995,200 113. Newport News (Norfolk-Virginia Beach area) 976,900 114. Midland/Odessa 913,780 115. Baton Rouge 906,020 116. Cedar Rapids/Iowa City 894,370 117. Tallahassee 871,820 118. Lexington 864,460 119. Amarillo 846,630 120. Harlingen 839,430

Raleigh-Durham's International flights. American brought RDU its first international flights May 28, 1988 -American Airlines started nonstop flights between Paris and the Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina. The flights are the first international service from Raleigh-Durham Airport and the airport is being renamed the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. From 1988 to 1994 American Airlines offered non-stop flights to Paris as American closed its RDU hub and repolaced it with the Miami hub. American Airlines also offered non-stop flights from Raleigh-Durham to: Bermuda Cancun, Mexico Paris Orly, France Nassau, Bahamas Also, there were flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico USA, and to the US Virgin Islands. In 1991 USAir (now called US Airways) accounted for 93% of Charlotte Douglas International Airport's then 6.5 million passenger boardings through October 1991, and American Airlines had more than half of Raleigh-Durham International's 3.9 million passenger boardings. But at that time 75% of Charlotte's boardings and 53% of Raleigh-Durham's boardings were from connecting flights. Today Raleigh-Durham originates most of its passengers as it is no-longer a hub airport. Where Charlotte still is a major hub airport for US Airways. On May 26, 1994 the first nonstop flight from London, United Kingdom arrived at Raleigh-Durham Intenational Airport. Raleigh-Durham International Airport's first international carrier was Air Canada, with nonstop service to Toronto, Canada in 1996. Canadian Regional began service to Toronto, Canada in 1997. In 2002 Raleigh-Durham International Airport was seeking direct nonstop flights to Germany. As there are over 30 companies in the Raleigh-Durham metropolitan area that based in Germany. Local executives with German companies were prompting a push for nonstop service from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Frankfurt.

Here are some great photos from the new Terminal 2 posted on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pomegranatered/2937649494/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/pomegranatered/2937630786/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hpnflygirl/page2/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hpnflygirl/page3/

This is currently the only AAA baseball park located in the state of North Carolina. Excellent view of the stadium located in downtown Durham next to the Durham Freeway. Source: Flickr

Here's a great view of the current AAA baseball park in suburban Charlotte. The stadium was originally designed to be a future home of Charlotte's NFL team long before the Panthers came about. Source: Flickr

A great aerial view of CLT from Flickr.

Here's a Flickr photo of the new Raleigh-Durham Terminal C replacement.

Here's an interesting view of the new Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) bus design from Flickr.

Here's an interesting Flickr image of RDU's new Terminal 2 (former American Airlines Terminal C complex) You can see a small portion of it on the other side of the central parking decks.

Then it's like the light rail in Houston in the photo above? Cars crash into the light rail cars in Houston. There are too many intersection crossings.

Neo, Isn't Charlotte's N. Tryon Blue line going to be more like Phoenix and Houston? The photo you posted is the Muni rail system in San Francisco. These kind stop at stop lights like buses. The light rail in San Francisco stops at stop lights like a modern day street car when it comes out from the subway. Phoenix Houston San Francisco Muni rail Muni is a subway downtown San Francisco

This is great news. It really would be nice if Charlotte could build the north line in its own right of way the same as the South portion of the Blue Line. But, as of now it will be like a modern trolley car system running up and down the center of N. Tryon Street.

I'm sort of dissapointed that Charlotte will be building the northern portion of the Blue Line in the center of North Tryon instead of building it a lot like the southern portion which is mostly in it's own right of way. I think it more like a street car if you run light rail in the street. It's more like heavy rail if you run the rail like they have on the current portion of Charlotte's light rail system.

It's great to hear that about 12,000 are using the Phase I of the Blue Line so far and that's ahead of 9,100 that were projected to ride the line. This shows that Charlotte needed a rapid rail transit system. I hope they can keep it nice and clean.

This is the worst design for rapid rail transit. Trains should never run in the streets with cars unless it's a modern day trolley/street car system. If a city is building a light rail system as a cheaper version of a heavy rail "metro" styled system Charlotte should build all lines to be most like the Southern portion of the Blue Line in its own Right-of-Way. And it's true in Houston that cars crash into the trains.