Annoying Security Line At Charlotte Airport Is Maybe A Good Sign For American Airlines
by Ted Reed
The tide changed quickly for American Airlines.
Last Friday, American was the subject of overstated bankruptcy chatter and its slumping shares were down 65% for the year.
Then the stock rose 15% on Tuesday, as investors noticed the continuing rise in air travel despite the continuing coronavirus crisis; American prepared to fly an expanded summer schedule starting June 4, and a long line to clear security at Charlotte Douglas International Airport was the subject of news coverage. Charlotte is American’s second largest hub.
American’s share price gains reflected improvement for the entire airline industry, which arguably reached a turning point on Tuesday, when airline stocks soared. Among the top seven airlines, share gains ranged from 13% to 23%. Top gainers were Spirit, up 23%United, up 16% and American up 15%.
Gains continued Wednesday. In early afternoon trading, shares in the top seven airlines were up between 2% and 9%. American traded at around $12, up about 5%, but still down around 60% year-to-date, an indication that all of the recent progress is relative.
On Tuesday, according to the Transportation Security Administration, 264,843 people cleared security at U.S. airports, about 11% of the number that cleared security on the same date in 2019. The low, reached in April, was about 4%.
Meanwhile, the video of a the long security line at Charlotte Douglas was posted on Twitter Monday by a Charlotte TV station. On the negative side, the photos recalled all the inconveniences of packed airports.
On the plus side, same thing.
One online headline read, “Fuming Passengers Wait in Long Lines at North Carolina Airport Over Holiday Weekend.” While the line was bothersome, it reflected increased distance between passengers.
“The longer TSA checkpoint line at Charlotte was due to a combination of social distancing practices and holiday travel,” said a TSA spokeswoman. She said the longest wait time at CLT on Monday was 28 minutes, and that occurred only during the noon hour. An American Airlines spokeswoman said no flights were delayed due to long security wait times.
American, meanwhile, prepared to fly a summer schedule that focuses on Charlotte and Dallas. A spokesman said most current American passengers connect via one of the two hubs.
The new configuration for the airline industry shows more traffic through hubs due to insufficient traffic to fill non-stop flights. With domestic travel returning before international travel, the best performance can be expected at interior hubs with heavy domestic travel. These hubs include Atlanta and Denver as well as Charlotte and Dallas.
American’s summer schedule shows 2,312 departures on Thursday June 4, up from 1,965 on Thursday, May 28. American will have 2,407 departures on Friday, June 5, up from 1,960 on Friday, May 29.
For Charlotte, the average number of daily departures in June will be 321, up from 285 in May. For Dallas/Fort Worth, the average number of daily departures in June will be 414, up from 357 in May.
Before the crisis, Charlotte was at about 700 daily departures and DFW was above 900.
In May, American is operating only four departures flights from Charlotte to the three New York airports, with two to LaGuardia and one each to Newark and JFK. The number in May 2019 was 24 daily departures, including 10 to LaGuardia, eight to Newark and six to JFK.
The number in June will be ten, with four to LaGuardia and three each to EWR and JFK. That means more passengers between New York and points south and west, who once flew non-stop, can connect through Charlotte.