Yahoo Finance Why Miami is heating up as a Charlotte airport destination for American and Frontier
American Airlines is adding more flights from Charlotte to Miami to keep up with competition at two of its hubs, industry experts say.
The airline is increasing the number of daily non-stop flights to Miami International Airport from eight to 11 out of Charlotte starting in October, according to Ishrion Aviation, a website covering the airline industry. American’s plan to add 21 more flights each week is a response to other low-fare carriers bringing the service to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the news outlet reported.
That’s on the heels of low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines announcing a new nonstop route between the two cities last week. It will start July 5.
American continues to add more flights to routes when other airlines enter their hub markets to avoid business mistakes in the past., analysts said.
Charlotte has one of the world’s busiest airports, and is the second largest hub for Fort Worth-based American Airlines in the U.S. The airline accounts for about 90% of all flights out of the airport.
Citing U.S. Department of Transportation data, Ishrion Aviation also reported that American’s market share between Miami and Charlotte went down year-over-year because of Spirit Airlines, which began service in 2019 through Fort Lauderdale’s airport.
During that time, American had 90% of the Charlotte-to-Miami market. After Spirit increased services and added a CLT-MIA route in 2022, American’s share approached 60%, according to Ishrion Aviation.
CLT is ranked as the seventh-busiest airport worldwide for arrivals and departures, according to the Airport Council International’s preliminary rankings for 2022.
American Airlines did not respond to a request for comment from The Charlotte Observer.
Not walking away
The Frontier route to south Florida is a recent Charlotte addition for the Denver-based company. Five others started this month and three more are coming in May and June — a total of 15 routes out of CLT.
American adding CLT to MIA flights is a result of former American CEO Scott Kirby learning the hard way about competition entering the market a decade ago, according to airline industry analyst Bob Mann, of R.W. Mann & Company.
“They initially failed to (keep up by adding more flights) at (Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport) back in 2014 and paid the price for it,” Mann said.
Major airlines should not underestimate the profit damage that can be done by failing to respond to customers having low-fare options, Mann said. But he said American continues to respond.
When it comes to competition, Mann said customers may consider add-on costs to low advertised prices. This includes fees such as seat selection and checked bags.
“I think the recent (U.S. Department of Transportation) regulations requiring more (price) disclosure probably makes Frontier less competitive, all things considered, because they have to disclose those additional fees upfront,” he said.
More low-cost/tickets will be sold, according to Mann, but he’s not expecting a price war.
Mann, who worked for American Airlines in the 1970s and 1980s, said American historically has not shied away from competition at its major hubs.
American has been less aggressive when it comes to competition at at non-hub airports on the East Coast, he added. But with major hubs like Charlotte and Miami, Mann said it would be unimaginable that American would not make adjustments to compete for customers.
“Realistically speaking, it’s not a place where you’re expecting them to walk away,” he said.
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