Will Charlotte hub get much larger if US Air/American Merges (Raleigh: home, transfer)
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Any of these hubs could be made redundant but they are not equal. Chicago, NY/Philly and Miami are located in strategic population centers and are very important international gateways. Chicago - Asia, NY/Philly - Europe, Miami - South America, Africa. I'd consider these to be untouchable hubs.
On why to reduce the biggest USA hub? - It no longer makes sense with the merged airline and since it is the biggest, there is also the biggest cost savings by reducing it. Charlotte might become a minor hub and a place to work on planes and provide services to the main hubs.
I say no why American let that happen with Delta fortress Atlanta hub being so close. I believe the future largest airline will want to pull O&D traffic from the Atlanta Airport. Also Delta's CEO made it clear that Atlanta's potential will be toward Latin America. Charlotte would be a good strike back for any expansion by Delta into Latin America.
I think it is a bit far fetched that an airline would try and pull O&D traffic from another airport 4 hours away to its hub especially when they are maintaining monopoly prices at that hub. They have more issues with Southwest being just a 2 hour drive from here.
Clearly from the maps you posted, CLT would be redundant as that entire system can be served by NY/Philly, Chicago and Miami. I can see them keeping a minor hub in CLT. IMO, this would be a good thing for O&D traffic in the CLT area as it would bring in better competition and lower prices. It would be similar to RDU after American closed the hub there.
I disagree. The main reason being that both PHL and all of the airports around NYC are so congested as it is - I rarely ever have flights out of those places that leave on tme. CLT does not have the consistent, clogging congestion of flights Also, winter weather is much less of a factor at CLT than up north as well. Maintaining a more southern hub on the east coast makes perfect sense. And while MIA is a bit closer for people heading south of the US, its not really set up to be a hub for any domestic or European flights.
I disagree. The main reason being that both PHL and all of the airports around NYC are so congested as it is - I rarely ever have flights out of those places that leave on tme. CLT does not have the consistent, clogging congestion of flights Also, winter weather is much less of a factor at CLT than up north as well. Maintaining a more southern hub on the east coast makes perfect sense. And while MIA is a bit closer for people heading south of the US, its not really set up to be a hub for any domestic or European flights.
I agree....once had a 2hr layover in philly that resulted into a 28 hr delay due to sleet....total chaos through the terminal.I can understand an airport in the south(charlotte or atlanta) running in confusion due to a winter delay, but an airport such as philly should have some type of pplicies and procedures in place....I do know that the police had to be called in due to fighting among customers....nobody could even tell me where my bags were, etc......it was a disaster
I agree....once had a 2hr layover in philly that resulted into a 28 hr delay due to sleet....total chaos through the terminal.I can understand an airport in the south(charlotte or atlanta) running in confusion due to a winter delay, but an airport such as philly should have some type of pplicies and procedures in place....I do know that the police had to be called in due to fighting among customers....nobody could even tell me where my bags were, etc......it was a disaster
Alson, CLT is still expanding with the room to grow if needed.NYC/Phil/Mia are locked in. For instance, MIA is surrounded byhotels, a mall, lakes, stores, & homes. It would cost billions of dollars for that airport to buy out the space. I can't see anyone taking that cost on....CLT is in a much better position in that regard.
.... Also, winter weather is much less of a factor at CLT than up north as well. Maintaining a more southern hub on the east coast makes perfect sense. And while MIA is a bit closer for people heading south of the US, its not really set up to be a hub for any domestic or European flights.
When weather goes bad in another major hub, it IS a factor in all the other hubs. This is the primary fault of the hub and spoke system. I don't see this as a huge advantage.
One more time. They are not going to close Philly/NY, not Chicago, not Miami nor do I see a significant reduction in DC. So the question still remains and still is unanswered, what do they cut to make this deal make any sense? And they will cut. IMO they simply don't need 6 hubs east of the Mississippi.
When weather goes bad in another major hub, it IS a factor in all the other hubs. This is the primary fault of the hub and spoke system. I don't see this as a huge advantage.
One more time. They are not going to close Philly/NY, not Chicago, not Miami nor do I see a significant reduction in DC. So the question still remains and still is unanswered, what do they cut to make this deal make any sense? And they will cut. IMO they simply don't need 6 hubs east of the Mississippi.
You are so relentless. What industry do you work in?
I would put my life on the line, I am so positive in what I say it tears up my nerves reading everything you post in here.
A) DCA is not going to be reduced other than by the legal requirements
B) in the long run, US Airways would shift capacity from JFK to PHL and to JFK from LGA and they would most likely decimate the LGA operations outside of routes to hubs and for the shuttle and a few token routes.
C) Charlotte will not have any net reductions in flIghts
D) MIA would have net growth
E) all that's left from BOS and SAn Juan would be handed to B6 (if this hasn't totally happened yet)
F) DFW would remain the same if not additional flight from legacy LCC cities
G) ORD is A wildcard. I have no idea what US Airways would do with ORD. US management picks their battles so I couldn't even speculate what would happen to ORD.
What all has Continental shredded during its merger with United
When weather goes bad in another major hub, it IS a factor in all the other hubs. This is the primary fault of the hub and spoke system. I don't see this as a huge advantage.
One more time. They are not going to close Philly/NY, not Chicago, not Miami nor do I see a significant reduction in DC. So the question still remains and still is unanswered, what do they cut to make this deal make any sense? And they will cut. IMO they simply don't need 6 hubs east of the Mississippi.
The competition for Charlotte is ORD and DFW....and PHL. Not MIA, not JFK/LGA, not DCA. Those airports serve totally different purposes.
With a huge domestic hub and potential HQ at DFW, in my opinion, the long-term future of PHX is a much bigger question - especially with the huge WN presence there.
To answer your question though, take a look at this slide link. The 5th slide shows a very interesting bar graph. It shows the cost per enplanement at 26 different large airports (including Charlotte). Charlotte's cheap cost of doing business could play a huge role in the future plans for this hub.
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