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Umm, I'm late to this thread. But hands down Charlotte is the better location for air travel. Our airport has many...many...more direct flights than Raleigh. Its not even close. We're actually one of the busiest airports in the world.
Umm, I'm late to this thread. But hands down Charlotte is the better location for air travel. Our airport has many...many...more direct flights than Raleigh. Its not even close. We're actually one of the busiest airports in the world.
People are sometimes surprised to find that Charlotte has more people boarding flights from here than in Minneapolis, Miami, Boston, Seattle or Washington (Dulles) and many other large airports. And, we're getting bigger with adding flights to Rome, Paris, Sao Paulo, Rio, etc.
People are sometimes surprised to find that Charlotte has more people boarding flights from here than in Minneapolis, Miami, Boston, Seattle or Washington (Dulles) and many other large airports. And, we're getting bigger with adding flights to Rome, Paris, Sao Paulo, Rio, etc.
You certainly wouldn't know it by looking at our airport. It's small in my opinion, by comparison. And it certainly has an awkward connection to the highways. I don't challenge the statistic of airport volume we pump through here...but I do wonder when the City will step up and treat the airport like the facility it wants to be (larger terminals, better connection to the city, and yes I have to plug SWA again!). It just feels small to me. Maybe that's a good thing and it's somehow miraculously working out...but that balance could be easily toppled if we keep growing and it'll be hell to play catch up after we all start getting frustrated with an inadequate airport. I really think we already missed one boat by not giving the airport a lightrail connection to uptown. Instead, it gets a lame "super bus" connection or whatever they're calling it. You could go right down the center of Wilkenson on an elevated monorail track (like Disney) and need no new right of way. Instead we leave airport transportation for visitors up to rental cars, buses, and worst of all, sleazy cabs and town car drivers (that drive like they have their head up their butt). But I digress...
The volume through here isn't so much in origin and destination, but rather in connecting passengers. The lack of good road/rail connection is an issue, but for most of the passengers through CLT, they don't even notice.
I think this is one of the better major airports around, in terms of facilities and ease of use. Plus, with the two (and soon to be three) parallel runways, ops here in bad weather suffer much less than a lot of other airports.
You certainly wouldn't know it by looking at our airport. It's small in my opinion, by comparison. And it certainly has an awkward connection to the highways. I don't challenge the statistic of airport volume we pump through here...but I do wonder when the City will step up and treat the airport like the facility it wants to be (larger terminals, better connection to the city, and yes I have to plug SWA again!). It just feels small to me. Maybe that's a good thing and it's somehow miraculously working out...but that balance could be easily toppled if we keep growing and it'll be hell to play catch up after we all start getting frustrated with an inadequate airport. I really think we already missed one boat by not giving the airport a lightrail connection to uptown. Instead, it gets a lame "super bus" connection or whatever they're calling it. You could go right down the center of Wilkenson on an elevated monorail track (like Disney) and need no new right of way. Instead we leave airport transportation for visitors up to rental cars, buses, and worst of all, sleazy cabs and town car drivers (that drive like they have their head up their butt). But I digress...
I don't disagree with you. I believe we outgrew our expectations. Unless you have been to the airport previously, it is confusing especially if you are going to a rental car agency. The airport check-in is probably sufficient, but it does seem crowded the times I have been there. I believe that the post-checkin area is pretty nice waiting for planes. I believe with the busses going into downtown that are equiped to carry luggage are at least a step in the right direction. I don't believe that I have seen signs directing visitors to downtown after leaving the airport. They must be confused.
The taxi drivers are an indication that we are definately a big city. Yep, sleezy pretty much summarizes most of them. In JulyI just returned from traveling 20 hours from Malaga, Spain. I was exhausted. I had to take a taxi from the airport to Cornelius ($80). I had the pleasure of listening to the driver get on his soap box and assertively try to convince me that Obama shoud give Samolia billions to build up the country. I had to tell him to not speak to me as I was too tired to listen to his irritating, one-way conversation. . Listening to a nutcase radical when you are in a state of fatigue isn't my idea of fun.
On the connection to the highways, that is because the NCDOT has never built the planned direct connection to I-85. There is supposed to be a direct exit on the freeway that leads straight to the terminal. It's been planned for years if not decades, but never makes it to the level of serious consideration for funding.
