Come July 8, US Airways will again be offering a daily non-stop to Montreal. This is the airline’s third stab at making Montreal (YUL) work from CLT.
The interesting thing here is the choice of aircraft: an Embraer 175, which seats 86. Little bigger than what I had expected they might use if/when they gave this yet market another go.
US Airways is very strong in the Northeast and it likes to funnel traffic to second-tier cities through its major NE stations while offering only limited non-stop service from Charlotte, its biggest hub. (US Airways has six flights a day between Montreal and Philadelphia.) The exceptions typically are evening departures from Charlotte with morning returns — not much of an opportunity cost involved in those offerings. And that’s what the new Montreal flight will be: The flight to YUL leaves at 8:00pm and arrives at 10:23pm. The flight from Montreal leaves at 8:00am and arrives in Charlotte at 10:32.
Bonus observation: What other destinations in the Northeast and eastern Canada might get a non-stop from Charlotte in the future? The best bet — especially when the economy picks up and fuel prices come down — is Burlington, VT.
