Yeah, I don't think I've ever seen an airport master plan that involves shrinking.

Concourse B is a huge connecting terminal, sized for thousands of people shuffling from gate to gate at any given time from 747s and other long range planes. Concourse A is like every other regional airport concourse. It'll be a big downgrade in quality of space when Concourse B is gone. Even with the renovation of Concourse A, it doesn't have the same appeal as B because it's closer to the ground, far narrower, has low ceilings, etc. It'll feel crowded in comparison, but that's mostly because we've all grown accustomed to the ghost town that is Concourse B.

I think the consolidation makes a lot of sense.  Maintaining two separate terminals and the costly tram and the additional moving sidewalks is inefficient.  And if you look at the plan on the pdf, the proposed larger terminal A would be as big if not bigger than the existing B (I would not assume it would have the same proportions as the existing A). 

 

It means they can have better options for retail since all passengers will be in one terminal, and it also means that pedestrian time will be reduced, and they have more space for plane operations at the site of the former B.

 

They are basically trying to modify the facilities and passenger experience from hub to regional airport.  I don't think they are planning for shrinking (as you can see from the graph they expect modest annual growth), just consolidation for efficiency.

Well with the airport getting so small, why not scrap the whole thing sans one runway for DHL and other cargo carriers and private jets and then build a new single-runway airport for commercial flights in Butler or Warren counties. 

Well with the airport getting so small, why not scrap the whole thing sans one runway for DHL and other cargo carriers and private jets and then build a new single-runway airport for commercial flights in Butler or Warren counties.

 

I agree, and have always felt ever since the Delta/northwest merger, and even back as far as 2004 that we should scrap CVG. Leave it to serve air freight.

A world class passenger airport that serves the new CinDay Metroplex might be enough to attract some needed international flights. A really well planned site could also attract c-bus and Indy traffic as well. 

First it looks like its not getting smaller, its more efficient.  And good luck trying to convince Kentucky to abandon an airport so a new one can be built in Ohio.

First it looks like its not getting smaller, its more efficient.  And good luck trying to convince Kentucky to abandon an airport so a new one can be built in Ohio.

It would not be Ky's call if Ohio decided what's best for it's cities.  Ky has been messing around with this air port for a decade now and has done nothing but watch businesses leave.(Toyota). They are treating the bridge the same way. The politicians in this area better wake up.

NKY politics is way crazier and corrupt than what happens on the Ohio side of the river.  The Kenton County Airport Board scandal should have been a huge scandal, instead of something people barely remember. 

So since most of you don't like the idea of consolidating all the airlines into one new concourse, what would you all do? And please be logical, there isn't going to be a new airport built on the Ohio side.

If anything, I would mothball A (again); consolidate everything into B; and demolish C. Then demolish the old 1 & 2 to build a rental car facility. Oh yeah -- then build a rail link from CVG to Downtown Cincinnati.

They want to move everything into A, demolish B and C, and stop running the tram.

 

But then the only subway in the Cincinnati area will be gone!

If anything, I would mothball A (again); consolidate everything into B; and demolish C. Then demolish the old 1 & 2 to build a rental car facility. Oh yeah -- then build a rail link from CVG to Downtown Cincinnati.

 

But I think the issue is that having B be the focus then you have this terminal that juts WAY out into the airfield. Demo B. Recreate it on a smaller scale in A.

 

Also, did I see provisions for two new runways and a rail connection?

If anything, I would mothball A (again); consolidate everything into B; and demolish C. Then demolish the old 1 & 2 to build a rental car facility. Oh yeah -- then build a rail link from CVG to Downtown Cincinnati.

 

But I think the issue is that having B be the focus then you have this terminal that juts WAY out into the airfield. Demo B. Recreate it on a smaller scale in A.

 

Also, did I see provisions for two new runways and a rail connection?

 

Those do exist in the Master Plan.

If anything, I would mothball A (again); consolidate everything into B; and demolish C. Then demolish the old 1 & 2 to build a rental car facility. Oh yeah -- then build a rail link from CVG to Downtown Cincinnati.

 

Both existing A and B will eventually be replaced with a new concourse. They are not keeping either one in the long run. C will be demolished along with Terminals 1 & 2 to make room for the rental car facility. And I absolutely agree that a rail system needs to run from the airport to downtown.

I don't see anymore point to have a rail line to this airport anymore. It's not like it's going to bring more international destinations.

I don't see anymore point to have a rail line to this airport anymore. It's not like it's going to bring more international destinations.

