AA adds 2nd daily CLT-LHR flight

[robbedagain]

on www.justplanenews.com there's an article  AA is adding a second daily nonstop CLT-LHR       Apparently the first flight has been doing very well with over 70k seats sold using the A-330-300  and the second one will use A330-200

 

[700UW]

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/06/29/5009453/american-airlines-adding-charlotte.html#.U7AGEbF_390

 

[commavia]

Good news - good to see the network continue to evolve as USAirways is integrated into AA and oneworld.  This has long been predicted - inter-alliance hub connectivity naturally generates more volume.  I suspect that PHL-LHR #2 is not far away, either, and that both of these will come at the expense of the second FRA flights from each hub (since those FRA routes are, obviously, no longer inter-alliance hub-to-hub now that USAirways is in oneworld).  And, needless to say, this should also further underscore the continued importance, and long-term viability, of CLT as a hub (albeit still, I suspect, a somewhat smaller one than today).

 

[jcw]

I thought AA was shutting CLT down and moving everything to MIA

 

[robbedagain]

at least that what one jp morgan dude claims... 

 

[commavia]

I thought AA was shutting CLT down and moving everything to MIA

 
CLT is an exceptionally good hub positioned to take advantage of multiple geographic, demographic and economic trends.  CLT was never going anywhere.
 
I continue to believe the hub will shrink - because at the combined airline's cost levels I don't know if it will be profitable to move that much volume through there, and upgauging to larger RJs will also result in reduced frequency (in CLT and everywhere else).  But personally, I still expect CLT will be at a minimum of 500 daily flights going forward.

 

[jcw]

I was being sarcastic - it makes no sense to send someone from ORF or MYR to MIA to connect to the midwest, west coast, north east.  The CLT hub is not going anywhere - all hubs, DFW, ORD, MIA, CLT, PHL, etc will have adjustments for many different reasons.

 

[nycbusdriver]

 both of these will come at the expense of the second FRA flights from each hub (since those FRA routes are, obviously, no longer inter-alliance hub-to-hub now that USAirways is in oneworld).  

 
Now that we're in the thirdworld alliance (at least in Germany), I understand we're pissing off all those poor, unsuspecting customers who booked Star Alliance connections in FRA before the merger and find themselves deplaning in the thirdworld terminal and having lots of headaches switching over to the Lufthansa side.  Same in MUC.
 
It would not surprise me that all CLT - Germany flights will be gone in the fall, and only PHL-MUC and one PHL-FRA will remain for the near future after 2014.

 

[zethya]

If this is the Cyprus Slot pair, the LHR Arrival/Departure times from CLT will be super sub optimum for business travelers.  The CLT fans hope for a BA flight may no longer be feasible as 3x LHR seems a bit unreasonable.  

 

[commavia]

Now that we're in the thirdworld alliance (at least in Germany), I understand we're pissing off all those poor, unsuspecting customers who booked Star Alliance connections in FRA before the merger and find themselves deplaning in the thirdworld terminal and having lots of headaches switching over to the Lufthansa side.  Same in MUC.

 
Hmmm.  Personally, I'll take the allegedly "third world" T2 at FRA over the Lufthansa/United/Star T1 anyday.  Personally, I cannot stand connecting through T1 and while it has definitely gotten better over the years, I still try and avoid it.  To each their own, I guess.
 

It would not surprise me that all CLT - Germany flights will be gone in the fall, and only PHL-MUC and one PHL-FRA will remain for the near future after 2014.

 
That would surprise me greatly, and I doubt it highly.  There are enormous financial and commercial linkages between Germany and the southeastern U.S.  Now, it's true that much of it is Germany-originating, and thus more likely to stick with Lufthansa's MUC-CLT (for as long as that may or may not last) or connect between Lufthansa and United at EWR or IAD.  But I still continue to believe there is sufficient demand between Germany and the southeastern U.S., including Florida, to justify at least a single daily CLT-FRA flight.  I would not be at all surprised to see such a route eventually settle into being operated by the smallest longhaul widebody AA operates - a reconfigured PMAA 2-class 763 - but I still think the route survives with at least one daily flight.
 
