CVG celebrates ‘historic’ first quarter

 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport set a record for the amount of cargo shipped out of the airport during the first quarter of 2017, CVG officials said in a news release.

 

Companies shipped more than 205,000 tons of cargo out of the airport, an 8 percent increase year-over-year. CVG is the North American hub for international shipping giant DHL, and that amount is expected to increase with the announcement that Amazon will locate its $1.5 billion air services hub at CVG and bring 100-plus Prime Air cargo planes.

 

This is big for CVG. Having a steady cargo presence is crucial to the growth of the airport.

In advance of Southwest’s arrival, CVG looks to boost Concourse A with a new restaurant

 

 

The rather sparse concession offerings at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport’s Concourse A will get a boost.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/05/18/in-advance-of-southwest-s-arrival-cvg-looks-to.html

Frontier launches new CVG flight

 

Frontier Airlines launched a new flight from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Sunday.

 

The low-cost carrier that started CVG’s transition from a Delta-dominated hub to a multi-carrier airport is now operating a nonstop flight to San Diego three times a week.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/05/22/frontier-launches-new-cvg-flight.html

A friend of mine who works at DHL tells me that Amazon Prime Air does not plan to build its own facility for four years. 

 

What they are doing is becoming a tenant in DHL's existing building, which is empty each day between 8am and 6pm.  They just started this a few weeks ago but they have installed duplicate scanners and other equipment so that DHL's conveyors can now also read Amazon's bar code system.  At 8am each morning they shut down DHL's system and turn on Amazon's.  Amazon had to hire away a bunch of DHL's veterans because they have experience with the existing equipment.  So it has been DHL doing much more replacement hiring for its insane third shift than has Amazon. 

 

Anyway, he said Amazon plans to get this piggy-backed operation running smoothly for about two years before designing its own purpose-built facility at the airport. 

 

 

Allegiant adds CVG flight to a new destination

 

Another low-cost flight is set to launch from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to a new destination.

 

Allegiant Airlines announced Tuesday morning that it will launch a flight to Boston/Providence from Cincinnati with one-way fares as low as $38.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/06/allegiant-adds-cvg-flight-to-a-new-destination.html

United launches new CVG flight today

 

United Airlines is launching a new flight from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on Wednesday.

 

The airline will begin offering nonstop service from CVG to San Francisco with its first departure at 7:51 p.m.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/07/united-launches-new-cvg-flight-today.html

CVG plans multimillion-dollar upgrade

Jun 9, 2017, 6:38am EDT

 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is preparing for a facelift ahead of the busy holiday travel season, WCPO reports.

 

CVG plans to begin this summer on a modernization project to update parts of Terminal 3 and incorporate design elements found in other parts of the airport.

 

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/09/cvg-plans-multimillion-dollar-upgrade.html

 

Allegiant adds more new nonstop flights at CVG

 

Allegiant is adding two new direct flights at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to Los Angeles and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

 

The ultra-low-cost carrier will start service to Los Angeles International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Nov. 16 with fares starting at $69 to LAX and $39 to Raleigh-Durham.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/20/allegiant-adds-more-new-nonstop-flights-at-cvg.html

Allegiant adds more new nonstop flights at CVG

 

Allegiant is adding two new direct flights at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to Los Angeles and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

 

The ultra-low-cost carrier will start service to Los Angeles International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Nov. 16 with fares starting at $69 to LAX and $39 to Raleigh-Durham.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/20/allegiant-adds-more-new-nonstop-flights-at-cvg.html

Smart, LAX seems under served from CVG.

CVG sets passenger record

 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport set a record in May for passenger and cargo volume, the company announced Sunday.

 

Local traffic was up 16.1 percent year-to-year with 323,049 originating passengers – the most in the airport’s 70-year-history – compared to 278,344 in May 2016, representing 44,705 new travelers coming through CVG’s front door.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/26/cvg-celebrates-historic-may.html

CVG sets passenger record

 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport set a record in May for passenger and cargo volume, the company announced Sunday.

