PSA Airlines Opens Charlotte Headquarters After Move From Ohio

PSA Airlines unveiled its new headquarters in Charlotte last week. The move makes it the only passenger airline based in North Carolina. The American Airlines subsidiary relocated from Dayton, Ohio, to Water Ridge Office Park in the Eagle Lake neighborhood.

More than 450 people will work at the site. This includes 150 workers who transferred from Ohio, 50 employees who were stationed in the area, and about 250 new hires. Over 80% of positions have been filled.

PSA runs an average of 730 flights each day. 130 depart from Charlotte. The company serves the American Eagle regional network, connecting passengers through Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

"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."

The carrier picked this city for good reasons. Charlotte hosts the most daily departures, and most training happens here. The headquarters sits about two miles from American's Charlotte Flight Training Center and several miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

About 40% of the Dayton staff chose to relocate. This figure exceeded what the company expected, according to spokesman Joe Horvath. Employees had three months to decide.

Jim Harkema, director of the integrated operations center, was one of more than 100 people who made the move. "It was both challenging and exciting," he said, according to The Charlotte Observer. "My wife and I are both empty-nesters, and we're acclimating to the area quite well."

The building occupies four out of five floors. The third floor remains vacant for expansion. The fourth floor houses the operations center, which manages dispatching, crew scheduling, and maintenance to monitor the airline's fleet of more than 150 planes in real time.

The entire first floor serves as a recruitment center. It processes about 1,500 new hires the airline brings on each year, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.

PSA will maintain a presence in Dayton. Hundreds of employees will continue working at the company's Dayton International Airport crew base and maintenance hangar.