Scranton/Wilkes-barre has an awesome airport! And la guardia is a dump. The representation of the city thing has no legs

LaGuardia may be lackluster, but JFK is certainly a gorgeous airport that enhances a traveler's overall experience, especially if they're stuck there for a while. It is part of a city's identity, a major part. There is a reason cities with significant momentum - San Fran, Miami,  DC, for example - have made enormous cosmetic investments in their airports.

I fly in and out of CLE pretty much every month. The place is run like it's a glorified bus station - and it shows.

Agree

 

Cleveland will be in an uphill battle during the RNC after people arrive at that bunker.

 

Airports are bus stations...and the only thing that the RNC delegates will care about at the airport is how quickly they get in, retrieve their bags, and get on their way to the hotel....Hopkins is not a show place...all it needs is to be clean and for the most part it is

 

But what does 'Cleveland' care about? I'm sorry, but that 'functionality is everything' mentality is exactly what I'm saying the problem is here. Given the nature of this forum I scarcely need to make this point so I won't belabor it, but it's like saying that the 925/ Huntington building is 'just a bank'. Why not just make everything out of pre-fabs!

Speaking of amateur, I flew out this morning and cringed when I saw the HAND-WRITTEN (in marker) signs on drywall directing passengers to airlines, TSA Pre, etc.    I was in a hurry so failed to snap a picture--maybe someone else could grab one. 

 

Really CLE?  You guys didn't see this coming with the construction?  Go to Kinkos or something and have a bunch of airlines and arrows printed up. 

 

Going back to this---Scene Magazine has now picked up on what I was complaining about:

 

http://photos.clevescene.com/16-photos-that-explain-the-hopkins-airport-experience/#1

 

http://photos.clevescene.com/16-photos-that-explain-the-hopkins-airport-experience/#14

 

I don't have a big issue with the those signs as long as they pointing people in the right direction. My only issue with hand written signs is it makes it easier for some jackss[/member] with a marker to come along and mess with it. I've seen that more than once.

 

As an anecdote, I once landed at Hopkins late in the evening (last april). When we arrived at the gate, the pilot said they couldn't find a ground crew to bring us into the gate. He literally told the passengers that it was so late in the evening that 'the ground crew forgot about us.' We sat there for 20 minutes until someone noticed that we were there and got us up to the gate. There needs to be an overhaul of the management here.

 

Yeah, that has nothing to do with the people running the airport. If your flight arrived on-time you need to complain to the airline.

 

I fly in and out of CLE pretty much every month. The place is run like it's a glorified bus station - and it shows.

Agree

 

Cleveland will be in an uphill battle during the RNC after people arrive at that bunker.

 

Airports are bus stations...and the only thing that the RNC delegates will care about at the airport is how quickly they get in, retrieve their bags, and get on their way to the hotel....Hopkins is not a show place...all it needs is to be clean and for the most part it is

 

Airports are bus stations? Tell that to the folks in Detroit, Denver, Washington, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore, Dubai and Miami. What's sad is that most of those areas have much, much nicer airports and aren't rolling debt over year-over-year like Hopkins is. It's embarrassing.

 

A lot of those RNC folks will be flying to Cleveland from Washington National. So they're flying from a modern, beautiful, efficient and open facility to a dark hallway from the 1950s. And this will not be a reflection of Cleveland? Really?

 

Scranton/Wilkes-barre has an awesome airport! And la guardia is a dump. The representation of the city thing has no legs

 

LaGuardia is a dump but is packed to the gills with people. Hopkins is a dump and with large parts sitting empty. Which is worse?

 

JFK T4, T5 and T8 blow the doors off anything that's in Cleveland. Even dumpy Newark has nicer sections than Hopkins.

 

Of course NYC is an international port of entry, Cleveland seems to have given up on that since United left. If you've ever been to the Customs facilities at Hopkins you'd understand why Cleveland may never see real international air service again.

 

Wait, those handwritten pictures are serious??? Jesus, they look terrible. I've never seen anything like that in an airport. Embarassing.

 

Unfortunately, a project like what happened in Indianapolis will not happen here in the near future.  The hand drawn signs will be gone before major RNC air traffic begins, and we will have what we have always had, a functional airport without major aesthetics.

 

Do I wish our airport looked nicer and had a design more appropriate to current travel trends and Cleveland air traffic?  Yes, I do.  But right now, it is better to parse out the good things so traveling feels better/easier.  For example, we have some decent local restaurants there (Panini's, Great Lakes Brewery), and luggage gets to the baggage claim area faster than many other airports.

Lots of good discussion here lately. Everyone is "right" in some form or another.

 

Me personally, I've always enjoyed my travels through Hopkins. It's incredibly convenient both the terminal layout (D gates were a bit of a hike for local O&D) and location in and access to downtown and the entire metro. Yes the concourses, particularly A & B, are a bit downtrodden, but it's not a deterrent in the least. And the AirMall, particularly the food outlets, are fantastic. As opposed to most airports where I wouldn't be caught dead ordering an overpriced, hastily made sandwich, I relish coming into CLE and deciding whether to go to Panini's, The Pub, or Great Lakes to pass the time until the flight.

