Charlotte airport is a pit, and for me it’s where connections go to die. The airport wasn’t built for the volume of traffic it gets. The corridors are packed body to body with passengers. The American Airlines clubs aren’t much better, with the main one still in the old US Airways design despite a six month renovation (that didn’t fix poor kitchen conditions, either).
The airport has some of the longest walks outside of Miami (whose train system on the D concourse is down for months). Arrive on a regional jet on the E concourse and you can easily be looking at 15 minute walks to a connection, or longer when people movers are broken as they were for me on Friday.
The airline sells 35 minute connections for those flights, too. It’s technically possible to make it from one flight to another even coming from a regional jet at E, where you first need to wait for your carry on bags to be delivered planeside (those Bombardier regional jets don’t have overhead bin space to fit a standard rollaboard). If you hoof it over you may arrive at your connection before doors close. But not always. It really depends on what runway you land on.
When it doesn’t involve those regional jets on the E concourse you’ll find 30 minute connections. To be clear: these are purchased voluntarily and someone like me knows what I am getting into by booking one. If you’re inbound aircraft gets caught in an alleyway, all bets are off. Or if your first flight has a short delay, your connection goes away.
That’s what I was looking at last week. I was heading to savannah from Austin, which means a connection regardless of airline. I didn’t want to fly before 10 a.m. but wanted to arrive in time for dinner. So I rolled the dice with American through Charlotte.
- A short inbound aircraft delay, plus a last minute maintenance item that was resolved quickly combined to give us a 21 minute departure delay. Not good on a 30 minute connection, when doors close 10 minutes prior to departure.
- There were absolutely no backup flight options available. The later connections Charlotte – Savannah were all zeroed. Connecting through other cities was zeroed for at least one of the two segments.
Not what I was expecting midday on a Wednesday!
I’ve written many times about how the Austin Admirals Club VIPs all their guests. The staff there are truly the best in the system. Sometimes I gripe about how food in Admirals Clubs lags Delta and even United and that’s even true with food improvements rolling out. I wouldn’t say this if I were based in any other city but Austin, but to the extent that I fly American out of Austin and they are the largest legacy carrier at the airport, I’d pay more than American’s increased lounge prices purely for access to the staff in this club.
Everyone that’s a regular into the Austin Admirals Club is recognized on site. They call out a welcome to you by name before you check in with a boarding pass. The staff there just said, ‘you go ahead and sit down and we’ll work on this.’ They kept refreshing availability until a seat opened up on a later Charlotte – Savannah flight, added that as a backup in my reservation as soon as it did, and also listed me standby for the next flight (where I was number one on the list).
But that wasn’t the end of it. While I was in the air, the Austin club staff kept looking for space and they saw one seat open on the next flight. They added it to my reservation (in place of the even later flight) as a backup. I was still booked on my original connection, just in case, but I now had the next flight out without even having to do anything. And they left me a voicemail to let me know they’d done so.
We landed and had a long taxi to the gate. We finally parked and opened the door 14 minutes to departure. I made it from the end of one concourse to the other in half the usual time, running up right as the gate agent was closing the door. American’s agents don’t have to close the door if you’re within line of sight but they risk being yelled at for missing a D0 exact on-time departure.
I headed over to the B concourse Admirals Club to have my record cleaned up so that I could access a boarding pass for the backup flight, and I stayed there in the absolutely packed club (at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday!) to get some work done. I found one seat left.
I was curious about the new food there and the most noticeable thing wasn’t the lemon roasted chicken and potatoes. It’s that the plates are so small – more of a coaster, really – that while they’re clearly intended to limit how much food you take (and it takes effort to get up and continually get another plate) they actually promote food waste. That’s because the plates are too small for the amount of food that people pick up with tongs. A single tong’s worth of salad leaves plenty on the buffet itself. The plate is just too tiny to catch it.
When I was ConciergeKey I’d have likely made my original connection. Without that there are two things that make it possible to fly American Airlines, and even risk a short connection in Charlotte.
