Skift Take
It sounds like the new American Airlines plans on staying in Charlotte for awhile.
US Airways CEO Doug Parker, in Charlotte Thursday to pump up support for his impending merger with American Airlines, made it clear that his airline expects to have a big say in choosing longtime aviation director Jerry Orr's successor.
Parker said he's neutral on the question of whether Charlotte City Council should be stripped of its control of the airport and give Charlotte Douglas International to a new, independent authority.
But he said it's very important to US Airways -- the airport's largest tenant by far -- that the next aviation director enjoy the same level of autonomy that Orr did for decades, and that Charlotte Douglas remain a low-cost hub.
"We think the world of Jerry," Parker said of the 72-year-old Orr, who has run the airport since 1989. The Observer reporte
