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Do people have long layovers/are there many connecting flights at all at RDU?
I feel like it's more of an arrival/departure point. Hasn't been a hub since Midway went belly-up in early 2000s. The primary "demand" for a lounge is for those "stuck" at the airport for an extended layover no?
Agreed. It's such an easy to navigate area so why sit at a stuffy lounge breathing recycled air when you can get out and do something outside. Even if you have 3-4 hour layover you can get out, grab something decent to eat and get back.
Layovers are fun, who needs a lounge pass -- jk, I know business travelers do. Last time I had 8 hour layover in Istanbul and had so much fun. I usually do not do touristy stuff but there was a free sightseeing shuttle provided by the airlines, so I took it. I even went to Hagia Sophia and I am glad I did cause that little dick-tator Erdogan is now fighting tooth and nail to reclassify it as a mosque. On that 3-4 hour sightseeing trip, I saw more of Instanbul than I ever had before when I went on my own.
Pretty much. You'll see people whose business in the Triangle finished earlier than expected or have a flight later than their fellow travelers, so they're killing time in the lounge. Back when American was flying to LHR you'd see people waiting for that flight because the minimum airport check-in time for AA int'l flights is 60 minutes. You'll see people who have to do a conference call before they board and find the gate areas too noisy. Delayed/canceled flights are another reason, and sometimes the cancellation isn't an RDU departure but a connection that would have been made through DFW and the re-route is through CLT (for example).
And yes there are lounge lizards who just like it.
I do know some people do connect on misconnects through RDU on AA on rare occasions. Especially for that LHR flight if the one in CLT or PHL cancels.
Id say the lounge is more for business passengers whose flights are delayed a while and those who are just so oddly obsessed with going to a lounge and arriving to the airport 3 hours prior to use it. I work with someone who just cannot be away from the lounges. He cites BUSINESS. its like okay bud lol
RDU has been a connecting airport for some international flights to Paris and London that leave later in the day.
RDU has been a connecting airport for some international flights to Paris and London that leave later in the day.
DL's CDG flight and AA's LHR flight are mostly O/D flights. Very little, if any, passengers on a given day will be connecting through Raleigh for those flights. They are there for business (More AAs flight to LHR) and to connect on their partner airlines through Europe via Air France/KLM in Paris on DL or through British Airways on American's LHR flight. Further, it wouldn't make sense for AA or DL connections through RDU given that most/all the airports RDU is connecting to, have flights to the CDG or LHR on DL and AA respectvely.
DL's CDG flight and AA's LHR flight are mostly O/D flights. Very little, if any, passengers on a given day will be connecting through Raleigh for those flights. They are there for business (More AAs flight to LHR) and to connect on their partner airlines through Europe via Air France/KLM in Paris on DL or through British Airways on American's LHR flight. Further, it wouldn't make sense for AA or DL connections through RDU given that most/all the airports RDU is connecting to, have flights to the CDG or LHR on DL and AA respectvely.
How wrong you are. I have actually booked flights from NE cities that connected to flights out of RDU to Paris and London. It is not a major connection point as is the hub cities, but it does occassionally serve as a connection point for some international flights.
How wrong you are. I have actually booked flights from NE cities that connected to flights out of RDU to Paris and London. It is not a major connection point as is the hub cities, but it does occassionally serve as a connection point for some international flights.
Obviously you can connect if you want to through RDU. But the flight isnt there for you to connect. It exists for business, O/D and contract travel. According to US Dept of Transportation only 4% of RDU LHR pax on American Airlines connect.. thats like 7-8 a day. Compare that to CLT where almost 60% are connecting, or even JFK which 38% connect on AA, and thats not even a connecting airport.
You can also find the direct links to that on airliners.net under RDU Airport.
AA routinely sends LHR-bound passengers to RDU when nonstops from AA's hubs are sold out or one of those flights is canceled.
I don't think you guys are understanding what i'm saying. I've actually searched for flights from XYZ city to London several times in the past, and found flights that connected me through RDU to Heathrow. This was not because of a cancellation nor nonstops being sold out. This was a regulary scheduled flight on AA.
Now how often and for how long they offered this route, i'm not sure, but it has been available in the past.
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-- jk, I know business travelers do. Last time I had 8 hour layover in Istanbul and had so much fun. I usually do not do touristy stuff but there was a free sightseeing shuttle provided by the airlines, so I took it. I even went to Hagia Sophia and I am glad I did cause that little dick-tator Erdogan is now fighting tooth and nail to reclassify it as a mosque. On that 3-4 hour sightseeing trip, I saw more of Instanbul than I ever had before when I went on my own.
