RTA restarted train service into Hopkins last Friday, Nov. 6. RTA's website says Brookpark station is open.

 

Excellent!  This is good news... I'll utilize this in December for sure.  Although the walk seems much longer in the winter months!

 

I know there are other Red Line stations that allow overnight parking.  Are any of those safe for leaving a car overnight for 2 or 3 nights?  I haven't had any issues at Brookpark so far, but any chance to save gas money is welcome.

I wouldn't feel comfortable parking a car at an RTA station parking for several nights. I don't know if that fear is justified however.

 

And while the Brookpark station is open, it remains under construction and work will continue for probably another year. Access continues to be from the west side of the station.

RTA restarted train service into Hopkins last Friday, Nov. 6. RTA's website says Brookpark station is open.

 

Excellent!  This is good news... I'll utilize this in December for sure.  Although the walk seems much longer in the winter months!

 

I know there are other Red Line stations that allow overnight parking.  Are any of those safe for leaving a car overnight for 2 or 3 nights?  I haven't had any issues at Brookpark so far, but any chance to save gas money is welcome.

 

I have used the Puritas station many a time, never had any issues either.  Just be smart about where you leave things in your car.  Also helps that I was leaving a not so great Malibu.

I have used the Puritas station many a time, never had any issues either.  Just be smart about where you leave things in your car.  Also helps that I was leaving a not so great Malibu.

 

Agreed... I don't have anything of value to leave in there anyway.  Plus, hatchbacks don't seem to be a big theft risk!

Another indicator of Hopkins' rebounding economic health:

 

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/11/cleveland_hopkins_internationa_1.html#incart_river_home

 

One of the questions posed was how this compares to other airports that lost their hub.  Is this a slow recovery, a fast recovery, or typical normalizing due to low cost carriers moving in on popular routes?

 

 

Another indicator of Hopkins' rebounding economic health:

 

One of the questions posed was how this compares to other airports that lost their hub.  Is this a slow recovery, a fast recovery, or typical normalizing due to low cost carriers moving in on popular routes?

 

I'd consider it a pretty good recovery, considering the amount of low cost carriers that came in. Looking at Cincinnati when delta dropped them, they were the most expensive airport to fly out of until last year when Allegiant and Frontier came in. Luckily here at Cleveland Spirit, Frontier and Jetblue all came in within a year of the dehubbing. More competition is always healthy, now we just need growth from the carriers that are here. Even if you don't like the "ulta-low cost" carriers, they drive down the average fare across the board.

What is wrong with the leadership of this city?

 

Hopkins Airport custodial manager now in charge of runways

 

Cleveland 19 News has discovered the man who was hired to clean Hopkins International Airport is now in charge of the runways with no airport experience on his resume.

 

His name is Eric Turner and his title is deputy commissioner at Hopkins. Turner was hired in 2013 as the airport's maintenance manager in charge of custodial services. Back when he was hired, Turner beat five others for the job at a salary of $70,000.

 

http://www.cleveland19.com/story/30506904/investigation-hopkins-airport-custodial-manager-now-in-charge-of-runways

 

 

Frank Jackson is good at a lot of things, but the stark cronyism that he has shown with hires and fire all across the City is really outrageous.

 

Almost none of his administrators seem to have been hired for competency.

To confirm something from a couple weeks back...  I'm hanging out at the Delta gates again, and they are using B2, B4, B6, and B5.  They might use B3 if they had to as it shares a waiting area with B5, but there is no Delta desk at B3.  B7 still has all of the butt ugly plaid lounge chairs that they installed a few months back - no sign of any Delta activity there.

The fast lane: Today, Tuesday, Nov. 24, workers at 15 major U.S. airports — including Cleveland Hopkins International Airport — are “planning a day of fasting, vigils and rallies, aiming to galvanize the traveling public’s support for their fight for better wages,” according to this story from The Washington Post.

 

The paper reports that the workers— a mix of cleaners, baggage handlers, wheelchair attendants and security officers— will wear buttons that say “Ask Me Why I’m Fasting” and pass out petitions and flyers illustrating their campaign for a $15-per-hour minimum wage, the Service Employees International Union said.

