Charlotte (North Carolina) gets European flights

[sn26567]

US Airways says that it will expand its international presence at its Charlotte, North Carolina, hub when the airline begins a daily non-stop seasonal summer service between Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Madrid and Dublin in May 2011.

The new flights will complement US Airways' daily, non-stop year-round service to both destinations from Philadelphia, the airline's main gateway to Europe. Madrid will be served by a Boeing B767-200 ER aircraft with seating for 18 in Envoy, US Airways' international Business Class, and 186 in the main cabin. Dublin is operated with a Boeing B757 with seating for 12 in Envoy and 164 in the main cabin. US Airways is a member of Star Alliance.

Source: AERBT and www.usairways.com

[Ozzie1969]

That's interesting. I have relatives in North Carolina.

[jumpjet]

The title of the thread is slightly misleading as US Airways have had a daily service from Charlotte to London [Gatwick I think] for several years, unless of course you don't consider the UK as part of Europe.

[earthman]

The title of the thread is slightly misleading as US Airways have had a daily service from Charlotte to London [Gatwick I think] for several years, unless of course you don't consider the UK as part of Europe.

The UK generally doesn't seem to consider itself as part of Europe, which is referred to as 'the continent'. Why should we?

[fets]

CDG, FRA, MUC, LGW and FCO were already daily flights from CLT. As there are no *A flights from BRU to DUB, and MAD is kind of out of the way, these extra flights are probably not targeted at the BRU-CLT market.

[BrightCedars]

CDG, FRA, MUC, LGW and FCO were already daily flights from CLT. As there are no *A flights from BRU to DUB, and MAD is kind of out of the way, these extra flights are probably not targeted at the BRU-CLT market.

Obviously the best way to serve the CLT-BRU market would be to run a CLT-BRU operation.

Still, US could decide to give it a try later down the road if this seems to work. I assume LH has CLT covered out of Germany already. Are they even operating PHL-BRU daily year round by now?

[Megaman]

LH flies from Munich on its own metal to Charlotte. I think some companies in Belgium would appreciate a direct flight (Delhaize) but I don't see many.

[fets]

Still, US could decide to give it a try later down the road if this seems to work. I assume LH has CLT covered out of Germany already. Are they even operating PHL-BRU daily year round by now?

BRU-CLT is over the range of the 757's US is operating. So they need to be able to fill a 767 or A33x. Don't see that happening in the near future.
PHL-BRU is year round again since this year, x13 during winter season. (like two years ago).

[earthman]

What is there in CLT anyway?

[regi]

What is there in CLT anyway?

well, the US branch of Delhaize Food Lion , as another member already hinted.
But most importantly: Bank of America.
and this comes from wiki:
The following Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in the Charlotte metropolitan area, in order of their rank: Bank of America, Lowe's in suburban Mooresville, Nucor (steel producer), Duke Energy, Sonic Automotive, Family Dollar, Goodrich Corporation, and SPX Corporation (industrial technology). Other major companies headquartered or with corporate operations in Metro Charlotte include Time Warner Cable (formerly a business unit of Fortune 500 company Time Warner), Speed Channel, ESPNU, Continental Tire North America (formerly Continental/General Tire), Muzak, Belk, Harris Teeter, Meineke Car Care Center, Lance, Inc, Carolina Foods Inc, Bojangles', Carlisle Companies, LendingTree, Compass Group USA, Food Lion, Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated Company (the nation's second largest Coca-Cola bottler), and the Carolina Beverage Corporation (makers of Cheerwine, Sun Drop, and others) in suburban Salisbury, North Carolina.[citation needed] US Airways regional carrier CCAir was headquartered in Charlotte
Together with a mere 800,000 inhabitants it could be a rare winner.