Charlotte,North Carolina Leads Way with Freight Intermodal Facility at Airport. Will We See a Similar One for Passengers?

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/norfolk-southerns-new-charlotte-regional-intermodal-facility-will-support-growing-rail-traffic-and-less-crowded-highways-149840725.html

Charlotte is leading the way in an intermodal freight facility at Charlotte Douglas Airport (CLT).  The facility will enable transfers of freight containers between ocean-going, rail, and highway modes.  It isn't clear how the facility will interface with the airport and airlines and what security measures such as known shippers and TSA requirements will be dealt with.   Additionally, little has been said about CLT's dependence on highway transportation access for passengers.  As of yet there is no integrated light rail, regional North Carolina Rail norAmtrak facility at the airport.  Charlotte is only served with four Amtrak trains north-south per day, and two of them, the South and North bound Crescent Limited  - and the only rail passenger link to Atlanta pass through Charlotte in the wee hours of the morning.   CLT is also burdened by a near monopoly on the part of US Airways and its outsourced "regional" subsidiaries with astronomical fares - this extends to regional flights such as from Raleigh to Atlanta or Chattanooga via the CLT hub.

I'm Shocked! Shocked! 30 Years after De-regulation the US Airline Industry is getting less competitive and becoming monopolistic?

http://atwonline.com/international-aviation-regulation/news/white-paper-lists-aa-us-merger-competition-concerns-0807

White paper lists AA-US merger competition concerns:

According To Air Transport World's, Karen Walker, a merger of American Airlines (AA) and US Airways (US) could substantially reduce competition, leaving four majors controlling over 70% of the US domestic market, according to a white paper released Wednesday.

US has made clear its interest in pursuing a merger with AA, which is restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and AA CEO Tom Horton in July said it made sense to evaluate the possibility, but no formal process has begun (ATW Daily News, July 11).

In a jointly produced paper, the American Antitrust Institute (AAI) and Business Travel Coalition (BTC) say the merger could lead to the creation of a four powerful, closed airline systems that would be virtually impermeable to competition and could create a hostile environment for low-cost carriers (LCC) and regional airlines.

Is anybody really surprised at this.  As some observers prophesized de-regulation has resulted in less competition; loss of service to many communities; and travelers complain about shoddy customer service.  Most airlines have made lack of communication and contact with their customers an art form...and business travelers pay thousands of dollars to fly business class to avoid being stuffed like sardines into three by three 31 inch pitch seats, the risk of deep veinb thrombosis, and being bracketed by whining children. 

Is the air travel "bubble" about to burst in the USA?  Can A4A get its members to adopt better business practices?

Empire State's Capital loses more air service. Opportunities for Air Taxis, Charters, and Amtrak!

http://www.aviationpros.com/news/10755971/new-airline-for-albany-newark-flights?goback=%2Egde_2274517_member_143172623

Empire State's Capital loses more air service.

Colgan Air is ending service from Albany on Sept. 5, but United Airlines apparently has found a replacement. ExpressJet Airlines will take over Colgan's United Express flights between Albany International Airport and Newark...Colgan Air is not much of a loss...they have been plagued with safety issues. The replacement carrier, is not really United...it is an out-sourced so-called regional carrier that isn't really "regional" and some will argue has lower safety standards than the large carriers it contracts with. Travelers from the Albany area are now faced with a quandary if they need to fly to Europe out of JFK....although there are many flights on United out of EWR, links to JFK might be problematic. Upstate New York has been severely hampered since airline deregulation with the loss of Mohawk Airlines into the Allegheny and US Airways conglomerate. Apparently, for example, if a business person wishes to fly from Albany to Buffalo one must fly out to Chicago and connect back. The loss of local point-to-point routes on American, Eastern, and the like has made air travel extremely expensive and inconvenient for most centers in Upstate New York. So-called "regional airlines" such as ExpressJet are not in any way similar to the pre-1975 local service airlines such as Mohawk that actually served a region. In the absence of a successor to Mohawk, which ExpressJet is not, the Capital Region might be best served by expanded Amtrak Service to and from New York, Boston, and even Montreal to provide links to those international hubs. Air taxis can offer fares for business groups that are much more competitive than the fares airlines such as United, US Airways and even Southwest on sectors such as Albany-Elmira, and other destinations in the Northeast. Such operators are job generators and lend much to the economy.

Business Jet Sales Growth

http://www.flyingmag.com/news/jetnet-report-shows-slow-growth-bizjet-market

With the legacy airlines offering fewer point to point flights; and with connections through hubs that can cost thousands of dollars; and with itineraries that can be slower than the days of the DC-3, the future is looking brighter for bizjet operators, especially air taxis.  When it costs up to $2,000 to fly from Pittsburgh to Scranton via Charlotte (!!) on a small cramped aircraft for each leg hiring an air taxi could be pretty attractive!