Charlotte Douglas International Airport was the biggest international hub for Piedmont Airlines and

[AirwAr]

Once again added a second LHR flight no doubt lis and bru were going to get cut added when us was connecting its hub to other star alliance members

If clt is so bad they would be shutting the hub there is no reason someone from RIC, ODF, gSP, etc is going to fly to Mia to go to Europe

 
Why would you use MIA as the example of why CLT will NOT be reduced?  Might as well have used DFW and ORD.
 
I think a better example of why CLT WILL be reduced would be connections over PHL & JFK.  Adding flights from these major hubs to some of the CLT feeder cities could easily siphon connecting traffic from CLT.  They would still be 1 stop traveling with many more destination options.
 
In addition, now that US is part of AA, it is now a major player in an alliance...so not using our EU alliance partners would be absolutely idiotic.  As such, CLT doesn't need to serve that many EU cities directly.  Seems it would be much more efficient to funnel them over LHR & MAD.
 
So, you can see how those 2 strategies combined could have quite an impact on CLT direct destinations. 

 

[jcw]

Again where do you come up with this stuff?
Josh

You must not listen to earnings calls the most profitable hub is clt per AA senior mgmt

 

[jcw]

Why would you use MIA as the example of why CLT will NOT be reduced?  Might as well have used DFW and ORD.
 
I think a better example of why CLT WILL be reduced would be connections over PHL & JFK.  Adding flights from these major hubs to some of the CLT feeder cities could easily siphon connecting traffic from CLT.  They would still be 1 stop traveling with many more destination options.
 
In addition, now that US is part of AA, it is now a major player in an alliance...so not using our EU alliance partners would be absolutely idiotic.  As such, CLT doesn't need to serve that many EU cities directly.  Seems it would be much more efficient to funnel them over LHR & MAD.
 
So, you can see how those 2 strategies combined could have quite an impact on CLT direct destinations.

I agree that MAD and LHR make sense

However US carries many German companies between Germany and the Carolina's

I see US keeping LHR, FRA year round

MAD going year round

Seasonal CDG and FCO staying as seasonal service

There will be about it

 

[robbedagain]

We know wt and josh desperately want and wish to see lots of folks get destroyed w clt and th cuts. But i highly doubt clt will see draculin cuts if any ones gonna get hammered hard if i were a betting man id say phx moreso than clt i sure hope it dont happen but i think phx will fall before clt

 

[AirwAr]

We know wt and josh desperately want and wish to see lots of folks get destroyed w clt and th cuts. But i highly doubt clt will see draculin cuts if any ones gonna get hammered hard if i were a betting man id say phx moreso than clt i sure hope it dont happen but i think phx will fall before clt

 
Not to take this thread too far off...but I was just thinking I don't remember seeing any changes yet at PHX.  

 

[jcw]

In case you need proof on hub profitably see article

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11502348/1/us-airways-holds-ace-in-amr-merger-scenario.html

 

[700UW]

Quote

The heads of joint business partners American Airlines and British Airways continue to see strong and growing demand for transatlantic service, allowing them to continue considering expansion in the market.
“Our assessment of the capacity in the transatlantic is that it is well matched to the demand but there has been some minor overcapacity that’s been trimmed,” says Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA parent International Airlines Group (IAG), at a media event in Washington DC today. “We have no concerns with the situation we are operating in today.”
 

http://www.flightglo...-demand-404459/

 

[737823]

You must not listen to earnings calls the most profitable hub is clt per AA senior mgmt

I challenge you, post a link from a Seeking Alpha transcript. If that's exactly what was said it shouldnt be difficult to find. You are naive if you really think senior management shares detailed performance a strategic information on an earnings conference call. But then again you believe all kinds of other non-sense that has never been true about AA so I shouldn't really be surprised.

Whatever happens CLTs days as a European and Brazil gateway are coming to a screeching halt. People on here csn deny it all they want, but MIA is where the traffic is and people want to not CLT. I'm confident that flight operations and number of local employees in CLT will be rationalized over the coming years, mark my words. And yes it will impact the local economy but no one here shed a tear when UA closed their MIA hub in 2004 or that AA has gone from over 100 daily flights at Logan to a mere 34 today.

Josh

 

[Phoenix]

I challenge you, post a link from a Seeking Alpha transcript. If that's exactly what was said it shouldnt be difficult to find. You are naive if you really think senior management shares detailed performance a strategic information on an earnings conference call. But then again you believe all kinds of other non-sense that has never been true about AA so I shouldn't really be surprised.

