Do people in Charlotte worry about the AA/USAir merger?

[Austincool]

Originally Posted by diablo234

Philadelphia ain't going anywhere. You are talking about one of the largest metro areas in the US and one of the few airports in the Northeast that has room for both domestic and international flights.

City size isn't necessarily something to judge off of. Charlotte's airport is already larger than Philadelphia's, despite being in a city 3.5 million smaller.

[Synopsis101]

Business leaders: US Airways merger may bring Charlotte more international flights | CharlotteObserver.com

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by Synopsis101

Business leaders: US Airways merger may bring Charlotte more international flights

According to this article Charlotte’s cost-per-enplaned passenger for the airlines is 96 cents, according to Fitch Ratings. Miami’s is about 20 times higher, at $19.72.

That's a pretty compelling argument for Charlotte being the European hub and Miami remaining the Latin American hub.

longest non-stop for European airlines
British Airways London-Heathrow to Buenos Aires-Ezeiza
Air Europa Madrid to Buenos Aires-Ezeiza
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Santiago de Chile
Alitalia Rome-Fiumicino to Buenos Aires-Ezeiza

With European airlines increasingly flying to Latin America there is less reason to have the European and Latin American hub in the same airport. There are fewer transfers.

I guess there is room for 8 hubs in the merged airline.
Chicago ORD
Los Angeles
Fort Worth
New York JFK
Charlotte
Phoenix
Miami
Philadelphia

[LarryBGood]

My feeling: Two Wrongs don't make a right.

[just lookin']

From a personal stand point I do think for local Charloteans the perks of being a frequent flier on US Air will become a lot less valuable - more people on American are flying international and will have larger points balance and win the upgrades. I see many more flights in center coach