- Executive Platinum status. Probably the best benefit is that they’ll allow a backup flight in the reservation. Anyone without this status is required to switch flights, rather than holding inventory on more than one flight.
- The Austin club staff. They’re proactive during irregular operations as though you’re ConciergeKey. The Austin airport doesn’t have dedicated premium services for ConciergeKey but they will now sell Five Star service (and reserve a semi-private room in the club). But the premium services club staff there are better than any anywhere else in the system.
For everything I wish American Airlines did better, they offer by far the most service from my home city for a legacy / full service airline, and the staff in the club keep me loyal.
@ Gary — I didn’t know EPs were still allowed to hold back up space. For some reason, I thought that had been eliminated many years ago (I was probably told that by a misinformed agent). Good to know if we’re ever back to EP.
As an EP it is nice having the extra backup options to make a connection. The staff at RDU are also excellent with helping me through IROPS like last night as I was facing a major delay with my flight going through DFW. They quickly got me backed up on the next connecting flight and ended up getting upgraded both segments. I’ve noticed that Admirals Club staff are pretty awesome in most places I’ve flown through and for that reason, makes having the card that much more valuable.
Like you- I try to avoid CLT at all costs unless I absolutely have to. If given enough time I’ll go to the Centurion Lounge and while busy, it’s not as bad as it has been in the past. Last weekend I wound up with a tight connection there due to an inbound delay and had to run from the E gates to the B gates- fortunately I made the flight but was close despite the dreaded distance and Hunger Games hurdles to get there. And as Always for CLT- May the odds be ever in your favor***
Wow great club agents – hopefully corporate doesn’t see this and say it’s ‘inconsistent’ with other club experiences. wonder why more outstations don’t act like this.
Completely agree about the great customer oriented culture that that small Austin team has cultivated! It’s very unique in the AA system.
Also, short RJ-to-RJ connections (including E170-175) are generally fine at CLT, as you know you will be connecting in the E concourse.
Just left clt less than 50 minutes ago and no where as crowded as in my previous monthly flights. Kind of strange. Still trying to figure out why my husband and I were not on the upgrade list despite having EP status. Gate agent couldn’t have cared less. Chat agent said to have him enter names manually – this resulted in me clearing but not my husband. And I’m sitting next to an empty window seat plus another in FC.
I’ve always had good luck at CLT as long as there’s no T storms. Also: Bojangles.
CLT FREE FOR OVER 25 YEARS. I vividly remember as a teenager flying with my younger brother on USAir we missed our connecting flight in CLT because of a late departure and tight connection. I called my parents and USAIR said we have to pay its our fault we missed the flight. I told the agent No the plane was 30 minutes late leaving FLL. As you can clearly see the next segment for the same plane is now also departing late, USair sold us the tickets with this connection and must fly us at no extra charge. The agent was dumbfounded and the people around us all clapped. That’s why I never fly CLT
What a strange “article” – it’s a post about the Austin club agents, headlined as an anti CLT post. Gotta get those clicks.
CLT is great. Reliable, rarely weather delayed, on-time easy connections most of the time. 15 minutes gate to gate max. Give me 30 minute connections over long ones anytime.
AA pads their schedules so much that is most cases long taxi times and waiting for a gate is accounted for and doesn’t delay arrival times. Connection times should not be built based on accommodating departure delays; connection times should be built based on scheduled operations.
All you had to do was fly Delta via ATL.
We all get why you are loyal to AA in AUS but the reasons fall apart if you have to connect. Real Fast.
You really should think about your travel as nonstop on AA from AUS or nonstop on another carrier from AUS or requires a connection and choose someone besides AA
CLT captive here so can’t judge too much on connecting flights. The 30 or 35 minutes is a joke and experienced travelers know to avoid them (you should have, too). There is also overcrowding on the tarmac – it is not unheard of to land early but dock into the gate late because the gate is occupied.