Excerpt from the Charlotte Observer in August:
On the radar: Airport makeover - CharlotteObserver.com (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/408/story/879527.html - broken link) On the radar: Airport makeover
New runway now being built is only one part of a six-year, $300 million plan that includes more gates, more parking and rerouted access roads.
By Steve Harrison
Posted: Monday, Aug. 10, 2009
Two parking decks demolished, and a bigger one built in their place. A wider, relocated roadway. And an expanded terminal for Charlotte air passengers.
Those are the highlights of a six-year overhaul planned for Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. The Charlotte City Council recently began the transformation by approving a design contract for the new 7,000-space parking deck. The design, by LS3P Associates of Charlotte, should take nine months, said Aviation Director Jerry Orr.
The new deck will be built in phases. Half of the seven-story deck will be built adjacent to the control tower, on top of the surface parking lots. When the back of the deck is finished – likely in the summer of 2011 – the airport will demolish the two daily decks [sic - The author meant the two HOURLY decks] close to the terminal. The second half of the new deck will be built in their place, and finished in 2012.
The first two floors of the deck will house rental cars, which will move from surface lots north of Concourse A. After that, Orr plans to rebuild the loop road for arrivals and departures, moving it away from the terminal. The terminal will then be expanded by 90 feet. The ticketing and baggage areas are increasingly cramped today, due to a surge in passengers starting or finishing trips in Charlotte.
<. . . snip>
And though they were supportive of the idea, many of the travelers said they thought the airport is already in great shape compared to others they've used. “I'm a big fan of the [Charlotte] airport,” Ritter said. “I've flown out of Chicago, it's a nightmare, New York, it's a nightmare.”
The deck, road and terminal improvements are geared towards local passengers. The projects don't depend on the health of US Airways, whose largest hub is in Charlotte.
“This isn't a case of build it and they will come,” Orr said. “They are already here.”
Mayor Pro Tem Susan Burgess said she is confident that the number of travelers using the airport justifies the project, regardless of US Airways. “I am assured that if anything were to happen to US Airways, the gates would still be full,” said Burgess, a Democrat. She added that she believes US Airways is healthy enough to weather the economy.
Once the rental cars have been relocated, Orr has plans to build a $200 million international terminal, with between 20 and 25 gates.
International flights now arrive in the 13-gate Concourse D, which is running out of space. US Airways recently brought back non-stop service to Paris – discontinued after 9-11 – and will begin non-stop service to Rio de Janeiro in December.
Bob Mann, an independent airline consultant in Port Washington, N.Y., thinks that the expansion will be a win-win for US Airways and Charlotte passengers.
“It should reduce both airline costs and consumer costs,” he said, allowing more flights and less time in holding patterns waiting to land. “From the standpoint of capacity at Charlotte, more concrete helps.”
The more people flying to and from Charlotte and not just passing through on transfer flights, the more space they need for their cars, Mann added. “The parking issue is really an issue of how rapidly the origin and destination market of Charlotte has grown,” he said.
US Airways has emphasized Charlotte even as it has made deep cuts at its Phoenix and Las Vegas hubs. Orr said he expects US Airways to launch other international flights from Charlotte, and the new terminal could accommodate them.
<. . . snip>
Staff writer Ely Portillo contributed to this story.
Good find Olds. I'm certainly encouraged, but admittedly skeptical of that plan. It's certainly aggressive and it shows that they've recognized what I was talking about--that we can't be complacent with the current status and the yearly new records for passenger volume. With the way big projects seem to always get a little bump or two in terms of years to complete, I'm taking that timeframe with a grain of salt (maybe a full salt lick block).
I'm surprised none of it is identified in this map from the airport's website: Click Here (http://www.charmeck.org/NR/rdonlyres/eeg3sh2mafuzit2beqhswsu363tcgbomeo6g6ffotfs7vx2lq3 6hoftroridaun6bp4dbbovqneuqgqkqcy7bs2p5vc/ROADRELOCATIONsheetrev.1008.pdf - broken link) (might take a few tries to loads, their website is finicky at times). On a good note, I see they're planning on leaving the overlook park open with a little stub of what was the Old Dowd Rd. That's good news as the airport was previously silent about the park's future. I know Orr has had a "stick it to 'em" attitude towards the TSA and their repeated attempts/recommendations to close the park. So good on him for keeping it open (or at least planning to).
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Major Expansion of CLT
