American Airlines restores some CLT flights to popular destinations after COVID-19 cuts
As North Carolina reopens amid an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, American Airlines will continue to restore flights in Charlotte, although at a significantly reduced capacity.
American is the dominant carrier at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, American Airlines operated 700 daily departures from Charlotte. In July, the airline said it is scheduled to operate 415 daily departures from the Charlotte airport, which is about 59% of what its service was for July 2019.
But that’s up from May and June, when American was operating about 49% of 2019 daily departures from Charlotte, airline spokeswoman Crystal Byrd said Wednesday in an email.
The airline said it will be increasing the frequency of flights from Charlotte to destinations customers are booking the most, such as major cities in Florida. Byrd said these stops include Pensacola, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, Fort Walton Beach and Sarasota.
In addition, she said Charlotte will see an increase in American Airlines flights to Asheville, as well as to Savannah, Ga., and Charleston.
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Byrd said the airline will be increasing the frequency of flights from three flights a day to six to eight flights a day for these frequently booked destinations.
American has postponed all transatlantic flights until August, although Byrd said the airline will resume flights to Caribbean destinations sooner. She said service from Charlotte to Montego Bay, Jamaica, will resume June 15.
“We’re seeing a slow but steady rise in domestic demand. After a careful review of data, we’ve built a July schedule to match,” American’s senior vice president of network strategy Vasu Raja said in a press release. “Our July schedule includes the smallest year-over-year capacity reduction since March.“
Raja said the airline will continue to look for ways to restore service.
CLT operations increase
The Charlotte airport said an increase in flights from American Airlines will help CLT by allowing operations to continue to ramp up. More concessions and retail stores can open as more passengers start using the airport, which will increase revenues, the airport said.
The airport said it will operate about 300 flights per day in June, compared to approximately 800 flights a day it averaged pre-coronavirus.
CLT recommends passengers arrive at least two hours early to accommodate longer wait times due to social distancing.
The airport also recommends wearing face coverings, washing hands frequently and using hand sanitizer at one of the 30 hand sanitizing stations located in the terminals.