Whatever happens CLTs days as a European and Brazil gateway are coming to a screeching halt. People on here csn deny it all they want, but MIA is where the traffic is and people want to not CLT. I'm confident that flight operations and number of local employees in CLT will be rationalized over the coming years, mark my words. And yes it will impact the local economy but no one here shed a tear when UA closed their MIA hub in 2004 or that AA has gone from over 100 daily flights at Logan to a mere 34 today.

Josh

 
AA made $1.5B in a single quarter before any rationalization took place.  If they have to turn CLT into a desert (no pun intended... uh, yeah it was)... if they have to turn CLT into a desert to make $2.5B a quarter then so what?  

 

[737823]

AA made $1.5B in a single quarter before any rationalization took place.  If they have to turn CLT into a desert (no pun intended... uh, yeah it was)... if they have to turn CLT into a desert to make $2.5B a quarter then so what?  

Same could be said about pmAA "overly generous" domestic catering. Or the "overly generous" AAdvantage program. That didn't stop reforms to either of those.

Josh

 

[WorldTraveler]

no one is interested in seeing anyone lose their job.... first, foremost, and final.

but what some people fail to accept is that what I said years ago when the AA/US merger was proposed is that at its core, the AA/US network does little to complement itself on an int'l basis and instead competes a great deal internally WITH itself.

US was a predominantly domestic carrier with a TATL presence that was built around Star by offering low fares OUTSIDE of the joint venture.

AA built its network at the largest cities in the eastern US but still did not have the domestic size at those gates to fully compete against DL and UA.

Now, AA has to decide to either reduce its presence in some of the key markets at its own gateways or reduce former US hubs.

So far, it appears, CLT int'l is the first to be downsized.

There will very likely be more cuts. It is the result of the combination of hubs that AA/US built.

and, yes, Josh, US said before the merger that DCA was the highest margin hub and CLT was the highest in terms of total profitability.

that was before the merger when there were 4 hubs.

 

[nevergiveup]

If Ebola becomes anything like Sars did in the Pacific, then the biggest international  presence will suffer the most. Looking at the numbers, it seems to be well on its way. Hold on to those war bonds!

 

[737823]

no one is interested in seeing anyone lose their job.... first, foremost, and final.but what some people fail to accept is that what I said years ago when the AA/US merger was proposed is that at its core, the AA/US network does little to complement itself on an int'l basis and instead competes a great deal internally WITH itself.US was a predominantly domestic carrier with a TATL presence that was built around Star by offering low fares OUTSIDE of the joint venture.AA built its network at the largest cities in the eastern US but still did not have the domestic size at those gates to fully compete against DL and UA.Now, AA has to decide to either reduce its presence in some of the key markets at its own gateways or reduce former US hubs.So far, it appears, CLT int'l is the first to be downsized.There will very likely be more cuts. It is the result of the combination of hubs that AA/US built.and, yes, Josh, US said before the merger that DCA was the highest margin hub and CLT was the highest in terms of total profitability.that was before the merger when there were 4 hubs.

And when the larger scale cuts come to fruition the employees will get to use the wonderful protections in their CBAs Kev and 700 keep going on about. Afterall the union championed it and as 700 says:

No one is guaranteed a job in their city for the life of their career.
 
Its well know in the airline industry that you would have to move in order to maintain employment.
 
At least with a CBA there is a clear and determined rules that must be followed, unlike a non-union airline that can do what they want and they do.

Josh

 

[WorldTraveler]

precisely, Josh.

The problem is that none of that mattered post 9/11 when airlines did what they had to do to survive and cared less about the confrontation with labor that the cuts would create.

If Ebola becomes anything like Sars did in the Pacific, then the biggest international presence will suffer the most. Looking at the numbers, it seems to be well on its way. Hold on to those war bonds!

and, in general, overall industry cuts hit the WEAKEST players in a market, not the largest. ON an absolute size basis, the largest carriers might lose more but they have a lot more flesh to be able to "sacrifice" in order to stay alive.

and it still comes down to the fact that DL and UA are not aggressively growing their networks at the expense of profitability as AA is doing with its Asian and European growth while at the same time gearing up to face dramatically increased competition at DCA and DAL.

 

[robbedagain]

Our current cba rules regarding downsizing transfers cld not be more clearer tha whats written in it. Clt will remain a large hub despite ya all claims that there be major cuts... if ur in phx thats the one id worry about more so than clt