 

Besides pushing for $15 minimum hourly wages, the workers want health care, sick leave, retirement benefits and job protections, The Post says. They’re also protesting threats against their efforts to unionize.

 

MORE:

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20151124/BLOGS03/151129870/glut-of-obsolete-retail-space-forces-mall-owners-to-re-imagine

Another indicator of Hopkins' rebounding economic health:

 

One of the questions posed was how this compares to other airports that lost their hub.  Is this a slow recovery, a fast recovery, or typical normalizing due to low cost carriers moving in on popular routes?

 

I'd consider it a pretty good recovery, considering the amount of low cost carriers that came in. Looking at Cincinnati when delta dropped them, they were the most expensive airport to fly out of until last year when Allegiant and Frontier came in. Luckily here at Cleveland Spirit, Frontier and Jetblue all came in within a year of the dehubbing. More competition is always healthy, now we just need growth from the carriers that are here. Even if you don't like the "ulta-low cost" carriers, they drive down the average fare across the board.

 

As we've seen in the Bay, nothing drops prices more than the entry of JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier. While controversial (especially the way Spirit gouges customers for trivial things), these low-cost carriers do put pressure on the Big 4 major airlines (Delta, American, United, Southwest). We now have all three low-cost airlines at SFO and/or OAK (plus nice smaller airlines like Virgin, Alaska, and Hawaiian), and prices are now pretty reasonable for almost any type of flight in North America. There is a lot of competition in this market, and it saves us money. Keep in mind too that airports like SFO and OAK could easily double prices, and barely a Bay Arean would notice. The market is so incredibly wealthy that people many times don't even consider flight prices. I'm one of the few people I know who will take a redeye just to save money. I've seen lots of price drops lately, and I think it's due to the low-cost carriers. Hell, I think my flight to DTW this Christmas is nearly half of what it was two years ago! And the crazy thing was seats were available much later than usual. SFO-DTW flights normally sell out fast, but Delta no longer has a lock on the market. Some of the 1-stop layover flights on Frontier and Spirit are very cheap (cheap enough to pick them over non-stop Delta flights). JetBlue has also disrupted the SFO-JFK and OAK-JFK markets that Delta and American used to dominate.

 

*I actually look at United pulling out of Cleveland being a blessing in disguise. Their hub at SFO is small, and what makes SFO the best major airport in the nation is the incredible amount of flight competition within the airport and the competition with the big Southwest hub at OAK. No single airline dominates at SFO. If United pulled out of SFO, I don't think too many would care...and honestly, it might happen at some point with all the demand for more international flights that United doesn't service. And their terminal is weak compared to the joint Virgin/American terminal.

 

Cleveland has more competition now, and if it can get Alaska or Virgin in there, it would be an amazing small airport. I think for travelers in Northeast Ohio, this is an exciting time. There is an opening here for CLE to bring in higher quality airlines and keep prices in check since no major airline dominates the airport.

 

**These big four carriers have declined on customer service, don't take care of their loyal customers as much, have battled with underpaid employees, and have tried to hold monopolies on flight routes to keep prices high. This is not a good way to do business...unless you're high up at Delta, United, American, or Southwest.

 

Cleveland has more competition now, and if it can get Alaska or Virgin in there, it would be an amazing small airport. I think for travelers in Northeast Ohio, this is an exciting time. There is an opening here for CLE to bring in higher quality airlines and keep prices in check since no major airline dominates the airport.

 

 

I'd love to see Alaska here... I flew them once to Portland a couple years ago, and it was a great experience.

 

My monthly trip starts tomorrow... getting ready to check out the changes to Concourse C.  If I'm lucky, maybe the flight will be overbooked and I can somehow get flights that don't route through Chicago.

@GoingPlacesCLE: First time the @JetBlue #NYJets plane has been here at CLE! https://t.co/y8VMzaJbA3

 

Cleveland has more competition now, and if it can get Alaska or Virgin in there, it would be an amazing small airport. I think for travelers in Northeast Ohio, this is an exciting time. There is an opening here for CLE to bring in higher quality airlines and keep prices in check since no major airline dominates the airport.

 

 

I'd love to see Alaska here... I flew them once to Portland a couple years ago, and it was a great experience.

