News and notes from around the interweb:
- Startup Avelo claims to be the most reliable U.S. airline
- Charlotte resident forgets that the airport is run as a cheap connecting hub for American Airlines and that locals receive outsized non-stop air service as a result – and inferior infrastructure. That’s the deal. Complaining about the infrastructure misses the point.
These are the same folks who closed short-term parking for far too long during construction, narrowed arrival lanes to two and have had us walking across multiple bus lanes to get to grossly overcrowded arrival pick-up curbs for four years.
- Spreading cheer or fresh hell? This flight was delayed 3 hours on Monday.
@Delta this little gesture that your awesome employee (Terrence) decided to spread cheer is what sets you apart! @flyLAXairport . Thank you for spreading the Christmas Cheer! pic.twitter.com/a84x4gE3bt
— Benjamin Lares (@LaresBenjamin) December 11, 2023
- Thompson Austin is scrapping its poolside restaurant and will replace it with a new concept next year.
- DC’s oldest hotel, the awful Harrington, is finally shutting down (WaPo)
- It’s what Helicopter Ben would’ve done.
THE FED SHOULD ABANDON TRADITIONAL OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS AS A POLICY TOOL AND INSTEAD DIRECTLY MASS-RENT AIRBNBS.
— INVESTMENT HULK (@INVESTMENTSHULK) December 11, 2023
- Next month American Airlines drops HMSHost as lounge food service provider. Compass and Sodexo take over depending on location. While no fan of Host (to say the least), product is primarily a function of client budget.
Meanwhile, the ‘enhanced food’ at breakfast in New York JFK terminal 8 Admirals Club:
A good job by Delta’s Terrence at LAX.
Wow!
While you are putting down the CLT airport you post a picture of a group of people experiencing a 3 hour delay!!!!!!! Like this hasn’t happened at every other airport in the world!
Slow news day?
I live in CLT and will gladly put up with a crowded airport to have the non-stop connections. Previously lived in Houston, Dallas and Nashville and always went with airlines with most non-stops (Continental in Houston, DL and then AA in Dallas (was there when DL downsized DFW operations in the 90s) and then a lot of SW from BNA). I fully realize the financial incentives of CLT and have zero problem with how it works. The current project will help a lot (mainly expanding primarily terminal area/security/baggage claim which many connecting passengers will never see) and the new terminal addition in a few years will be nice but there is only so much that can be done with narrow, existing terminals. In any event – I will never complain about the crowds. It is what it is and I gladly accept it for the flight options that exist. Now if we could only get more international flights.
From a connecting passenger perspective – especially between Mainline and Eagle this airport is outdated and a nightmare to transit. Overall, the facilities are overcrowded and inconvenient. Unfortunately, this just mirrors the other second-rate hubs at USAir hubs, PHL and PHX. Yet AA just keeps stuffing more and more flights into them.
CLT with AA is my idea of hell on earth. I pay extra to avoid it. Theres no amount of money that will get me to transit back thru that place.
I have literally been in WWII quonset hut “airports” in 3rd world countries, flying Death Trap airlines, with more personality and better customer service
clicking through to archive.is sets off a captcha moebius loop
CLT needs to expand the gate areas as B and C regularly are standing room only. Their admiral lounges are some of the worst in the system. Gary, any update on when they are putting that new admiral lounge above the D/E corridor? I haven’t heard updates in years on that project.
CLT – The “old” DTW was much better than CLT is now… and at the time it was voted the 3rd worst airport in the world.
Anyone remember the “G” concourse in the old DTW? The one that took you to NWA’s partner Mesaba?
It stood for God Awful Far! Hamster Habitrail tubes were better, and roomier.
Everyone can bad mouth CLT all day long. I have one word that makes CLT the indispensable hub for me: Bojangles.
@David ATL also has Bojangles airside. It is indeed a treat!
The Towers Of Sadness in the Charlotte AAdmirals Club make me cringe. Thank god there’s a quality Amex lounge there.
CLT is the only airport where we waited at on the tarmac to get to the gate which made us late for our connection. Service desk is under staff during irregular operations. Taxi’s that refuse to take you to your hotel at 10pm.
Only airport where we have multiple delays and gate changes all with out adequate notices.
This is the only airport where the airline gave me miles because of the number of problems there.
Charlotte needs to hang a sign at arrivals. “Welcome to the home of the most expensive airport bottled water in the world” or something like that. Unless it’s changed in the past year it is so expensive to buy anything there compared to most other airports.
I have been flying in/out of Charlotte since the mid-90s, just about the time US Airways swallowed Piedmont. I am a million miler, now retired from all the airborne mess.
AA literally destroyed CLT. The days or relaxing in a rocking chair in the central terminal listening to Tommy ping away on the piano, or a decent seat in the US Airways Club at C are long since gone. I avoid that place like the plague. I’ll fly all the way to Dallas to get to Chicago or the East Coast before I’ll go through CLT again.