Charlotte Douglas International Airport recently started work on a new nine-gate concourse for all airlines besides American Airlines that operate out of the airport. This will bring the number of gates available for such airlines to 21. Here’s an early test case of whether there’s actually a need for such gates:
JetBlue (JBLU) today announced it is further growing its presence at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) with plans to operate an average of 140 daily flights in the winter in the coming years. The expansion will result in roughly 75 percent growth from the carrier’s current size at its South Florida focus city.
As part of JetBlue’s ongoing expansion the airline is adding new nonstop service to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) and increasing the number of flights to Nassau, Bahamas’ Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS). The airline will now operate nonstop flights to 46 destinations from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. More flights and new nonstop destinations are set to be announced later this year.
JetBlue currently has four flights a day from CLT — two flights each to JFK and Boston — as many flights a day as the airline originally offered when it came to the Queen City a decade ago. The airline also flies to RDU and does currently fly RDU-FLL.
The only non-American Airlines service from CLT to Florida is a seasonal twice-a-week flight on a 30-seat Via Air turboprop to St. Augustine. Adding competition to south Florida and beyond is thus a big deal.