 

I agree.  I can't see this connection being worth the cost.  If the airport were more central in the Cin-Day metro, it would make more sense to me.  Not as an end of the line configuration we would get out of this scenario. 

Also, getting under the airport to create a suburban park-and-ride in Hebron would be very expensive because they would have to bore a tunnel.  It would be a great thing to have, but the higher ROI for rail systems, and especially tunnels, is closer to the center of a metro. 

DHL boosts CVG investment, adds jobs

Mar 31, 2016, 1:53pm EDT

Erin Caproni

Digital Producer

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

DHL has been planning an expansion at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport for nearly a year, and now the project has grown.

 

DHL announced in June 2015 that it would invest $108 million at CVG to provide additional warehouse space, add up to 16 more aircraft gates to expand routes, bring in new equipment to increase sorting capacity and provide capabilities to unload and reload planes more quickly. Now those plans have grown into a more than $148 million project.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/03/31/dhl-boosts-cvg-investment-adds-jobs.html

CVG fares hit a 20-year low in national rankings

Fares now lower than two of CVG's regional competitors

Apr 26, 2016, 12:31pm EDT

Chris Wetterich

Staff reporter and columnist

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

The fares at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are now cheaper than two of its regional competitors – James M. Cox Dayton International Airport and Louisville Regional Airport – and the lowest compared to other airports since the federal government began publishing an airfare report in 1995.

 

The latest statistics from the Department of Transportation showed that CVG’s average fare of $411.43 in the fourth quarter of 2015 was the 22nd highest in the nation when the top 100 airports are ranked, a far cry from a year ago when CVG's fares were the third-most expensive in the nation and the average fare was more than $485.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/04/26/cvg-fares-hit-a-20-year-low-in-national-rankings.html

While it's great news lower fares are at CVG and CLE those cheaper flights will only drive passenger totals down further for Dayton and Akron-Canton. It will be interesting to see how secondary airports evolve over the next decade with CLE losing the UA hub and CVG trimmed down to DL "hub-lite" status.

While it's great news lower fares are at CVG and CLE those cheaper flights will only drive passenger totals down further for Dayton and Akron-Canton. It will be interesting to see how secondary airports evolve over the next decade with CLE losing the UA hub and CVG trimmed down to DL "hub-lite" status.

 

Akron-Canton and Dayton both just got new service from Allegiant while Southwest withdrew some flights. If people fly them from there they will keep the flights and possibly get more. If they don't then they won't. It is up to the people to keep the flights offered.

I think in Akron-Canton and Dayton's cases both airports have enough local traffic (under one mile) to have flights- to the major hubs, vacation spots, and a select few other cities.

Exactly.  Both have about 1.2 million-ish around their "catch basin" so they'll be fine.

I was there tonight. It looks like the old Terminal 1 is completely gone and Terminal 2 should be completely demolished by the end of next week.  Really pathetic to see the old Terminal 1 parking garage going completely unused. 

 

I took TANK back from the airport for the first time.  It took me 20 minutes to find the bus stop.  The graphics on TANK's website are confusing as are the airport's signs.  Then you get out to the car rental shuttle area and there is no sign to the lonely TANK bus stop.  There isn't even a light on it, it sort of lurks in the shadows. 

Hopefully when they build the new rental car facility at the terminal, they will incorporate a better bus stop. That's how the Ft. Lauderdale airport works -- all of the transit buses stop at the rental car facility along with the buses that shuttle people to/from each terminal.

Before Akron-Canton repurposed itself as a low-cost carrier airport in the mid-1990s it used to be a big deal to have a 50-seat regional jet visit that airport. It had passenger usage totals under 500,000/year. That's 1/3 the total Akron-Canton has now. That number is also 1/2 the total Dayton serves now.

 

I didn't bring this up in a theoretical vacuum. Dayton and Canton-Akron have seen pretty sharp declines in passenger totals over the last few years as Hopkins and CVG have seen their legacy operations decline and then have the low-cost carriers consolidate.

 

No doubt these airports will still be served to regional hubs. I do wonder how much of a demand there will be for low cost vacation spots and other cities now that they can be accessed directly from the bigger airports.

I was there tonight. It looks like the old Terminal 1 is completely gone and Terminal 2 should be completely demolished by the end of next week.  Really pathetic to see the old Terminal 1 parking garage going completely unused. 

 

I took TANK back from the airport for the first time.  It took me 20 minutes to find the bus stop.  The graphics on TANK's website are confusing as are the airport's signs.  Then you get out to the car rental shuttle area and there is no sign to the lonely TANK bus stop.  There isn't even a light on it, it sort of lurks in the shadows.