CLT are rebuilding a lot of their infrastructure: roomier security and check in areas, more parking options, an extended A terminal with more gates and an additional runway. None of that however addresses the key issues of B and C concourse, and tarmac delays (in fact it will make them worse…).
I do like CLT though because it can get me anywhere in the US pretty much non stop, and we now have decent Europe and Caribbean options again as well.
The overcrowding is an issue, unless you happen to find yourself in A, D or E. B and C are the main culprits and they are, unfortunately, the main terminals for the Airbusses and B737’s. The Admirals Club in B is awful. But with AA’s network there is hardly ever any incentive to fly another airline domestically as that immediately means adding 2 hours to a flight that can most likely be had nonstop from CLT.
The other good news is that Frontier, Southwest and Spirit have “discovered” CLT, which is adding more pressure on pricing to some formerly exclusive AA destinations. Even DL and UA have added flights and upgraded regional jets to mainline. It is not all bad (as long as you do not ever accept a 30 to 35 minute connection).
I’m startled there is an admirals club that’s worth going into for free.
Honestly at this point payiny at the bar is a much more pleasant experience
I don’t really get the point of this whole post. Gary lists his specific constraints and then notes that only one airline will satisfy them. But then the manner in which they satisfy them comes under scrutiny. Fly private, I guess?
Had a nightmare experience at CLT and will never connect through again under any circumstances. Weather delays can’t be helped but holding passengers captive onboard until all vendors close and then no food or water is available is ridiculous. Then being told on a Tuesday that no flights are available until Friday and with PGA in town no hotels or cars available. Expected to just sleep in terminal. I’m disabled as well. Total cluster. Waited on phone and got a seat for next morning, waited on an endless line, agent was annoyed I had audacity to advocate for myself after being told I’d have to wait 3 days to get home, and threatened me with security and refused to give me my boarding pass! I called security myself and an AA Manager to sort this nightmare employee out. I was give. my boarding pass. Once manager left, employee accused me of faking my disability and told me this incident would go on my permanent record. What? Im soft spoken and work in CS and write CRM so was shocked at all of this. Wrote to AA and got lip service and nothing more. Last time I flew with them. Had been loyal for years prior.
@Bob and @CW
Agreed. Have no idea the purpose of this article. It’s all over the place and has no purpose. Tbh it could be a one sentence Reddit post lol.
@Tim
You beat me to it. I do get it, and am very loyal to flying LH, as we are retired in Malta. Lifetime 1K with UA, and we (my wife was given comp 1K) enjoy Senator lounges and great service and good meals. But when we fly from Helsinki (often) to Stockholm, Oslo or Copenhagen, it makes no sense, at any level, to book strange two flight connection on LH. Becoming so all consumed with flying one airline defies logic.
We flew through CLT this past Wednesday as well but had a 3 hour connecting time so no worry about delays (I usually plan it that way and never do a 30 min CNX).
First went to the main club at top of C and it was jammed and NO FULL BAR so we went to the one in B (which does have a full bar) which is much smaller but our connecting flight was leaving from B anyway.
I have to agree that the food selections in the Admiral’s club are very poor in comparison to DL Sky Clubs. And those 3in by 3in plates are downright ridiculous.
Still the bar tender was great and the staff was always cleaning up.
Service from PBI to CLT in First was pleasant but no PDB. Our long segment from CLT to ONT in F was OK (still no PDB) but the in flight crew were not very friendly and after the dinner service basically sat until prep for landing.
In my book AA still has a long way to go in comparison to DL.
Your complaining about taking a known risk and putting yourself in a pinch. Take an earlier flight so you don’t run the risk of getting stuck somewhere overnight. Don’t be a dumb**s and choose a flight with a 35 min connection when there are other options.
With the landing slot restrictions at JFK, AA is now routing everyone to CLT and then back to JFK. Idiocy. My husband had a reservation into JFK. They canceled the flight and booked him from DCA-CLT-JFK with a 35-min connection time. He said thanks no thanks and re-routed his trip through ORD. CLT is a nightmare.