 

Local traffic was up 16.1 percent year-to-year with 323,049 originating passengers – the most in the airport’s 70-year-history – compared to 278,344 in May 2016, representing 44,705 new travelers coming through CVG’s front door.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/26/cvg-celebrates-historic-may.html

 

This article is just silly on the passenger side. Sure Cincy is setting a record pace now after losing roughly 65% of total passenger volume since 2005. Woo-hoo!

 

Cincy/Northern Ky used to be twice the size of Cleveland in terms of passenger counts, now it's 85% of Hopkins despite Cincy still being a connection hub and 16% growth this year.

 

Tout the cargo side which will only be more respectable but leave it at that.

I don't know, that's a pretty big deal that the originating passenger number is as high as it is.  No doubt numbers were higher overall when it was a hub because of all the connecting passengers, but even then all kinds of people would drive to the other airports (which are all in proximity to CVG) instead of flying from here.  Seems like CVG has definitely been able to build up the local traffic as it attracts lower-cost carriers. 

Amazon Prime Air could make CVG the #1 cargo airport in the United States.  Today, even with the DHL hub, it is a fraction of Memphis.  But Prime Air could become as big as UPS and FedEx combined. 

I don't know, that's a pretty big deal that the originating passenger number is as high as it is.  No doubt numbers were higher overall when it was a hub because of all the connecting passengers, but even then all kinds of people would drive to the other airports (which are all in proximity to CVG) instead of flying from here.  Seems like CVG has definitely been able to build up the local traffic as it attracts lower-cost carriers. 

 

There's just nothing special here. Cleveland and Pittsburgh and drawing in larger amounts of origination passengers than Cincinnati yet aren't putting out press releases.

Breaking your own record for originating passengers is a big deal. There are still huge problems to fix in terms of overall usage, but having the highest number of originating passengers ever isn't something to brush off as meaningless.

I don't know, that's a pretty big deal that the originating passenger number is as high as it is.  No doubt numbers were higher overall when it was a hub because of all the connecting passengers, but even then all kinds of people would drive to the other airports (which are all in proximity to CVG) instead of flying from here.  Seems like CVG has definitely been able to build up the local traffic as it attracts lower-cost carriers. 

 

Before a few years ago, almost everybody I know in Cincinnati would drive to other airports to fly for cheaper. Now most of my friends fly Frontier or Allegiant out of CVG. Even though the passenger numbers are not as high as their historic levels, I think the current situation is much better for most people who live in Cincinnati. We just don't have a huge number of people in our region that travel to Europe or Asia often enough to justify direct international flights, as much as I would love for that to happen. But we have plenty of middle class people who take trips to the destinations served by these low-cost carriers.

Breaking your own record for originating passengers is a big deal. There are still huge problems to fix in terms of overall usage, but having the highest number of originating passengers ever isn't something to brush off as meaningless.

 

The basic measure of how competitive an airport is relative to its peers will always be O&D traffic.  CVG was once much larger when accounting for connecting passengers, true, but was also leaking passengers to Dayton like a sieve because Delta charged an arm and a leg for a seat.  Is that really what you want from your airport? 

 

That *more* local people are using the airport than ever means a greater share of the airport's economic impact is staying local. Connecting passengers spent a lot of money at CVG in the hub days, but all of that money went elsewhere -- to Delta, to Delaware North, etc.  The economic impact of lower fares originating from CVG all stays local -- local businesses pay less to fly, lower travel expenses make local firms more competitive, and it's attractive to companies looking to locate here, etc.

Breaking your own record for originating passengers is a big deal. There are still huge problems to fix in terms of overall usage, but having the highest number of originating passengers ever isn't something to brush off as meaningless.

 

The basic measure of how competitive an airport is relative to its peers will always be O&D traffic.  CVG was once much larger when accounting for connecting passengers, true, but was also leaking passengers to Dayton like a sieve because Delta charged an arm and a leg for a seat.  Is that really what you want from your airport? 

 

That *more* local people are using the airport than ever means a greater share of the airport's economic impact is staying local. Connecting passengers spent a lot of money at CVG in the hub days, but all of that money went elsewhere -- to Delta, to Delaware North, etc.  The economic impact of lower fares originating from CVG all stays local -- local businesses pay less to fly, lower travel expenses make local firms more competitive, and it's attractive to companies looking to locate here, etc.