 

I've been using the TANK airport shuttle to get back and forth from CVG for the past 3 or 4 years, and I know what you mean about the CVG-downtown route being hard to find and verify in the baggage claim area.  Once I found the stop, though, the convenience really grew on me and I now rely on as my airport transit pretty much exclusively.  $2 is hard to beat.

 

Also, the reverse route from downtown to CVG is worth trying if you haven't yet.  It's still just $2, and it's ultra-convenient because the shuttle makes zero stops between the 4th Street pick-up location just outside the Mercantile building and the terminal entrance at the airport.  As long as I avoid the shuttle during rush hour traffic, I almost always make it from downtown to CVG in 12-15 minutes.

 

The route back from CVG makes 3 or 4 stops in Covington before getting back on 75/71 to cross the river and exit into downtown, so it is usually closer to 20 minutes transit time.

The terminal 1 garage is set to be demolished later this year when Concourse C is razed. The last I heard, there were some structural issues with the garage. 

Yes I discovered last night how strange the routing is.  The way it's set up (and I guess most TANK routes) is that the priority goes to passengers boarding in DT Cincinnati, and so anyone in Covington wanting to go to the airport must ride into DT Cincinnati first.  Also, when you come out of the Covington Transit Center and scoot right past the on-ramp to the Roebling Suspension Bridge, you see what a disaster it has been kicking TANK off that bridge.  The route to the Clay Wade Bridge is circuitous and wastes a ton of time and fuel, especially during daytime traffic.  I think the case for building a new local bridge between Madison and Race is pretty strong.  TANK would save a ton in operations costs, plus the streetcar line could be extended directly across. 

Yes I discovered last night how strange the routing is.  The way it's set up (and I guess most TANK routes) is that the priority goes to passengers boarding in DT Cincinnati, and so anyone in Covington wanting to go to the airport must ride into DT Cincinnati first.  Also, when you come out of the Covington Transit Center and scoot right past the on-ramp to the Roebling Suspension Bridge, you see what a disaster it has been kicking TANK off that bridge.  The route to the Clay Wade Bridge is circuitous and wastes a ton of time and fuel, especially during daytime traffic.  I think the case for building a new local bridge between Madison and Race is pretty strong.  TANK would save a ton in operations costs, plus the streetcar line could be extended directly across. 

 

I like the idea too but get squeamish at the idea of having a crossing so close to Roebling for no other reason than aesthetics.

I'm cool with having a bridge from Madison to Race as long as its a cable-stayed bridge.  :-P

​Ultimate Air leaving CVG

May 6, 2016, 1:10pm EDT

Chris Wetterich

Staff reporter and columnist

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

Ultimate Air, the public charter service that has gained a following in Cincinnati by offering premium air service to select cities at prices that are competitive with commercial airlines, is leaving Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

 

In a news release, the company said it is consolidating all flight operations at Lunken Airport on Cincinnati’s East End. The change is effective May 31.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/05/06/ultimate-air-leaving-cvg.html

Competitive?? I found their prices to be very very high. $549 round trip to Chicago??? Really?

Competitive when compared to cvg....

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

Competitive?? I foudn their prices to be very very high. $549 round trip to Chicago??? Really?

 

They used to have a buy one get one free promotion. They also have some sort of Groupon thing for a discount. The savings, from a business perspective, is that you only have to show up 15 minutes prior to departure. That saves you at least an hour, if not 90 minutes for each flight.  I used to take it to Charlotte for meetings because the timing worked out perfectly to fly in, work a good 8 hour day, and then fly home. That saved the cost of a hotel, a dinner, and a day worth of rental car charges. For personal travel I've never used it because I'd rather waste a couple hours sitting in airports and spend my vacation money elsewhere.

 

there's no extra fees for baggage or anything like that, you get decent food and booze, and

Commercial airlines to Chicago are roughly $400 round trip.  If you are aware of the quality difference in flying charter vs commercial you will realize that for business travelers, etc. the $150 premium is NOTHING.  The Chicago price is VERY competitive.

Ultimate Air is flying to Cleveland from Lunken, and the flight time is only like 48 minutes and I think they go to Cleveland's lakefront airport.  So if you want to go see The Reds play at 7pm in Cleveland, you can take the 5:15 flight from Lunken and get there in plenty of time. 

Frontier launches new CVG flight

May 12, 2016, 6:46am EDT

Erin Caproni

Digital Producer

Cincinnati Business Courier

 

A new ultra-low-cost flight will take off from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport today.

