Charlotte-Douglas Airport (CLT) Expansion

[Raintree21]

I like the ramps for entry/exit. Gives it a little bit of flare I guess. Not a whole lot you can do with a parking deck. I wonder how the new control tower, if they get it, will figure into these pictures. Will it be in the same area or more centered on the property since the new runway will extend the boundaries by so much.

[uptownliving]

As expected the City Council voted in favor of the new Airport Rental Car fee of $3.50 per day which will pay for the new Rental Car facility. The next step is for the airport to hire a consultant to study the three options and recommend the best one. The 3 options are:

- Build a facility at Wilkinson and Little Rock Rd.

- Build a facility at Wilkinson and Harlee Ave in conjunction with a new 4,000 space parking deck.

- Tear down the current Daily Parking decks and build a new facility in their place.

I hope they go with the last option since that also includes expanding the terminal and the dropoff/pickup areas. Anyone who has been to the airport in recent years knows all about the bad backups, especially for the baggage claim pick up area. Those roads and ramps were built 25 years ago and have not been changed since. Expanding the ticketing area of the terminal is needed with the increase in local traffic. Hopefully as part of that expansion they can remodel the front of the airport to make it architecturally more interesting than the white box it is now.

Edited May 30, 2007 by uptownliving

[dubone]

I guess I hadn't paid enough attention, as I thought option 3 was definitely the plan. I really hope they don't go the route of building something to Wilkinson. Not only does it create more bus trips and a less enjoyable experience for visitors to Charlotte, but it doesn't do anything to address the over-crowded drop off and pick up areas.

Having the rental cars and a more significant parking area just across the street from the terminal would be a major useability enhancement to the airport. It would cut down on a lot of busses that often have to cycle with few passengers. It also creates a very exciting prospect for adding capacity and efficiency to the drop off and pick up areas, and also the chance for something more architecturally interesting.

This seems to me to be an option between something of significant long term and operational benefit, versus something cheap and expedient and short term. Charlotte's airport tends to go with the latter as much as they can, so I hope this is an exception.

[kickazzz2000]

I guess I hadn't paid enough attention, as I thought option 3 was definitely the plan. I really hope they don't go the route of building something to Wilkinson. Not only does it create more bus trips and a less enjoyable experience for visitors to Charlotte, but it doesn't do anything to address the over-crowded drop off and pick up areas.

Having the rental cars and a more significant parking area just across the street from the terminal would be a major useability enhancement to the airport. It would cut down on a lot of busses that often have to cycle with few passengers. It also creates a very exciting prospect for adding capacity and efficiency to the drop off and pick up areas, and also the chance for something more architecturally interesting.

This seems to me to be an option between something of significant long term and operational benefit, versus something cheap and expedient and short term. Charlotte's airport tends to go with the latter as much as they can, so I hope this is an exception.

From a traveler's perspective, in-deck rental car services are amazing. Two weekends ago, I flew to Tampa. Exiting aircraft to showing contract to the guy at the rental car exit = 25 minutes. This is including stopping at baggage claim to pick up a bag.

This past weekend, in St. Louis it took an hour because of the added bus ride.

[swh1972]

Aren't the Daily Parking decks the ones that were just finished (see renderings above)? I just parked there last week. I am assuming you mean some other parking decks.

[atlrvr]

The hourly decks would be demoed

[Raintree21]

Aren't the Daily Parking decks the ones that were just finished (see renderings above)? I just parked there last week. I am assuming you mean some other parking decks.

The ones that were just finished are closest to the terminal, on the other side of the tower in the above pictures.

[rockhilljames]

If option 3 expands the terminal and the drop-off/pick-up areas then I'm all for it.

Trying to get in and out of the airport has become torture. During peak times you just sit at the entrance to the ramp in a huge traffic jam.

[Rebelde]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...p;from=business

If a UAL/LCC merger went through, I would imagine this would be very good for Charlotte.

[nowensone]

^ Deja vu all over again, I wonder what the differences would be between a United deal besides the fact that we wouldn't have the close proximity dual hub situation that exists with USA and Delta.

[atlrvr]

I would think a United deal would be better for Charlotte, though I'm not sure it would result in many more trans-continental flights, with Dulles not too far away.

I don't see the financial numbers working for a United merger or acquisition since neither company would be able to reject lease agreements through the bankrupcy process. Northwest is still the best target IMO, and it blows my mind that USAirways hasn't actively pursued that acquisition. Though their heavy exposure in the midwest, and likely heavy debt in their new Detroit facility are factors. It's almost if the Delta game was a way to destabilize their process, and make Delta over-commit to their creditors in hopes that they will ultimately fail....

[Rebelde]

^ Deja vu all over again, I wonder what the differences would be between a United deal besides the fact that we wouldn't have the close proximity dual hub situation that exists with USA and Delta.

