At its peak in 2010, the unemployment rate in the Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir metropolitan area hit 15.3 percent, the highest in modern North Carolina history. Now the region has one of the state's most acute labor shortages.
HICKORY — John Chamberlain, founder and owner of the Hickory Hop shuttle service, has accused Coach America, also known as Mountaineer Express, of using taxpayer funds to provide a cheaper service from Boone and Hickory to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport.
CHARLOTTE — In 1998, 14 NC communities had scheduled airline service. Today it is only nine. Even that figure may be reduced in the future, as recent trends in the airline industry make it increasingly difficult for smaller communities to maintain meaningful air service even if incentives are aggressively used. Since deregulation, the U.S. airline industry has been largely dominated by “legacy” carriers, such as American, Delta, and US Airways, that use a complex array of fares in an attempt to maximize revenues. They also operate mainly hub-based systems. But low-cost carriers are eroding the stability of this business model, in turn affecting service to smaller communities.
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