 

The problem is that the CVG Delta hub was so large compared to other similar sized cities in the region that it was more attractive to businesses than what's offered now through multiple carriers even with the large amount of O&D. So yeah costs may be lower but Cincinnati has lost it's global connection it once had.

 

I agree that O&D is better revenue generator but I find it hard to believe that CVG, on the passenger side, is generating more revenue now when it was serving 25 million pax unless they charge an exorbitant amount for facility fees. Again, not talking about cargo.

 

Also even with the O&D growth it's still smaller than CLE and PIT. So, yes, it's a passenger "record", it's just not something people in the industry would go "wow" about.

I don't think anyone is saying they're pulling in as much money as before or that this is some wildly impressive thing industry wide. I think you're reading between the lines a bit there. I think it's literally celebrating something factual, that originating passengers at CVG is higher than ever which is a sign that their push for more affordable options for locals is working. You can't fix every problem at the same time but a good way to start is by regaining the loyalty and support of locals.

I don't think anyone is saying they're pulling in as much money as before or that this is some wildly impressive thing industry wide. I think you're reading between the lines a bit there. I think it's literally celebrating something factual, that originating passengers at CVG is higher than ever which is a sign that their push for more affordable options for locals is working. You can't fix every problem at the same time but a good way to start is by regaining the loyalty and support of locals.

 

CVG is the only airport I can think of that is touting these numbers to the press. CLE, IND, PIT, STL, hell almost any Midwest airport outside of Minneapolis, Detroit and Chicago O'Hare are hitting record O&D numbers due to the restructuring of hubs in the region.

 

Yet you bring up a good point about the local situation in Cincinnati. Most other airports didn't have such a dominant carrier ruling the roost on fares for decades. I guess that's the intended target of the press release.

 

Amazon Prime Air hub project lands key approval for $175M 1st phase

 

The first phase of Amazon.com Inc.’s planned $1.5 billion Prime Air hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport received preliminary approval for incentives to help get the development started.

 

More below:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/06/29/amazon-prime-air-hub-project-lands-key-approval.html

CVG airport to announce six new routes, contest today

 

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will announce six new routes with nonstop service today at 1 p.m.

 

The announcement will be accompanied by a contest on Facebook and Twitter to win airfare to the new destinations.

 

Follow reporter Kim Armstrong at @KimJourn for updates.

CVG airport to announce six new routes, contest today

 

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will announce six new routes with nonstop service today at 1 p.m.

 

The announcement will be accompanied by a contest on Facebook and Twitter to win airfare to the new destinations.

 

Follow reporter Kim Armstrong at @KimJourn for updates.

 

One is Miami for sure. Cleveland is picking up Miami on Frontier as well. Other new Frontier destinations would be Buffalo, Grand Rapids, Oklahoma City, Santa Ana, San Jose. Not quite sure if new routes means new destinations though.

 

Just saw seasonal service to San Antonio for sure now. That's two.

Miami starts selling today.

 

Austin, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Raleigh Durham, Seattle start next Spring.

^Just for confirmation...

 

Frontier launches nonstop service from CVG to six new cities

 

 

Frontier Airlines will launch service to six, new, mostly warm-weather destinations beginning this fall in a massive expansion of its offerings from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

 

With the new routes, local travelers will be able to fly directly to Miami; Austin; San Antonio; Seattle; Jacksonville, Fla. and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/07/18/frontier-launches-nonstop-service-from-cvg-to-six.html

There has been an interesting dynamic with Delta adding capacity as the discounters have grown.  Not sure of the reason they give as I do not subscribe. 

 

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/07/17/heres-why-delta-is-growing-at-cvg-even-as.html

Since ultra-low cost carriers entered the market in 2013, Delta Air Lines hasn’t lost its customer base at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. In fact, the number of passengers using Delta is growing, according to CVG officials.

According to the article, the reason is that "Delta is using larger jets and has made some scheduling changes to better accommodate business travelers."

