Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[Miesian Corners]

Also, for good measure, the latest employee numbers for AA at CLT is now 8,122, an increase of more than 500 employees from the same time last year. 

 

One last thing, if the new team at CLT really want this airport to succeed, they're going to have to do a better job of keeping things in working order.  When I got home last night from MSP, over half of the lights in the food court were burned out, not one moving sidewalk was operational, and when I got to the escalator for baggage claim, it was also out of order.  Not cool.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Miesian Corners

[kickazzz2000]

Also, for good measure, the latest employee numbers for AA at CLT is now 8,122, an increase of more than 500 employees from the same time last year. 

 

One last thing, if the new team at CLT really want this airport to succeed, they're going to have to do a better job of keeping things in working order.  When I got home last night from MSP, over half of the lights in the food court were burned out, not one moving sidewalk was operational, and when I got to the escalator for baggage claim, it was also out of order.  Not cool.

 

A few months ago, I couldn't get out of the Daily Garage because the gate was broken.

 

The trip before that, I prepaid at the kiosk after getting off the bus, and came across a traffic jam at the exit (only one lane alllllll the way to the paystations....took another 20 minutes to get to the front, where my ticket had timed out.   Parking dude shook his head and manually let me out.  He said don't prepay, you'll get screwed.

 

Last weekend, my father in law was flying back to PHL...couldn't get into the remote lots because the gate arm was broken.  Ended up parking in daily.  When he returned, he waited 45 minutes for a bus.

[ScottCLT]

I flew out of CLT this morning on a 7:30 flight to PHX and just wanted to share my experience. What a clusterf@#*. I don't know what has changed with the traffic flow so much with the new entrance road, but it took me almost 30 minutes to get to to the daily deck from Wilkinson & LIttle Rock. Just stop and go. Then I reach the deck, park, and notice on my way out that all of the parking ticket pay stations are down (no big deal to me right now - I'm coming back on Thursday). But the line to get a bus to the terminal was 4 busses worth of people deep. It took probably 20 minutes just for me to wait in line to finally get on a bus. Now, apparently the parking busses drop off at baggage claim even for departures - at least that is what my bus did. But the escalator was broken from the baggage claim to the departures level, so it was backed up with a ton of people trying to carry all their luggage up stairs. Then, luckily I have TSA PreCheck, so I made it through security quickly, checked the departure boards, and they were displaying info for tonight's flights - not this morning's. I went to another set of monitors and the same thing. I had to check on my smartphone and figure out where I need to go. On my way down to the B concourse, the moving walkway was broken. The airport was chaotic as hell - I'm sure because every departure board was displaying the wrong info. I made my flight with 5 minutes left before doors closed. I do this all the time, and I left my house (15 minutes from the airport) 2 hours before my flight, just like I always do. I usually have time to grab breakfast, or in the afternoon, a beer, before I board. Today was cutting it down to the wire, running to the gate. I don't know if it was a fluke, but if this is a regular thing, then then new entrance and shuttle routes are totally screwed up. Not to mention the issues inside the terminal itself.

[southslider]

They need to build the people mover between Daily and Hourly Decks and the Main Terminal. Just think of how much less traffic there could be then.

[HopHead]

They need to build the people mover between Daily and Hourly Decks and the Main Terminal. Just think of how much less traffic there could be then.

 

Absolutely. I was at the airport last week and experienced the same cluster f*** that Scott talked about above. I had a similar though too. A people mover from the daily to new hourly decks to the terminal would substantially reduce the traffic. Not to mention probably save a ton of money on gas and buses in the long run. 

[teeg]

Absolutely. I was at the airport last week and experienced the same cluster f*** that Scott talked about above. I had a similar though too. A people mover from the daily to new hourly decks to the terminal would substantially reduce the traffic. Not to mention probably save a ton of money on gas and buses in the long run. 

I would absolutely love to see the people mover, but I would be happy to settle for a pedestrian path between the terminal and Daily.  Back before they blew up Hourly, that was a 5 minute walk.  For me that was an automatic if the bus situation got out of hand.  

[LKN704]

Is there a specific reason as to why the majority of TATL flights have been using Concourse B?

 

For today,

 

US720 to Rome: B13

US704 to Frankfurt: D11

US704 to Frankfurt: D11

US786 to Paris: B9

US730 to London: D2

 

I know D12 is Lufthansa's gate and that A330s parked at gates D1-D5 block the gates next to it from being used. I can only imagine what it will be like when DUB/MAD resume and BCN/BRU/MAN start.

 

The B gate areas are small as it is, so I cannot imagine a full load of passengers waiting to board a A330 at those gates. Must leave a poor taste in the mouths of international visitors.

[Miesian Corners]

Is there a specific reason as to why the majority of TATL flights have been using Concourse B?

 

For today,

 

US720 to Rome: B13

US704 to Frankfurt: D11

US704 to Frankfurt: D11

US786 to Paris: B9

US730 to London: D2

 

I know D12 is Lufthansa's gate and that A330s parked at gates D1-D5 block the gates next to it from being used. I can only imagine what it will be like when DUB/MAD resume and BCN/BRU/MAN start.

 

The B gate areas are small as it is, so I cannot imagine a full load of passengers waiting to board a A330 at those gates. Must leave a poor taste in the mouths of international visitors.

