American Airlines (AAL) has big plans for Charlotte.
This summer, Charlotte, N.C., is set to become American Airlines second largest hub, with a projected 600 daily flights.
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But the airline isn’t content with that impressive number. Instead, it recently broke ground on a new, 10,000-foot runway, which will be American’s fourth in the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
The $1.6 billion runway is located west of the terminal complex between existing runways 18C/36C and 18R/36L, and is set to open in 2027. It will increase the airport’s capacity by 25% in the city, allowing American Airlines to eventually operate 800 departures a day.
The American South keeps growing in both population size and in importance to the aviation industry. Delta’s hub in the Atlantic is the main connection between Florida and Virginia, whereas American is seemingly intent on making Charlotte one of its main bases of operations in the region.
The airline currently operates nine banks, or groupings of flights that take about one-hour, in Charlotte, and each bank does about 70 arrivals and 70 departures a day. Those numbers could both increase by 20 arrivals and departures by 2028.
“What’s holding us back right now is regional capacity,” said American Chief Operating Officer David Seymour. “Right now we have 100 regional aircraft that aren’t flying. As those are coming back, we’re putting them in predominant hubs.”
American Airlines is also building gates to accommodate more passengers and flights. The airport has 114 gates currently, and American occupies 91. Ten new gates are to open on Concourse A in 2024 that will be used by Delta and other airlines, and American is set to take over most of their current remaining gates.
But American cannot expand indefinitely. Like all other airlines, it is suffering from a pilot shortage, and has begun cutting flights to small towns and regional airports, and has recently stopped flying from Charlotte to markets such as New Haven, Conn., and Toledo, Ohio, both of which the airline no longer services.