Gary,
You must have been on the flight with me to SAV. I fly in / out of SAV almost every week and depending on where I am headed CLT is my only choice if I want a decent connection but typically it’s either 30 minutes or 2+:hours. CLT is the worst as you described, moving walkways that don’t move and overcrowded everything. They worst part is 55 percent of flights are regionals and Envoy, PSA and the lot really don’t care if they run on time and typically don’t, so good luck trying to connect. The new E36+ gates are nice but too far away from mainline A or B gates. I will take DFW anytime I am headed west.
Charlotte airport is a pit.
We joke at home that the best way to fly AA from LAX to SFO is with a connection in CLT.
@Gary this was clearly a troubling episode for you. That said, I am forced to point out that you have stated previously on this blog that you don’t like long stays at the airport (who does?) and as such, you tend to cut your times down a bit bare. If I have misrepresented you I am sure you will correct me. That said, I entirely understand not wanting to waste time, but sometimes there’s a price to pay and your post shows exactly what that price can be.
I might also point out that you clearly know exactly what CLT is like, decided to roll the dice on a connection, and, well, it didn’t work out on this occasion. No offense mate, I think you need to own this one; not AA or CLT. Air travel is unpredictable and as we both know, things can go pear-shaped in a hurry.
I am at the other end of the spectrum from you having concluded years ago that time fixes a lot of problems. It also helps to know your airport. For example I would not schedule anything less that a 3-hour gap at LHR for any connection. Less than that is the path to tears there, especially if you and your bags have to change terminals. MIA in the US has proven to be one to pad time too, IME.
I have only had to literally run for a plane once, and that was President Bush’s (#2) fault when he created a traffic nightmare during a visit to PHX.
Yes I agree. If you had been Key your outcome may well have been different. But since neither of us enjoy that luxury (?) any more, it’s kinda moot, isn’t it?
Lovely for you, Gary. But for those of us not blessed with the AUS AC staff our experience differs.
The fact that AA tries to sell 35 min connections in CLT and is willing to leave pax stranded in Dante’s seventh circle of hell tells me everything I need to know about AA and its approach to passengers. They just don’t give a rat’s ass about anything other than revenue.
AA is a sh!tshow and CLT is the main stage. Thanks, but no thanks.
And, BTW Gary, how much did AA pay you to write this puff piece?
Marked
Safe
From ever flying thru Charlotte.
They got me once and that was the end of it. Insisted I gate check a FC bag, long before the first person boarded. Long outside walks to cheesy aircraft. I’ll WALK before I ever go thru them again. We actually pay more and go out of our way to never ever step foot in that giant sucking hole.
I too have noticed the new smaller plates. At first I thought I was imagining something, but have confirmed they are smaller. Wonder how much it cost to replace all of the plates. If people keep taking too much food they’ll probably go to an “order at your table” ala some priority pass lounges.
Stay in shape and don’t wear shoes that’s not designed to run in, like flip flops and crocs and you’ll make your connect. Simple.
And if you do make that 35 min CNX, expect to find your seat canceled. They will have ‘helpfully’ rebooked you in 6 hours because ‘we expected you not make it’. While you’re standing at the gate with the door still open.
I’m reading this sitting on a plane at CLT waiting for a gate. We were 10 minutes late landing. And now waiting almost 30 minutes for a gate. First it was a B777 pushing back from A that blocked the odd-side B gates. Now the plane in our gate needs to be towed to the hangar and they don’t have a tug available to do it. So gate has changed to another one and that plane is pushing right now. Of course 75% of the flight has connections and many are literally watching those planes leave. There are people screaming and cursing whenever the pilot gives an update. I can’t wait to see what happens when we do block in and the door opens.
NedsKid
you forgot to mention that it is Saturday night and not one person on that plane wants to be in CLT for the night.
My sincere condolesences.