The problem is that many Caribbean flights requiring customs and immigration arrive at the same time that the European flights are leaving in the evening. Since Caribbean flights are offloading passengers that have to be processed, the European-bound flights aren't able to use the D gates for departures.  It's a cluster.

[LKN704]

^That was my initial speculation as well. Regardless, something needs to be done about it ASAP. Really interested to see how they will assign gates when the TATL season is in full swing in a couple weeks.

[atlrvr]

Anyway.......so the City filed plans today with Land Development to begin to approval process for the new International Terminal.

 

Sounds like they are doing something about the International cluster.

[ScottCLT]

To add to the misery I experienced earlier this week going to the airport, getting out of the airport is slightly more pleasant, but still very flawed. The Daily Garage bus now goes all the way out of the airport and back in through the Little Rock Road entrance to get to the daily decks. Takes about 15 minutes...before it used to be 5. The parking ticket machines to pay before you get in your car were still down, and one of the exit pay stations was down, resulting in a car backup exiting the garage. WTF is going on with this place? I am flying to Chicago next week...I will let you guys know if anything improves.

[ChessieCat]

^Dare I say that people are starting to miss Jerry?

[allthingsplanes]

What's the long-term plan with the daily garage bus?  Is it going to always do that loop?  It seems like with the new setup it's the perfect opportunity to isolate those buses on the short loop back around to the garage.

 

I'm optimistic still.  It's always going to be worst before it gets better when undergoing construction.  I don't know about the pay machines though...

[Dale]

Does it make much sense to get thunderstruck at this time given that the place is like a war zone ?

[CLTProductions]

Does it make much sense to get thunderstruck at this time given that the place is like a war zone ?

Careful, war zone in an airport thread.....NSA definitely just flagged you....and now me

[southslider]

Traffic patterns are ever changing. This is just an interim phase. The traffic headed towards the terminal is largely what it will be, except from 85 and Wilkinson. The traffic leaving the terminal, however, will change much more.

[kermit]

Is it significant that I now see a (really poor quality) banner ad for Qatar Airways on the Observer web page?

[CLTaviation13]

New service to GRR from CLT begins September 3. Flight will be operated with the CRJ 200

CLT-GRR 9:45am

CLT-GRR 10:20pm

GRR-CLT 6:45am

GRR-CLT 11:55am

Nice to see this additions.

[Miesian Corners]

^Dare I say that people are starting to miss Jerry?

No, cause ultimately, Jerry's the one responsible for letting things get to the point they are now.  Poor Cagle is just trying to deal with the sh*t storm he inherited.

Is it significant that I now see a (really poor quality) banner ad for Qatar Airways on the Observer web page?

You should see the airport.  Huge banners hang from the ceiling of the ticket lobby as well as full wall ads along the D connector.  

[LKN704]

I am really quite intrigued regarding Qatar's advertising here. I actually haven't seen an airline who doesn't fly to CLT advertise here in Charlotte as much as they do.

 

I would think that we would see a ton of British Airways ads/announcements, considering that LHR is a larger market, and the fact that BA is more likely to come sooner than Qatar, if they ever come.

 

Very, very interesting...

[ScottCLT]

Yeah, Qatar Airlines definitely has a noticeable presence at CLT in their advertising now. But it says "serving 130 international destinations from a connection to Philadelphia" on all the signs. I do have to say, I flew to Doha in First Class once on Qatar and it was incredible. Cooked-to-order filets and lobster tail for dinner. Plus a serve-yourself bar reserved for first class in case the attendants aren't attentive enough (they were). That was a $13,000 or so ticket, though, so I guess that should be expected. My company certainly didn't pay for it (they would never do that, and if they did, I'd ask to fly coach and please write me a check for the difference )... But my customer paid for it on this occasion.

[tozmervo]

Miles question: Does anyone know if separate pools of American miles and USAir miles will eventually be made into one pool? That is, if you have 50k miles in one and 50k miles in the other, they'll come together in one account with 100k miles?

[dcharlotte]

Is it significant that I now see a (really poor quality) banner ad for Qatar Airways on the Observer web page?

 

I'm sure if enough folks start coming from Charlotte to Philly, or they notice folks are coming from Charlotte to IAD or JFK for the direct flights they may add one.  Those airlines have a hub and spoke system that reaches FAR, not regional.

[ChessieCat]

^Yes, otherwise you can't call it one airline. When USAir/America West merged last decade they combined the accounts into one. Same thing with Delta/Northwest and United/Continental. The one thing I liked about the Delta/NW merger is they gave you a 1,000 mile bonus if you helped them out by entering both #'s into a special webpage to help them consolidate your accounts.

Edited May 5, 2014 by ChessieCat

[HopHead]

New service to GRR from CLT begins September 3. Flight will be operated with the CRJ 200

CLT-GRR 9:45am

CLT-GRR 10:20pm

GRR-CLT 6:45am

GRR-CLT 11:55am

Nice to see this additions.

 

In addition to the new Grand Rapids, MI service, American will be adding Charlotte non-stop service to Evansville and Fort Wayne, Indiana. That service will commence on October 2nd. 

Edited May 5, 2014 by wend28