 

My monthly trip starts tomorrow... getting ready to check out the changes to Concourse C.  If I'm lucky, maybe the flight will be overbooked and I can somehow get flights that don't route through Chicago.

 

Alaska is awesome! They damaged a bag of mine once, and gave me 3,000 miles and $200. Their customer service is top notch and they're very easy to deal with. They also have codeshare agreement with Delta and American, so your miles can add up fast. In my case, I need to email them flights, but it's a pretty amazing deal...fingers crossed it sticks around. Even if it doesn't, they're still worth flying.

 

Alaska doesn't currently have much service at nearby major airports like Detroit Metro, Chicago O'Hare, or Toronto Pearson, so the market at Cleveland should be viable. Alaska would be a welcome addition to Ohio, and I think Cleveland Hopkins is by far the best spot to do it in the state.

United needs to put up flight status monitors, like American has.  They are still Hopkins' dominant carrier (not by as much, of course), so they need to bring their gates into some semblance of modernity.  For goodness sake, even Little Rock has them.

United needs to put up flight status monitors, like American has.  They are still Hopkins' dominant carrier (not by as much, of course), so they need to bring their gates into some semblance of modernity.  For goodness sake, even Little Rock has them.

 

If you're a club member, they do have the CRTs from 1983 for convenience.    :-P

United needs to put up flight status monitors, like American has.  They are still Hopkins' dominant carrier (not by as much, of course), so they need to bring their gates into some semblance of modernity.  For goodness sake, even Little Rock has them.

 

For a long while I thought CLE outlawed status monitors.

United needs to put up flight status monitors, like American has.  They are still Hopkins' dominant carrier (not by as much, of course), so they need to bring their gates into some semblance of modernity.  For goodness sake, even Little Rock has them.

 

For a long while I thought CLE outlawed status monitors.

 

It certainly seemed like it.  But lo and behold American has to break the law!  Let's have a Wild West Renaissance at the CLE and have United AND Delta put up monitors!

According to Cleveland Hopkins' Twitter feed, AA will be starting up 3x daily service to DCA in April.  Will UA be muscled out and just fly to IAD?  It will certainly be a well served area from CLE with United's IAD service, Southwest's BWI service, and United and American's (nascent) DCA service.

^but we are also losing a Phoenix flight

Also announced this week, Southwest is starting a daily flight to St. Louis. I'd bet that will lead to United dropping their STL flights.

^but we are also losing a Phoenix flight

 

True.  I wonder if that makes it back as a seasonal sometime in the future.

^but we are also losing a Phoenix flight

 

True.  I wonder if that makes it back as a seasonal sometime in the future.

 

I expect that it will.  PHX is low-yield leisure traffic for the most part.  Not a lot of summer demand

According to Cleveland Hopkins' Twitter feed, AA will be starting up 3x daily service to DCA in April.  Will UA be muscled out and just fly to IAD?  It will certainly be a well served area from CLE with United's IAD service, Southwest's BWI service, and United and American's (nascent) DCA service.

 

I know AA/US did a bit of local hiring over the past year - at a time (merger) when you would expect redundancies.  I could see AA expanding a bit.  the CLE market is large enough and most importantly, generates high enough yields to support to reasonably sized focus city type ops for two carriers

Also announced this week, Southwest is starting a daily flight to St. Louis. I'd bet that will lead to United dropping their STL flights.

 

I'll bet you're right... Southwest will be less expensive, and on a better plane.  I hope that Southwest considers a direct flight to MCI; I'm fairly certain a 1x daily would do well.

Also announced this week, Southwest is starting a daily flight to St. Louis. I'd bet that will lead to United dropping their STL flights.

 

I'll bet you're right... Southwest will be less expensive, and on a better plane.  I hope that Southwest considers a direct flight to MCI; I'm fairly certain a 1x daily would do well.

 

Why would UAL drop STL simply because SWA entered the market?  A lot of people would pay more to sit on and RJ rather than fly SWA

Also announced this week, Southwest is starting a daily flight to St. Louis. I'd bet that will lead to United dropping their STL flights.

 

I'll bet you're right... Southwest will be less expensive, and on a better plane.  I hope that Southwest considers a direct flight to MCI; I'm fairly certain a 1x daily would do well.