Remember, American is taking care of you on life’s journey…
Tim Dunn,
Well, I live here. And I have a Delta flight at 0630 in the morning so I’ll probably see most of these people but with bloodshot eyes in the terminal at that time.
When we got to the gate finally, it was a mad house people trying to get off the plane. I figured since I was local and I’d bought my ticket two hours before the flight, I might as well get my money’s worth and stay put to watch the show. The man who was brought on in an aisle chair I guess was cured by the vicinity of Billy Graham’s grave or something and tried to walk off. Very very very very slowly. To people cursing behind him. People were swearing at one another, pushing and shoving. And to make it even better, about a half dozen cleaners came on the plane as soon as the door opened and were trying to work their way back up the aisle as people are carrying roller bags at chest level like riot shields.
I couldn’t help but sing the old jingle as I got off the plane… “From the sunrise in the east, to the sunset in the west… We’re American Airlines, doing what we do best….”
As someone whose home airport is CLT, I sadly can’t avoid it. The airport isn’t big enough to cope with passengers from Charlotte, never mind connections. I have BAEC silver and rarely bother with the Admirals Clubs. The food was actually better when the main one was closed – you could get sandwiches. Fun fact: the parking just went up – it’s now the most expensive of all AA hubs excluding JFK. And it being 90% AA, flights from here to are around 25% more than from Columbia SC because we have no alternatives. Example: CLT-LHR in J: $4500 in Jan. Columbia-LHR in J via CLT on the same jet from CLT-LHR: $3600. Same dates. So I connect in CLT despite living here. Still not sure why the place isn’t built yet.
@SOBE ER DOC “how much did AA pay you to write this puff piece?”
that’s pretty funny
The only time I missed a connection in my life — and I’ve been flying for 50 years, almost all on AA — was at CLT. Late at night, arrived in time, saw my connecting plane at the gate as we texted forever and then deplaned into a packed concourse. I raced up the concourse through the terminal past the piano player down the other concourse … and missed my father’s funeral the next day. I avoid CLT at all costs.
What Fool books a 35 minute connection? Well. now we know.
Yes, all airports are a circus. Yes, clubs are full and the free food is foul. No one actually eats the stuff, but if you insist I might suggest a small plate of food poisoning works as well as a large one. The RESTAURANTS at CLT are actually pretty good.
That said, I enjoy your whiney diatribe. Thanks for the entertainment
I’d like to know why AA allows those short connections. They are setting people up to have a bad travel experience.
I refuse to book a flight with a CLT layover. Too many quick connections and the worse airport design layout I have ever seen. I lost count of the times I missed a connection even if flights are on time because the gates are booked so far apart. And yes the moving walkways are spotty but I travel dressed wearing stilettos and one of the many CLT moving walkway disaster ate my shoes. I still have to run in CLT but the moving walkways, if they even worked, are just not an option.
It pains me to write this as one of the few people who actually grew up in Charlotte but similar to the haphazardly layout of the city that took place starting in the early 2000s, the airport also lacks planning and design. I fly every week so it is embarrassing how bad CLT is.
I have EP status and yes the clubs are weird there but not the worst I’ve seen.
CLT and DFW and esp. CLT simply would not be able to carry the amount of traffic for AA that they do without ridiculously short connection times.
The amount of air service in both cities far exceeds the amount of local traffic that AA can profitably carry.
Let’s not forget that WN has its home and 180 flight hub just down the road from DFW and carries a significant amount of traffic.
CLT simply has a small local market.
and CLT Is part of AA’s massive overhubbing on the east coast that includes MIA, CLT, DCA, PHL and NYC.
They refuse to take the steps necessary to get rid of one or more of those hubs and strengthen what remains.
CLT was never built for the amount of traffic that it carries and DFW was not built as a connecting hub and the cost to create a true ATL-style complex at both airports will bankrupt AA. AA’s two largest hubs will forever offer poor customer experiences for connecting passengers.
