New Runway at KCLT Brings in More Passengers

Credit: John Corsi

Earlier this year I wrote my first article, “New Runway Props up KCLT,” and since then Charlotte/Douglas Intl (KCLT) has released a few updated statistics that help prove just how much the runway has helped the airport grow.

In 2010 KCLT had almost 11% growth in number of passengers using the airport. For the first part of 2011 the growth has continued; not just with an increase in passengers, but also by catapulting KCLT three spots on the list of most passengers in the world – bringing it to spot 22 on the list of busiest airports.

The new runway (18R/36L) is KCLT’s largest at 9,000 feet and is made entirely of concrete to allow it the most operational time possible between repairs. 

KCLT has also brought its spot up from 9 to 7 on Airline Council International’s list of busiest airports by aircraft with almost 530,000 aircraft movements per year; an almost 4% increase on the year before.

The higher increase in passengers serviced at KCLT over the amount of aircraft coming to and from Charlotte likely relates to the larger runway the airport is taking on bigger aircraft. Examples such as Lufthansa’s A340 flights coming through KCLT every day, and the Antonov An-225 that made a visit to Charlotte earlier this year. Other Soviet era big rigs like the An-124 also make occasional visits to the airport along with America’s heavy lifters like the C-17, and the daily C-130 flights coming through the “Queen City’s” airport.

Even with all this expansion everyone knows that to make money, you have to spend it, and spend it KCLT did. With a $324 million price tag, many questioned the wisdom of the new runway, but a $3 fee on every ticket out of Charlotte has turned this heavy burden into a big money maker that will allow the airport to bring in new profits and pay off federal loans totaling over $100 million. That $3 increase is barely noticeable with Jet A fuel prices reaching $6.10, $0.18 down from when I wrote my article in April of this year.

With almost 16 million passengers coming through Charlotte according to publicly available statistics, the airport has generated an extra cushion of almost $48 million on tickets alone in just the first five months of this year. That big number though isn’t counting existing profit, extra money being made on the increase in aircraft parking and refueling at the airport, and other fees the airport is able to collect on the new flights.

Things are looking up for the airport in a struggling banking city that had thrived in the housing market bubble prior to the recession. The airport is a hub and headquarters for US Airways, one of the nation’s largest airlines, and also houses one of the biggest aviation museums in the country and an Air National Guard Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

Sources: Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Airport Council International