 

Why would UAL drop STL simply because SWA entered the market?  A lot of people would pay more to sit on and RJ rather than fly SWA

 

United is facing new competition on many of it's non-hub routes.  It certainly depends on how much profit they will stand to make.  I've flown this route on UA before, and it is very expensive.  Perhaps they won't drop the route, but it is certainly an inherent possibility. 

Also announced this week, Southwest is starting a daily flight to St. Louis. I'd bet that will lead to United dropping their STL flights.

 

I'll bet you're right... Southwest will be less expensive, and on a better plane.  I hope that Southwest considers a direct flight to MCI; I'm fairly certain a 1x daily would do well.

 

Why would UAL drop STL simply because SWA entered the market?  A lot of people would pay more to sit on and RJ rather than fly SWA

 

United is facing new competition on many of it's non-hub routes.  It certainly depends on how much profit they will stand to make.  I've flown this route on UA before, and it is very expensive.  Perhaps they won't drop the route, but it is certainly an inherent possibility.

 

A decade ago, you could fly N/S to STL on Continental, AA, and SW.  I fly this route at least once a year since my parents still live there, and I do believe that the demand exists.

 

On an unrelated note, Delta had a plane sitting at B3 early this morning, but there was still no Delta "stuff" at the gate.  Not sure if they were actually going to use the gate or if they were just having a plane sleep there for the night.

Fraport to Manage Retail Malls at Four U.S. Airports

 

FRANKFURT, Germany, August 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

 

Fraport Acquires U.S.-based Airmall Group That Oversees Retailing Space at Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh Airports

Effective August 1, the Fraport Group has expanded its international portfolio in the global airport market by acquiring 100 percent of U.S.-based AMU Holdings Inc., which owns Airmall USA Holdings Inc. (Airmall).  One of the leading airport-concessions developers in North America, Airmall markets space at the aviation hubs of Baltimore (BWI), Boston (BOS), Cleveland (CLE) and Pittsburgh (PIT). Together, these four hubs serve a total of about 70 million passengers per year.  Airmall currently oversees about 34,000 square meters (366,000 square feet) of space in the passenger terminals at the four airports - with about 270 retail and food and beverage outlets operated by international, national, regional and local tenants. 

 

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fraport-to-manage-retail-malls-at-four-us-airports-269781821.html

 

The north end of the ticketing concourse is complete

 

 

The north end of the ticketing concourse is complete

 

 

 

Looks like a giant version of those 1970s white-neon lighting fixtures for schools and offices.

^ It's underwhelming, but still an improvement over what was there, not that that was a high bar though

 

 

Cleveland Hopkins airport ranks last in customer satisfaction: J.D. Power survey

 

By Susan Glaser, The Plain Dealer

Email the author | Follow on Twitter

on December 16, 2015 at 11:20 AM, updated December 16, 2015 at 12:42 PM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ranks dead last in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports in North America, according to a recent survey of more than 21,000 travelers.

 

The survey, conducted for J.D. Power, ranked 31 large airports (with passenger enplanements of 7 million and up), and 33 medium-sized airports on six factors: terminal facilities, airport accessibility, security check, baggage claim, check-in/baggage check and terminal shopping.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2015/12/cleveland_hopkins_ranks_last_i.html

That photo above looks like its from the mid-70s!

That photo above looks like its from the mid-70s!

 

And the previous exterior looked like it was from the 1950s...so we're making progress!

^ It's underwhelming, but still an improvement over what was there, not that that was a high bar though

 

 

Cleveland Hopkins airport ranks last in customer satisfaction: J.D. Power survey

 

By Susan Glaser, The Plain Dealer

Email the author | Follow on Twitter

on December 16, 2015 at 11:20 AM, updated December 16, 2015 at 12:42 PM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ranks dead last in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports in North America, according to a recent survey of more than 21,000 travelers.

 

The survey, conducted for J.D. Power, ranked 31 large airports (with passenger enplanements of 7 million and up), and 33 medium-sized airports on six factors: terminal facilities, airport accessibility, security check, baggage claim, check-in/baggage check and terminal shopping.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2015/12/cleveland_hopkins_ranks_last_i.html

 

RDU deserves to be on that top list (as I've flown through there several times this year including as I write this), but why on earth does Orlando get top marks???  I was there last week for the first time in a few years, and it was awful.  Hot, overcrowded, the security line was a mass of people, not an organized line, and it took my sister-in-law 45 minutes to purchase (not even eat) Wendy's.  I opted for the shorter Qdoba line, which only had about 5 people but still took 15 minutes due to the fact that they only had 1 person making food!

