Lufthansa Reaffirms Commitment to Charlotte-Munich Route
Jan 22, 2014, 7:13 am
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Lufthansa Reaffirms Commitment to Charlotte-Munich Route
This (from our newsroom) doesn't seem to have been covered here but it sounds like good news for a lot of German companies in the U.S. I've never flown out of CLT but maybe I'll try that flight now for my next MUC trip.
Lufthansa Reaffirms Commitment to Charlotte-Munich Route
Lufthansa Reaffirms Commitment to Charlotte-Munich Route
Lufthansa, Germany’s flagship carrier, said Tuesday that it will continue to operate its daily flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to Munich.
The withdrawal of US Airways, Lufthansa’s partner in the Star Alliance, had led to speculation that the airline would discontinue the flight. Lufthansa held a series of meetings this week to say: “We are committed to stay in Charlotte.” US Airways will leave the alliance at the end of March and join oneworld, an alliance anchored by American Airlines and British Airways…..
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The withdrawal of US Airways, Lufthansa’s partner in the Star Alliance, had led to speculation that the airline would discontinue the flight. Lufthansa held a series of meetings this week to say: “We are committed to stay in Charlotte.” US Airways will leave the alliance at the end of March and join oneworld, an alliance anchored by American Airlines and British Airways…..
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Jan 22, 2014, 7:26 am
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Jan 22, 2014, 8:09 am
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There is more to CLT than BMW... true, the German automotive suppliers have set up shop in the region to supply VW/MB/BMW in the south, but the banking related to BoA and the chemical industry associated to the research triangle are also heavy users of the connections the MUC flight offers.
Jan 22, 2014, 8:13 am
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There is more to CLT than BMW... true, the German automotive suppliers have set up shop in the region to supply VW/MB/BMW in the south, but the banking related to BoA and the chemical industry associated to the research triangle are also heavy users of the connections the MUC flight offers.
Will the loss of the STAR hub here at CLT have impact for these groups of customers?
Jan 22, 2014, 8:16 am
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AFAIK CLT was mostly O&D traffic, the connections were mostly European customers using US to get to southern US and the Caribbean. I think that will continue since LH already has agreements with AA to transport such traffic onwards...
Jan 22, 2014, 8:16 am
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There is more to CLT than BMW... true, the German automotive suppliers have set up shop in the region to supply VW/MB/BMW in the south, but the banking related to BoA and the chemical industry associated to the research triangle are also heavy users of the connections the MUC flight offers.
I know for sure a bank who does much better contribution than BMW on this route especially in premium traffic.
Jan 22, 2014, 8:18 am
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Jan 22, 2014, 8:19 am
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There is more to CLT than BMW... true, the German automotive suppliers have set up shop in the region to supply VW/MB/BMW in the south, but the banking related to BoA and the chemical industry associated to the research triangle are also heavy users of the connections the MUC flight offers.
Jan 22, 2014, 9:39 am
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I have considered ATL and CLT to be the best connecting hubs from Europe to Florida. Let's see what changes are coming?
Jan 22, 2014, 2:16 pm
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I wonder how much cargo (from auto mfrs) goes by plane however. Cars of course do not (except for individual instances such as for an event) and most parts - including engines - come by ship.
Jan 22, 2014, 3:01 pm
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To settle the mystery I sent an email to a contact @ Cargo to see if he can provide any info on cargo loads to CLT - now I'm just plain curious.
Last edited by LufthansaFlyer; Jan 22, 2014 at 3:09 pm
Jan 23, 2014, 1:33 am
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We had a plant in the GSP area and the freight space on the LH CLT flight was always taken when we needed it. BMW & co fly cargo direct into GSP. With todays automotive supply kept very tight a small tool or a missing box of fasteners can hold up a line for a few hours/days. Then airfreight suddenly becomes very inexpensive. 
Jan 23, 2014, 2:00 am
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We had a plant in the GSP area and the freight space on the LH CLT flight was always taken when we needed it. BMW & co fly cargo direct into GSP. With todays automotive supply kept very tight a small tool or a missing box of fasteners can hold up a line for a few hours/days. Then airfreight suddenly becomes very inexpensive.
BTW, same situation in ATL. Even Delta, on the STR-ATL nonstop, thought about upgrading its equipment. So many companies have to take what is left over and ATL is certainly a viable option in the region as well, when speed is the major concern.
Jan 23, 2014, 3:17 am
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We had a plant in the GSP area and the freight space on the LH CLT flight was always taken when we needed it. BMW & co fly cargo direct into GSP. With todays automotive supply kept very tight a small tool or a missing box of fasteners can hold up a line for a few hours/days. Then airfreight suddenly becomes very inexpensive.
I have seen helicopters delivering 0.5 EUR parts to factories because of the risk of interrupting the supply chain. Something to keep in mind when locating your factories.