Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
Similar discussion in
How to get UA to open a UC at an airport (TPA) where they don't have one?
Questions to be answered
Would having a UC at CLT increase UA's CLT traffic?
But other similar airports have UCs. that is not a valid metric, those are sunken costs. A new CLT UC would require new capital costs and then ongoing operating expenses? What new money would fund it?
CLT is an O/D airport. Arriving passengers don't use UC so it would be based on departing passenger. What is departure profile look like? What hours of operations be needed?
Does the space even exist?
Would the AA dominated airport support a UA UC?
Does UA plan to expand its CLT operations?
Profile of UA's existing customer?
Doubtful that a UA club would increase traffic in an American fortress hub, who flies all markets UA flies more times a day with larger aircraft. DL adding a Sky Club in the next year wouldn't do any favors. For year ended March 2023:
American 69.91% (just shy of 31 million pax... includes enplaned and deplaned, cut in half for departing pax roughly)
Delta 2.3% (1 million)
Southwest 1.57% (693,000)
United 1.23% (546,000)
Spirit 1.21% (534,000)
Additionally Lufthansa operates between 5 and 7 flights per week to Munich (currently uses The Club at CLT as its Business Class lounge - which is about as far as one can get from the LH gate area in the terminal, presumably would use a UA facility if available)
No expansion of UA operations known, and unlikely other than shuffling frequencies on current markets and slight up/downgauges of equipment. Station is currently fully outsourced to G2 Services above/below wing. UA does not have a dedicated local General Manager - it is run by another station (used to be the manager in PHL, since she retired I'm not sure if it still resides there... she had family in NC).
Existing customer is largely making onward connections on UA. I don't know local elite population, but anecdotally, Silver/Gold upgrade percentage is pretty good. Non-revs commonly make First Class to EWR/IAD. 1K/GS pre-boarding can vary but it's nothing like other field stations like an Omaha or Raleigh.
United is in a newly built concourse. There is possible lounge space on a mezzanine level but would require complete build-out.
UA's CLT flight schedule for this coming Monday, 14th August is below that I ran from OAG just now... Departures run from 6am to almost 9pm.
