PSA Airlines takes off in Charlotte: Inside the company’s new Queen City HQ
After packing up and leaving Dayton, Ohio, last fall for Charlotte, Jim Harkema with PSA Airlines decorated his new office with models and pictures of aircraft from the airlines he worked with during his career.
As director of the integrated operations center at the airline’s new headquarters off Ridge Water Parkway, he was one of more than 100 people who made a life-changing decision after PSA decided to move its corporate headquarters from Ohio to North Carolina.
“It was both challenging and exciting,” he said, of settling in back in October. “My wife and I are both empty-nesters, and we’re acclimating to the area quite well.”
PSA Airlines officially opened its new headquarters last week. With the doors now open, PSA became the only passenger airline based in North Carolina. The American Airlines subsidiary is at Water Ridge Office Park in the Eagle Lake neighborhood.
PSA operates an average of 730 flights daily, with 130 out of Charlotte, PSA serves the American Eagle regional network, which also includes American Airlines hubs in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and the Dallas–Fort Worth region.
The relocation cost was not provided by the airline.
What’s inside the PSA headquarters building?
PSA now occupies four out of five floors in its newly renovated building, leaving the third floor vacant for future growth.
Harkema’s office is on the fourth floor, considered the “nerve center,” which includes jobs such as dispatching, crew scheduling and maintenance to monitor the airline’s fleet of more than 150 planes in real time.
“It’s solving puzzles from the time you walk in the door to the time you leave ... ,” he said. “Even though we’re dealing with weather and maintenance and crew staffing, that mix is always different.”
Part of his job includes staying on top of the weather. It snows a lot more in Ohio than in Charlotte, but Harkema was keeping his eyes on a recent snowfall for a rare threat here.
“It may be a little more than a dusting,” he said, giving a meteorologist-like report. “It all depends on how deep that low pressure gets ... and how far out in the Atlantic it goes. We’re always watching.”
Recruitment remains a top priority.
The entire first floor of the new headquarters is a dedicated recruitment center designed to process about 1,500 new hires the airline brings on annually, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.
The first floor also has a lounge for workers to take breaks, a “selfie” mural and a wall for award recognitions.
The second floor is dedicated to safety, maintenance planning and engineering teams, while the fifth floor is home to executive offices, human resources teams and a professional media studio.
From ‘Birthplace of Aviation’ to ‘First in Flight’
The move carries a bit of irony for the aviation industry. By moving from Dayton to North Carolina, PSA has transitioned from the hometown of the Wright Brothers to the state where they took their first flight.
“I thought it was pretty unique,” Harkema said. “Charlotte got its own airline when we moved here.”
Airlines jobs taking flight in Charlotte
More than 450 people will be working at the new PSA facility.
This includes a mix of workers who moved from Ohio and new hires in the Charlotte area: 150 from Dayton, 50 employees already based in Charlotte and about 250 new hires. More than 80% of the jobs have been filled.
While moving was challenging, 40% of the Dayton staff chose to relocate to Charlotte — a figure that significantly exceeded company expectations, according to spokesman Joe Horvath. Employees had three months to make the decision.
“We didn’t want to leave our non-relocators out of the equation,” added Christine Hollanshead, vice president of human resources and talent. “We had local career fairs… We really wanted to make sure it was a careful closing experience for them so they could continue to have good thoughts and memories of their experience with PSA.”
Why did PSA move to Charlotte?
PSA came to Charlotte because the city has the most daily departures for the airline and most of its training is conducted in the area, according to the company.
The headquarters is about two miles from American’s Charlotte Flight Training Center and several miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a main hub for American Airlines.
“Because of what Charlotte offers, PSA has a stronger foundation for continued growth,” said Dion Flannery, President and CEO of PSA Airlines, in a news release. “And we believe the benefit will be mutual, as the region will continue having reliable aviation partners, a top employer, and a responsible corporate citizen headquartered in its backyard.”
PSA will keep a presence in Dayton, with hundreds of employees, such as pilots, flight attendants, aircraft maintenance technicians and supply chain professionals. They will continue to be based at the company’s Dayton International Airport crew base and maintenance hangar.
In the meantime, Harkema is thrilled about PSA’s new chapter and seeing the Integrated Operations Center team in one building — something that hasn’t happened in about 20 years.
“We haven’t all been in the same building since 2007,” he said. “It’s been a long since we had a complete airline in one building. This is a really good thing for us.”