 

I remember reading that back in the days when CVG was a major Delta hub, if any other airline added a direct flight, Delta would add a competing flight on the same route to try to steal away that business. I wonder if that is still going on to some extent with all of the new carriers coming in.

Ah - I do recall reading not too long ago they were adding larger planes so flight numbers stayed about the same but capacity increased.  Not sure they are trying to take out the competition now as I do not recall seeing any especially cheap Delta flights to the discount destinations - they used to completely undercut them in the 90's, early 2000's.  I think it might be difficult now as they are not just trying to kill competition in one or two cities.

It looks like Cleveland and Cincinnati are going to become connection cities for Frontier in the near future:

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-02/fearless-frontier-picks-a-fare-fight-with-airline-giants

 

From the article:

 

In the coming months, Frontier plans to offer connections in more than a half-dozen cities, including Austin, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Orlando, spokesman Richard Oliver said.

xumelanie[/member] and I flew to Chicago over the weekend.  The mass transit at the Chicago Midway airport and in downtown Chicago was super convenient and heavily used.  When we got back to Cincinnati (CVG) and went to board the 2x bus back to Cincinnati we found the bus stop to be a tiny two seater shelter directly next to a pet relieving station.  It certainly shows our priorities here in Cincy.

xumelanie[/member] and I flew to Chicago over the weekend.  The mass transit at the Chicago Midway airport and in downtown Chicago was super convenient and heavily used.  When we got back to Cincinnati (CVG) and went to board the 2x bus back to Cincinnati we found the bus stop to be a tiny two seater shelter directly next to a pet relieving station.  It certainly shows our priorities here in Cincy.

 

The last time I waited for the 2x, there was an airport employee using the bus stop as a smoking area. This is definitely part of the CVG experience that has considerable room for improvement.

xumelanie[/member] and I flew to Chicago over the weekend.  The mass transit at the Chicago Midway airport and in downtown Chicago was super convenient and heavily used.  When we got back to Cincinnati (CVG) and went to board the 2x bus back to Cincinnati we found the bus stop to be a tiny two seater shelter directly next to a pet relieving station.  It certainly shows our priorities here in Cincy.

 

Sadly, it's a continuing malady of disinterest in public transportation both at the state level and to a lesser degree by the residential populace.  I find it somewhat insane that Columbus, despite its size, has no light rail nor any plans to construct one.  Cleveland's transit authority can't afford to replace aging equipment for its light rail system.  Since these are not cities the size of New York or Chicago, it is perhaps not a big deal to most that these services are not in place. 

Today CLE announced 4x weekly service via Icelandair in 2018. Now Enquirer's Jason Williams is tweeting: ".@CVGairport announcing new airline Wed. Any guesses on who it is? Alaska Airlines & European discount carrier Condor seem good candidates."

Today CLE announced 4x weekly service via Icelandair in 2018. Now Enquirer's Jason Williams is tweeting: ".@CVGairport announcing new airline Wed. Any guesses on who it is? Alaska Airlines & European discount carrier Condor seem good candidates."

Where are they flying direct to?

WOW Air service four times a week CVG to Reykjavik. Service will be on A321 aircraft. Showing service from CVG connecting in Reykjavik to eight other European destinations (Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin,  Frankfurt, London, Paris) Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday Flights. Looks like CVG will start customs service back in Concourse A, which will be great open up the possibility of Frontier or SWA bringing international service.

WOW Air service four times a week CVG to Reykjavik. Service will be on A321 aircraft. Showing service from CVG connecting in Reykjavik to eight other European destinations (Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin,  Frankfurt, London, Paris) Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday Flights. Looks like CVG will start customs service back in Concourse A, which will be great open up the possibility of Frontier or SWA bringing international service.

Frontier was doing some direct service to the Caribbean somewhere out of CVG. In addition they did some of the charter stuff for Vacation Express/Apple down there also. They use a variety of charters. I hope this is successful.

Today CLE announced 4x weekly service via Icelandair in 2018. Now Enquirer's Jason Williams is tweeting: ".@CVGairport announcing new airline Wed. Any guesses on who it is? Alaska Airlines & European discount carrier Condor seem good candidates."

Where are they flying direct to?

 

Keflavik - More at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport thread...

