My point more being if they had their HQ in say - Springfield MA next to SFNE, and the said they moved to Texas due to ease of access with flights, I would buy it more than moving one major hub to another.
Like I said, it’s most likely something cost related. Reminds me of my wife’s company killing off company cars by saying people can get the hybrids and EVs that employee responses say in surveys for what they want. Reality is they are saving ~$1M a quarter in costs but using a FAVR program over Wheels company cars. They just frame it as a good deal for employees.
Charlotte is a Fortress Hub for American Airlines. No other airline even comes close to operating the same amount of flights (Delta comes in second with 3% of the market share in Charlotte). Dallas operates 34% more American daily flights than Charlotte and handles significantly more volume than Charlotte does. Granted, it is American's Headquarters and main hub.
DFW is the second busiest airport in the United States and the 4th busiest in the world. Looking at the hub-and-spoke system just for American alone, they have a lot more options to get to cities near their parks direct and the flight schedules are more favorable.
DFW is a much more significant airport and I could believe this played a part in the move. But it only played a part for additional cost savings in addition to others (just like you pointed out). Cedar Fair lasted in Sandusky for a long time. Sure the footprint wasn't as large, but they made it work even with the west coast parks and the closest commercial airport being in Cleveland (which is smaller than the mentioned airports above). The Texas location probably made more sense from a cost perspective overall for many micro and macro reasons, not just because of the airport.
Six Flags had this lease already and it was supposed to be where they wanted it headquartered pre-merger. They spent several years there before the merger became official. Zimmerman wanted the HQ in Charlotte as soon as he became CEO. He didn't want to be in Sandusky and he felt the company could get more corporate talent if headquartered out of Charlotte. He was right but now it appears that they think the talent pool in the DFW area may be better. They had the office there already, they're just shifting back. Sandusky will retain a part of the corporate workforce still (even though Cedar Fair had dwindled there prior to the merger) because of a deal with the city in regards to the roads, causeway, and taxes.
I have no problem with the shift as the legacy started right down the street from Choctaw.
I do find it crazy that Six Flags has moved its headquarters so many times while Cedar Fair was able to keep theirs in one location up until the end. Of course, Six flags faced a lot more struggles and public trading issues (which led to some of the moves via buyouts). But Arlington, then Oklahoma City, then New York City, then Grand Prairie, then Arlington, then Charlotte, and now back to Arlington.
