Then there is the paradox that sometimes the raggediest terminals, when owned by an organization that clearly has the wherewithal to fix the situation, are a good indicator that there is a plan in the works, and so touch-ups don't make sense ... something those not in the know such as ourselves won't know until a roll out. This doesn't just apply to airport terminals, though think of all the re-made airports since the advent of passenger fees. But also think of Disney, over and over again. Anyway, those passenger fees keep rolling in, massively. They have to go somewhere.

I agree that CLT is very unlikely to get any Asia flights. All other AA hubs are better options, and particularly the one you forgot mentioning, ORD. The weakness in the New AA network is clearly an Asian connecting hub for the US west coast. DL is building out SEA and UA has SAN. LAX (like JFK on the east coast) is more of an OD airport than a connecting hub in my opinion.

And PHL already has so much domestic pmUS - feed - traffic. Why invent another wheel? ...So to speak.

Gee, seems not long ago that US was very significant; shame they let the PS smile fade. Oh, and AA; the same thing with OC. HP tried it too; couldn't make it work either.

Very significant presence, yes. But, not a fortress. Didn't see all those FL and WN birds?

Between, EA, SO, DL, and J7/FL/WN ATL has always been a two airline town.

1) Yes, they all have tended to gut the SF-LA run.

2) Dunno whether or how it fits here, but a friend more familiar with WN than I am says that WN is already betraying its unofficial "commitment" to ATL.

Sure PHL might be a good option for the east coast, but why would I consider flying through there is I lived west of the Central time-zone?

I didn't forget anything; I see JFK, PHL and LAX getting new flights to Asia, not ORD, which already sees flights to TYO, PVG and PEK. PHL has flights to none of those, JFK has no AA metal to Asia and LAX has just TYO and PVG.

Time was when we wouldn't fly east to fly west, so the airlines wouldn't make us, but now we do it all the time. And, while airlines recognize that it's something that strikes people as wrong, that perception is subsiding, too. But you don't have to if you don't want to. :)

I'm shocked, shocked to learn that an airline is betraying commitments; I'm about as shocked as Renault was to learn that gambling wa going on at Rick's.

Perhaps a few flights to existing destinations in Asia could be added from JFK but more than that AA needs to grow to new cities in Asia, and I think ORD is most suited for that as it is more centrally located for connecting traffic. I'm thinking Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and a few more cities in China to start.

After hubs in STL, PIT, CMH, CLE, MEM, CVG(?) were all closed the likelihood of having to backtrack increased


Basically all of these destinations are not feasible as nonstops from the US

From what I have seen of the CLT masterplan, and echoing Brett Cagle's comments, this would likely be the first step: (But that's a hell of a long walk from the end of E)
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...pse8691e02.jpg

The next steps would be to expand B (and eventually C) like this:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...psa6ef5065.jpg



Long term, with continued growth, and buy in of AA, I see CLT moving to a toast rack model as a replacement for B & C, with E and the new 'Rental Car Road Terminal' remaining where they are.

In terms of the walk from E to A, the long long long term plan shows a connector between the daily and new hourly parking decks, where you could cut over from E to A. These images aren't the best, but it still gives some idea of what the ultimate vision would be:

http://www.twgarchitects.com/portfol...o_aviation=13#

And how! Flew through CLT last month for the first time in many years and was shocked at how congested the place was. IMHO it's become worse than ATL and as bad as PHL. Funny thing was the insanity lasted for about 90 minutes while a bank of flights was passing through. After that is was calm and lovely.

Personally, I'd be happy if they'd just rip the carpet out of the concourses and get some better lighting.

As nova08 pointed out, none of those cities is very likely as a nonstop from ORD (or any other AA gateway). SIN, KUL and BKK aren't even viable as nonstops by their nation's flag carriers. If you're thinking that AA metal will fly to those cities one-stop via NRT, I give that a zero probability as well. AA has a capable immunized joint venture partner in JAL, and connections to those far-flung destinations beyond TYO are well within JAL's expertise.

And if anybody is going to fly nonstop to those cities beyond TYO, it will be DL from the closest hub, Seattle. SIN, KUL and BKK are just too costly at the current price of fuel (because you have to burn so much fuel just to carry the fuel for such a long nonstop flight). That circular calculation makes ultra-long flights uneconomical.

A few more cities in China? Perhaps, but the first order of business should be to take away more China passengers from UA, including NYC. JFK to PVG and PEK would help do that.

Another possibility is ICN from LAX, maybe ORD and perhaps JFK.