~ US Euro Destinations;

Paris ,Frankfurt, London, Munich, Dublin, Shannon,Zurich, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Barcelona, Madrid, Manchester, Athens, Copenhagen, and a few more in the works as of '08.

~ UAL Euro Destinations ;

Rome, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Munich.

~ UAL has 9+ Caribbean Destinations, US has 19+.

~ UAL/LCC have a similiar fleet, Star Alliance, Sabres reservation system, ETC.

~ {http://www.usaviation.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=35931&st=0 }

Edited June 13, 2007 by Rebelde

[Raintree21]

The Observer has an article today talking about the progression of the runway expansion. All of the clearing has been completed and they are now leveling out the land. Wallace Neel Road will close in July. I don't really understand why it will take until 2010 to build the runway though, even with having to reroute the road.

[uptownliving]

I don't really understand why it will take until 2010 to build the runway though, even with having to reroute the road.

The grading they are doing is not just for the runway itself but all the land in between the new runway and the current runway. They have to clear all 1000 acres and make it level with the current runway. The grading they are doing is the equivalent of building a 2 mile long section of Interstate that is 350 lanes wide...or to put it another way, 700 miles worth of interstate.

WCNC has a nice video of the construction they produced yesterday.

Edited June 16, 2007 by uptownliving

[CLT]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...p;from=business

If a UAL/LCC merger went through, I would imagine this would be very good for Charlotte.

Personally, I think the takeover target will be Delta. I could be wrong, but why would UA want the step child US Airways? Its one big dysfunctional family, that will never change I'm afraid. America West has barely taken advantage of the potential synergies of the 2 year old merger and is in the process of shrinking the fleet. I have little confidence in Americas Wests ability to pull US Airways out of its "current" tailspin. "If" US Airways were the target it would be great for Charlotte, more service, world wide recognition.

[Rebelde]

Personally, I think the takeover target will be Delta. I could be wrong, but why would UA want the step child US Airways? Its one big dysfunctional family, that will never change I'm afraid. America West has barely taken advantage of the potential synergies of the 2 year old merger and is in the process of shrinking the fleet. I have little confidence in Americas Wests ability to pull US Airways out of its "current" tailspin. "If" US Airways were the target it would be great for Charlotte, more service, world wide recognition.

Delta does not want to merge. Continental is one of the big ones in one world alliance {or whatever}, and United is one of the founders of Star alliance.

USAirways is in star alliance, USAirways is going to have a international expansion when we get our 20-30 widebodies {787,A-350} and 10 more A-330-200, USAirways has a shuttle,ETC.

USAirways has probably 2x more European, and Caribbean routes.

Do you really think a United/Delta, or Continental/UAL merger would make the DOT happy? I don't...

[Miesian Corners]

Whatever and whoever it is, can we just get it over with? The US/HP merger has been a miserable experience thus far, so anything to get the Tempe, AZ management team out of my life would be a welcome change.

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

In today's Charlotte Business Journal, UA CFO Jake Brace commented to a Financial Company that United was looking for an airline to merge with a heavy northern precence and a southern hub with direct access to the Carribean and Latin America.

That sounds like Eastern US Airways. Could the western region sell off a large set of routes in the East? It would be great for Charlotte.

[turbocraig]

Highly doubtful since that would, in effect, undo the merged network that America West/USAirways just put together.

[Raintree21]

They're repaving the ramps from Billy Graham to Josh Birmingham Parkway. Maybe they'll spruce up the landscaping and signage in the area to make visitor's first impressions better.

[CarolinaDaydreamin]

They're repaving the ramps from Billy Graham to Josh Birmingham Parkway. Maybe they'll spruce up the landscaping and signage in the area to make visitor's first impressions better.

Are they adding an exit onto the Birmingham Parkway? Last time I flew out it looked like there might be a new road that tuned onto the Parkway.

[uptownliving]

That is the Harlee Ave onramp the Airport is building connecting to Josh Birmingham Pkwy. This will allow the shuttle bus from the Executive Parking lot direct access to the airport. This will become more heavily used when the new 4,000 space parking deck on Harlee is completed in a couple years.

[Miesian Corners]

Are they adding an exit onto the Birmingham Parkway? Last time I flew out it looked like there might be a new road that tuned onto the Parkway.

No such luck--and they only repaved the left lane going inbound to the airport. Geez our state is cheap.

As an update, the new airport signage is slowly being installed. Some looks good, and some looks like it was installed by monkeys. My personal favorite are the new employee shuttle bus stop signs that were placed on top of the old ones. It's especially amusing that the new signs are smaller than the old so you can now read "Emp ttle" behind the new. Ah Jerry Orr and his minions. Brilliant.

[Rebelde]

http://dmses.dot.gov/docimages/pdf101/474516_web.pdf

clt-beijing-phl-bejing-clt?

[Raintree21]

That's a heck of a ride. It would definitely bring some more international flavor to the city and perhaps more business hopefully.