That security line scrum can get enormous in Orlando. I always take the earliest flight out of town to avoid it.

 

That security line scrum can get enormous in Orlando. I always take the earliest flight out of town to avoid it.

 

Agree agree agree!  I was at Orlando in November and it was a NIGHTMARE. one of the worst airport experiences I've ever had. CLE is a thousand times better. This list is garbage.

I also forgot to mention that the MCO United gate area only has seating for like 100 people while they have about 500 people to seat at a given time (at least during mid-day).

Yes but Orlando is a pretty airport, and we all know style beats substance! I'd love it if Cleveland Hopkins looked like Orlando, just not performed like it.

Comparing MCO to CLE is not even a fair comparison.  Orlando is WAY larger than CLE in terms of passenger volume, with a large portion of that number amateur travelers with children, or even amateur travelers attending their once-a-year corporate convention. 

 

If you have any status and TSA Pre, avoiding all those folks is easy and Orlando is not all that bad.

I was thinking more in terms of architectural styling rather than scale. BTW Orlando's airport grew larger than Cleveland's only in my lifetime.

Interesting article... United has "comfort dogs" in select airports to alleviate stress during holiday flying.  Cleveland is getting some nice treatment for a non-hub airport.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/21/pf/united-airlines-dogs-holiday-travel-stress/index.html?iid=surge-grid-dom

 

I like this idea.  Surprising it was also done last year while everybody's favorite CEO Smisek was still in charge.  I thought positive PR and making customers happy was not his MO.

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me, it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me, it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know

 

If the city is paying people for that then it's just one more reason the airport should be under some sort of regional control.

 

Want to pump up people? Modernize the airport to actually compete with other similar size metros.

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me, it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know

 

If the city is paying people for that then it's just one more reason the airport should be under some sort of regional control.

 

Want to pump up people? Modernize the airport to actually compete with other similar size metros.

 

It's actually organized by Destination Cleveland and the groups are made up of volunteers

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me, it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know

 

If the city is paying people for that then it's just one more reason the airport should be under some sort of regional control.

 

Want to pump up people? Modernize the airport to actually compete with other similar size metros.

 

It's actually organized by Destination Cleveland and the groups are made up of volunteers

 

Cool. No issue with that.

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me, it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know

 

If I'm arriving CLE for the first and I see that, my response is "WTF"?? Or....

 

 

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me' date=' it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know [/quote']

 

Your instincts are right. I think its pathetic and small-townish. It ultimately makes the city look stupid.

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me, it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know

 

If the city is paying people for that then it's just one more reason the airport should be under some sort of regional control.

 

Want to pump up people? Modernize the airport to actually compete with other similar size metros.

 

I disagree.  I DO NOT want the airport under "regional" control. It will end up a bargaining chip like GCRTA and residents and visitors will suffer!

 

Yes the airport needs lots of modernization.  IMO, Concourses, A & B should be torn down and rebuilt and add an international terminal.  This takes money, dedicated airlines and a leader who thinks of our region and airport as international.  We need to take a look at boston.  It's big city with no hub but a focus city for many airlines.

 

 

CLE put a picture on IG of greeters with signs pumping people up for arriving here.  Anyone else think that's a little weird? Or do you like it?  To me' date=' it seems a little like we are trying too hard to put off that "we're friendly, we're happy vibe".  Maybe its good, I don't know [/quote']

 

Your instincts are right. I think its pathetic and small-townish. It ultimately makes the city look stupid.

No it doesn't.  Air travel is stressful.  It shows that we have a function airport with little or no chaos.  However, just like the forum, the picture will be interpreted in many ways.

Your instincts are right. I think its pathetic and small-townish. It ultimately makes the city look stupid.

No it doesn't.  Air travel is stressful.  It shows that we have a function airport with little or no chaos.  However, just like the forum, the picture will be interpreted in many ways.

 

Well put.