 

Frontier Airlines will provide its first nonstop flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia at 7:05 p.m. Thursday.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/05/12/frontier-launches-new-cvg-flight.html

Allegiant will be launching 4 times weekly service to the New York City market via Newark (EWR) from CVG starting Nov. 16.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2016/06/28/allegiant-adding-another-new-destination-from-cvg.html

Already booked tickets for early December!

Already booked tickets for early December!

 

They advertise the seats as $39 each way, but it does not appear possible to get a seat on the plane without paying an additional $9 "seat" fee each way.  This fee increases if you want a window seat.  Perhaps if you are the very first person to try to book a seat on a flight, there is no seat fee. 

 

 

 

 

They advertise the seats as $39 each way, but it does not appear possible to get a seat on the plane without paying an additional $9 "seat" fee each way.  This fee increases if you want a window seat.  Perhaps if you are the very first person to try to book a seat on a flight, there is no seat fee. 

 

That's ingenious! I'm surprised Ticketmaster hasn't thought of that!

Already booked tickets for early December!

 

They advertise the seats as $39 each way, but it does not appear possible to get a seat on the plane without paying an additional $9 "seat" fee each way.  This fee increases if you want a window seat.  Perhaps if you are the very first person to try to book a seat on a flight, there is no seat fee.

 

It's my understanding that you dou don't have to pay the seat fee. You only pay it if you want to choose your seat, with more deireable seats being higher priced. If you don't purchase a seat, you'll be randomly assigned one at the gate...good luck!

Already booked tickets for early December!

 

They advertise the seats as $39 each way, but it does not appear possible to get a seat on the plane without paying an additional $9 "seat" fee each way.  This fee increases if you want a window seat.  Perhaps if you are the very first person to try to book a seat on a flight, there is no seat fee. 

 

 

 

 

 

It's like those old newspaper car ads that would advertise a brand new car for $9995.  When you showed up on the lot, they had one stripped down, bare bones model sitting in the back at that price and immediately tried to sell you the next step up for $14,000.

 

I almost pulled the trigger and bought a pair of these for November. Two tickets round trip for  $156 was very tempting. From what I've heard about Allegiant it seems like it's a bit like the Chinatown bus of the skies, though - is that a fair comparison?

I took Allegiant to Phoenix last year and didn't have a problem. It wasn't luxury by any means, but it wasn't any worse than most planes I've been on. Maybe if I traveled every week, I would appreciate the more comfortable airlines, but for someone who flies only a few times a year, it's worth it.

It's more than the fees and the seats. Allegiant cuts as many corners on safety as can be done legally. You truly get what you pay for with them. I value my life so I pay a few more bucks to fly on another carrier.

I had a round trip flight on Allegiant from CVG to Denver a few years back.

 

The flight there was fine, let at around 6 am, easy.  The flight back, not so much.  Flight was scheduled to leave 3 pm MST on a Sunday.  They couldn't get a plane in until 9 pm and we left around 10:30 pm, got into Cincinnati at about 3 am EST and had to work at 8 the next morning, wasn't fun...

I almost pulled the trigger and bought a pair of these for November. Two tickets round trip for  $156 was very tempting. From what I've heard about Allegiant it seems like it's a bit like the Chinatown bus of the skies, though - is that a fair comparison?

 

Well at least the Chinatown bus gets you into the city, where you can then ride public transportation to a friend's house or to a hotel.  The problem with these low-cost carriers is that they often put you down at some mystery airport, where you then might face a long and possibly expensive cab ride to wherever you are going.  The cab ride can rival or even exceed the cost of these airline tickets. 

 

Also, I shudder to think what the airlines are charging now for people who bring large amounts of stuff on a flight.  For example, a bunch of gear for a backpacking trip or a triathlon bike. 

 

 

I just got back from a trip to Europe, and I took discount airlines several times to get from place to place.  Never paid more than 100 euros for a flight, and had nothing but positive experiences with the seating assignments, carry on bags, etc.  No hidden fees or anything.  I took EasyJet and Ryan Air.  I would love to see US air travel become more like this. 

The problem with these low-cost carriers is that they often put you down at some mystery airport, where you then might face a long and possibly expensive cab ride to wherever you are going.  The cab ride can rival or even exceed the cost of these airline tickets. 

 

It's not just the low-cost carriers.  Delta once tried to connect me through New York...  into LaGuardia and out of JFK 90 minutes later.  How is that even considered a connecting flight?