I’m gonna stop short of Tim Dunn’s usual reasons why every airline but Delta will fail. But I agree on too many hubs at marginal profitability on the east for American. CLT Metro area is about 2.5 million people and that’s a massive like 60 mile radius. Actual city is about 1.3 million. Plus it has Concord with Allegiant and by the time you get to the south edges of that you might as well drive to GSP, park for less, and pay 1/3 of the price to fly and connect via CLT.
I recall US Airways was running about 80% connecting traffic at CLT. Probably why it was so low yield. American has to make up for it on volume. Even if they are rent negative. And they need to cram in as many connecting banks as possible. For those who love the 35 minute run thru CLT, for the holidays they are adding an even later bank. So you can run for that connection at 130am.
By the way, I am flying Delta today. In their effort to Keep Climbing, I can report that this SkyClub I am sitting in at LGA is completely out of forks. Yes, no forks. Staff have no more in the back. People are cutting chicken and eating it with spoons. Glad I travel with some extras on my bag I swipe from the Farmers Fridge machines.
and let’s not forget that RDU is not that far away and DL set up a focus city there in part because it was right in AA’s backyard – and between CLT and DCA.
North Carolina is a great state – but it significantly overhubbed w/ air service.
It is clear that the Sky Club overcrowding is not fixed which is why the incessant arguments about how evil Delta is for cutting anyone off from the standby list or Sky Club entry is a fool.
The only real issue is whether Delta will hurt itself in cutting elites off – and there simply is no evidence that DL is or will be losing revenue because more people are buying up than they expected.
We never here the rejoicing of those that are glad that DL made changes but those people did speak… just not here.
And I have to ask you, NedsKid, why did you come home for 8 hours? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just go from your last place to wherever you are going?
And do you know that Delta is building a Sky Club in Charlotte?
Tim,
I find it funny that all this talk of CLT being bad is focused on connections. It’s no picnic for local travelers either. They are rebuilding the whole front of the airport on top of the old one. It’s a disjointed mess. The other day, the only non-stairs means to get upstairs from baggage claim/parking drop off was a single elevator. The line for it looked like made anybody’s worst photo of a Sky Club entrance line look like nothing. Stairs were just as bad as people struggled with suitcases. I went up a stanchioned off closed stairwell that pops up in the PreCheck lane right at the ID checker. Oops. What do you mean it’s closed?
CLT parking is frequently full, even for reservations. Parking is more expensive than most larger airports. I’m not paying $30 for a valet service that you have to ride a bus to get to the terminal, and on return they hand you the keys and tell you where you can go find your car. I think they finally have a second door open into the terminal on the ticketing level. US Airways probably had the right size hub for the airport. Now, I would say for every 10% American grows, it probably extends the length of construction 20% as it’s more to work around. BNA had the right idea, in my opinion…. Built an inexpensive satellite concourse with a bus operation to reach it. It gives them room to now close down one concourse at a time to rebuild. Doesn’t have to be nice, or have a fancy people mover. It only needs to last probably 5 years. They planned well. Charlotte is a good decade behind on facility improvements. The new Delta concourse will be about 1.3 mile walk from the parking shuttle drop off. Moving walkways will cover maybe 15% of the distance. And that’s assuming they are all working, which most aging public transit authorities have better reliability with 30 year old escalators than CLT does with 5 year old moving walkways.
I’m curious the bleed between CLT and RDU to one another. There’s also GSO in there (the monument to hopes and dreams of the past… they could easily close half the terminal and have too much capacity). CLT and RDU are, from airport to airport, a good two hour drive through a bunch of counties that see highway speeding tickets as a primary source of revenue. I know RDU runs out of parking for local pax too. I’m glad at CLT to travel enough that I have guaranteed covered parking offsite with priority shuttle service as a perk, at less than half the price of the airport’s daily garage (that still requires a bus ride).
