The Charlotte Observer is too Eurocentric. Well, at least their story on the possibility of CLT getting more international flights is way too Eurocentric. It also uses a bizarre definition of international, and badly misunderstands US Airways route structure and business model.
The article correctly notes that Philadelphia is US Airways major hub for flights across the Atlantic, that the airline is very eager to add more flights to Europe from there and is having problems upon gates at PHL. CLT’s problem is its relative lack of population. All, true enough, as far as it goes. Would have to throw distance as it relates to 757 operations over the pond, but that may be asking too much.
By implication readers would get the impression though that Philly is US Airways major international hub period. As in for flights to any and all destinations out of the United States. Bzzzz. Wrong. Sorry. The focus of the airline’s operations to the south — the Caribbean and Latin America — is CLT (17 flights on weekday, double that on Saturdays), not PHL (9 flights a weekday). In essence, location trumps population. And because of this role, it should come as no surprise that US Airways applied for flights to Bogota from Charlotte, not Philadelphia, as it just did.
US Airways’ expansion to the south has stalled in the past three years. It’s an open — and interesting — question to what degree it will resume and when. It’s also an issue that’s largely independent of adding flights to Europe, be it out of PHL or CLT. The Bogota application is a an encouraging sign certainly. Perhaps the next time the Observer does an article about international flights out of Charlotte it will think this issue worth of mention. Or just say it’s writing about flights to Europe and leave it at that.