As for PHL-FRA - as I said, I doubt the second flight will last much longer, and eventually expect it to shift to a second PHL-LHR.
 

If this is the Cyprus Slot pair, the LHR Arrival/Departure times from CLT will be super sub optimum for business travelers.

 
Remember - AA now shares a massive common slot pool with BA and Iberia, so there's nothing stopping AA from swapping a take off and/or landing slot from somewhere else to make the schedules work for a second CLT flight.  (Remember - now with the ATI/JV, BA also has an economic incentive to see that second CLT-LHR succeed along with AA.)
 
Indeed, I've now read elsewhere that, as might have been expected, the second eastbound flight is scheduled for a 2230 CLT departure (so a ~1130 LHR arrival) - perfectly timed to not only meet inbound flow traffic from the 2200 connecting bank, but also provide many people connecting from around the east coast with the ability to depart their originating cities relatively late and still connect onward to LHR and beyond.
 

The CLT fans hope for a BA flight may no longer be feasible as 3x LHR seems a bit unreasonable.  

 
I wouldn't be surprised if the second CLT-LHR eventually went to a daily BA 777, and the existing US flight was upgauged to a 2-class AA 777.

 

[FWAAA]

Indeed, I've now read elsewhere that, as might have been expected, the second eastbound flight is scheduled for a 2230 CLT departure (so a ~1130 LHR arrival) - perfectly timed to not only meet inbound flow traffic from the 2200 connecting bank, but also provide many people connecting from around the east coast with the ability to depart their originating cities relatively late and still connect onward to LHR and beyond.

I agree.   Presumably,  the existing CLT-LHR flight is well-timed for traffic destined to London, and it's reasonable to assume that it's carrying most or all of the CLT-hub to LHR O&D (including the logical connections at CLT to London).   If a second flight arrives at LHR between about noon and 1:30 pm, that leaves plenty of time for onward connections to the evening flights (India, S Africa, Middle East, etc).   Plus, tourists don't mind arriving LHR in early afternoon, as it means that by time they clear immigration and travel to the city, it's check-in time at their hotels. 

 

[zethya]

............................
I wouldn't be surprised if the second CLT-LHR eventually went to a daily BA 777, and the existing US flight was upgauged to a 2-class AA 777.

Now that's what I call a "stretch".
Of course this 2nd CLT-LHR flight could simply be a "place holder" to ensure compliance with the 80/20 Rule (Use it or Lose it), followed by eventual transfer to LAX,  DFW, or ? / LHR.

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

If a second flight arrives at LHR between about noon and 1:30 pm, that leaves plenty of time for onward connections to the evening flights (India, S Africa, Middle East, etc).   Plus, tourists don't mind arriving LHR in early afternoon, as it means that by time they clear immigration and travel to the city, it's check-in time at their hotels. 

I kind of thinking the same thing.  1:30pm arrival at LHR is still ok for onward BA connections.  Not only Africa & Mid-East, but it kind of works for Europe connections too.  I'm going to guess most LHR-Europe connections on BA are approx. 2/2.5hrs at most, so with the 1:30 pm arrival there is still a chance to connect to the last couple BA flights to most major EU cities.

 

[FWAAA]

From a US flight attendant posting on Flyertalk:
 

More details about the new flight:

We know it will be operated on an A330-200 and that departs Charlotte at 10:30pm and arrives in London at 11:25am. The return flight will depart London at 2:25pm and arrive back in Charlotte at 6:20pm. The new flight will have the flight numbers:

CLT-LHR- US 732
LHR-CLT- US 733

The same flight #s that CLT-LGW-CLT operated under, until it became US 730/731 when it switched to Heathrow.

 
Looks like the arrival time at LHR is flexible  (earlier arrival than Cyprus)  but the departure time back to CLT is the same as Cyprus Air current schedule.

 

[IORFA]

Another site says they are switching arrival times with a DFW flight and keeping the departure time the same.