Keflavik is basically Iceland's only international airport. I think Reykjavik city airport does some flights to Greenland. It's a 45 minute bus ride from Reyjkavik. The bus runs like every 20 minutes and drops each passenger off at their specific hotel in the city. I went to Iceland 2 years ago, best vacation of my life. Good chance I'll be going back now with these cheap flights.

I don't know if I would fly transatlantic for 8 hours on a discount. It is one thing to be packed like a sardine for a 2 hour flight to Florida, but 8 hours is dreadful

I don't know if I would fly transatlantic for 8 hours on a discount. It is one thing to be packed like a sardine for a 2 hour flight to Florida, but 8 hours is dreadful

Seat size and leg room ....can you make various selections?

WOW Air service four times a week CVG to Reykjavik. Service will be on A321 aircraft. Showing service from CVG connecting in Reykjavik to eight other European destinations (Amsterdam, Berlin, Dublin,  Frankfurt, London, Paris) Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday Flights. Looks like CVG will start customs service back in Concourse A, which will be great open up the possibility of Frontier or SWA bringing international service.

 

I don't believe concourse A has an FIS.  All international arrivals without pre-clearance use B.  Sometimes you will see Allegiant and Frontier parked over there.

Discount airlines are great options for young, flexible travelers and people who are just barely able to buy into the airline travel experience.

 

Personally, I was starting to cramp up on Delta Comfort Plus from NYC to London. There is no way I'm subjecting myself to a discount airline seat across an ocean.

Wow! CVG gets new, low-cost international carrier

 

Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has landed another big one: A low-cost international airline.

 

WOW Air, a carrier based in Iceland, will begin four-day-a-week service to CVG starting May 9, 2018, and give passengers the ability to connect to Europe as well.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/08/23/wow-cvg-gets-new-low-cost-international-carrier.html

 

^"Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport has landed another big one"

 

what was the previous win?

^Southwest

Don't forget that with "WOW", you have to pay an extra $9 to choose your seat, $40 for a carry-on bag, and $50 for each checked bag. And those are the prices you'll pay if you add bags when you book the original ticket... if you wait and add the bags later, it'll cost more. And if you call their customer service center to do it, it'll cost even more.

 

Not necessarily a deal breaker for some people, but keep in mind that when you pay those extra fees, you might be approaching the cost of a full-featured airline that will probably give you more legroom and free alcoholic drinks in the air.

Don't forget that with "WOW", you have to pay an extra $9 to choose your seat, $40 for a carry-on bag, and $50 for each checked bag. And those are the prices you'll pay if you add bags when you book the original ticket... if you wait and add the bags later, it'll cost more. And if you call their customer service center to do it, it'll cost even more.

 

Not necessarily a deal breaker for some people, but keep in mind that when you pay those extra fees, you might be approaching the cost of a full-featured airline that will probably give you more legroom and free alcoholic drinks in the air.

I did a Wow Plus rate, includes seat selections, 2 checked bags and 2 carry on, to Frankfurt for next June.....$529 round trip. So actually could have had low $400's eliminating some luggage. My Niece who flies out of Frankfurt a good Delta rate is usually approaching $800......to Detroit then CVG or Indy. Some of the Frankfurt flights for next June already selling well.

 

Edit, some of those routes for next June are sold out lol.

The arrival and departure time for WOW is by far the worst at CVG than the other three cities added. 

The website wasn't working for me last night so I wasn't able to check the overall transit times to Europe via a transfer in Iceland.  Theoretically it should be the same or shorter than heading in the opposite direction from Cincinnati to Chicago or Atlanta.  But practically it probably makes no or little difference. 

 

We obviously don't have much of a choice for flying to Europe from Cincinnati, but if there is one expense in a trip that should be prioritized, in my opinion it is flights that get you to and from Europe at times that make sense, to the exact place you want to visit, and with a maximum of one flight change.  With international trips, crazy departure and arrival times exaggerate the effects of jet lag and basically ruin the first day of the trip and your first day back. 

I personally feel leaving at 1 am sounds great. Hopefully crash out and wake up in Iceland ready to go. I went out of my way to do this on my last flight to Europe and it worked great.