I think the restrictions to Sky Club access are great. I used to have a Sky Club membership before I moved to the Amex Plat because the extra benefits outweighed additional cost, especially after DL started only allowing same day DL boarding passes to enter. It was nice living in two Delta hubs when I could access the Club on any airline. But my issues with DL are that they’ve become smug, and to me have not been as reliable or as premium as they used to be only a few years ago. I’ve heard they’ve started walking HDQ types out who don’t realize an airline doesn’t run the same way as a gourmet dog food store or avocado toast food truck. Delta continues to price the buy-ups well. But I see an open issue as what impact will that have once the culling of the herd is done (yes, the pigs are so fat they are collapsing under their own weight and breaking their legs). If the overall population of Medallions is back to what is probably the right level, will upgrades and such be any more easier to obtain for those left if DL continues aggressively pursuing the up sales? Or will they do like AirTran did and keep them free, but price it low and give elites first crack to just pay the upsell before the general population has the option at check in? AirTran’s best customers for buying upgrades were its elites who theoretically got them for free, and they were happy to pay it. That’s a great customer pool to cultivate and keep. DL needs to get some of the premium elements back up, which I think they will. But what’s the point of the skyclub if I ask to change a flight and the agent says to go dial the 800 number? Or the inability to serve 12 people in First a soda on a flight long enough for the seatbelt sign to be off for a half hour, where even Southwest would have tried serving the whole plane? I think whatever issues Delta has to fix are self induced and that disappoints me knowing how brilliant an airline it has shown it can be.
Yes, I’m aware of the upcoming Sky Club. I was over by it a couple weeks ago in the construction zone. I’m equally glad for the big ol Dunkin that’s gonna be by it.
Yeah, coming home for 8 hours wasn’t ideal. But one trip was last minute (and at that, flights didn’t go as planned – the AA flight was one I bought 2 hours to departure time because another airline went awry). Going home for 8 hours saved me overnighting in a city that was pretty well sold out on hotel rooms, and changing origins on tickets (and the DL trip today was one I was 50/50 going on now or punting a few weeks). I stay in enough hotels… I’d rather at some point accept a little hassle to sleep in my own bed, and swap out suitcases between two very different climates.
The doors close 15 minutes before departure. They need to make the minimum connection time 45 minutes not 30
I have a family member who always wants to cut it close and often repeats that line about “if you haven’t missed a flight, you are spending too much time in airports”. And then when they miss a flight they get all angry at the airline, while spending lots of time in the airport.
I don’t like stress, and I don’t choose connections that are likely not to work out for me or my luggage.
all interesting info, NedsKid
DL has better share in AA hubs than the other way around so I suspect part of the reason is because DL really does provide a high enough quality product that alot of potentially loyal AA passengers choose to fly DL.
DL has also executed its network expansion far better than AA or UA. DL hasn’t tried dominate but to be profitable and deliver a high quality product and they have succeeded.
At the core, Delta delivers better on what airlines are supposed to do – reliable, pleasant, and safe transportation to more places than their competitors. both AA and UA have got parts of the equation but not the whole thing right.
I suspect that DL has the right formula for “thinning the herd” and they will keep making money and gaining true high revenue elites.
Gary: Given the reality of airline performance, anyone who books a flight with less than a 90 minute connection time gets what he or she deserves. A 30 minute connection?? Really?? I wouldn’t do that if the planes were at adjoining gates. Buyer Beware.
@Bob
At Christmas my connection was late to CLT, but I ran like a madman through the airport and made it to my gate for PHL, The plane was there The door was open. But the gate agents said that I was too late. And I stood there while they called the standby passengers up to go ahead and get on my flight.!! I.e. Taking my seat
I flipped out and said I had a boarding pass for this flight. I hollered “what the hell are you doing?! You made me late! ”
Can anyone help me, why they would do that. I wrote a complaint letter to AA, but got no reply.
That incident still makes my blood boil
AA cannot spend a dollar more than they have to…CLT is a much less expensive hub to run, thus all the east coast domestic connections go there. I doubt it will change anytime soon given their financials, so avoid CLT or book no less than 2 hour connections if possible.