 

As far as the hand-drawn sign debacle is concerned, I do believe they should be removed immediately if not already. They do look awful, aren't particularly helpful since they do not match the rest of the terminal's way-finding signage and are very susceptible to vandalism. As someone pointed out, it would've been easy and cost-efficient to simply go to a FedEx Store or other sign-making shop and get some temporary signage in place. Hand-written "signage" is simply unacceptable at any large-scale public facility regardless of construction. Imagine something similar hanging at Med Mart!

 

Now as far as the impression the airport makes to visitors, however, can be disconcerting. I recently helped host a bachelor party in Cleveland and met 3 guests from other cities in CLE as I was flying in from NYC. They were flying Delta and I arrived an hour earlier, so I met them in B. I suggested we take the Rapid however they were more interested in getting downtown as quickly as possible, so we took a taxi. I had never taxied into the city, so I was anxious to see how the experience would go. I was very impressed with the ease of the entire process and found it convenient, user-friendly and well worth the price. On the ride in, the other guest quipped about how depressing CLE was and how it made a poor first impression that actually lingered throughout the entire trip. I found that interesting since they had departed from LGA. Granted, the Delta's Terminals C & D are the newer gates at LGA, but I know they've traveled through the CTB and know how lackluster it is. I figured they'd at least be able to appreciate the convenience of CLE.

 

As far as the references to IND are concerned, anyone would love to have a facility like theirs. A simple Google Image search will reveal that. The new IND airport had great timing in that their previous facility was probably in even worse shape than CLE, air traffic at IND was increasing at the time, and that funding was in place for the project before 9/11, the SARS epidemic, and the Great Recession. Though the face lifts in progress for the current facility at Hopkins do look nice. Hopefully similar refreshes are in-store for Concourses A and B.

I'd be willing to overlook Hopkins' shortcomings if we were a hub again along with nonstops to Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris CDG and/or Amsterdam.

 

Kind of ironic that CLE is still using its oldest concourses while its newest sits empty. Hopkins could probably function just fine (and present a better first impression) if Concourses A and B were demolished and everything operated out of C and D.

I'd be willing to overlook Hopkins' shortcomings if we were a hub again along with nonstops to Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris CDG and/or Amsterdam.

 

Kind of ironic that CLE is still using its oldest concourses while its newest sits empty. Hopkins could probably function just fine (and present a better first impression) if Concourses A and B were demolished and everything operated out of C and D.

 

I was thinking this same thing when they closed D.  Is there some reason they closed the newest concourse instead of keeping it open and closing one of the oldest ones for extensive rehab/rebuild?  I know D was built for regional jets, but if I also remember correctly those gates were built in a way that they could be converted to mainline jets.  Having most flights go through C and D, in addition to the current main terminal redo would seems to be a cost effective way to "modernize" the look of the airport using what we've already got for the time.  Is there some reason this can't be done?

It is a short walk from the ticketing lobby to the end of A or B concourses.  It is a very long walk to the beginning of the D concourse - especially from the ticket desks at the north end of the terminal.

 

 

It is a short walk from the ticketing lobby to the end of A or B concourses.  It is a very long walk to the beginning of the D concourse - especially from the ticket desks at the north end of the terminal.

 

 

 

It's been a while since I've used Concourse C (I've been an exclusive Southwest patron for the last few years), but is the concourse wide enough to install moving walkways? Not that that would necessarily be a wise use of funds, but just a thought.

It is a short walk from the ticketing lobby to the end of A or B concourses.  It is a very long walk to the beginning of the D concourse - especially from the ticket desks at the north end of the terminal.

 

 

 

It's been a while since I've used Concourse C (I've been an exclusive Southwest patron for the last few years), but is the concourse wide enough to install moving walkways? Not that that would necessarily be a wise use of funds, but just a thought.

 

I don't think it would be wide enough.  Concourse C is a bit of a puzzle... either deserted or jam-packed at peak times with everyone one spilling out into the concourse while trying to board.  I think if they had enough money to do that, it would be better spent elsewhere.

Concourse D is closed for a few reasons but mainly because it is designed for "regional" aircraft. With the hub gone, most of the aircraft operating at Hopkins are too large to use those gates. It needs to be realigned to handle a 737 or A320. Or it needs to be demolished once the United lease is up. Dealing with this situation should be the next Hopkins project along with a Customs upgrade. Not holding my breath on either though.

Concourse D is closed for a few reasons but mainly because it is designed for "regional" aircraft. With the hub gone, most of the aircraft operating at Hopkins are too large to use those gates. It needs to be realigned to handle a 737 or A320. Or it needs to be demolished once the United lease is up. Dealing with this situation should be the next Hopkins project along with a Customs upgrade. Not holding my breath on either though.

 

Wasn't concourse D designed for this to happen easily?  I thought it was designed for conversion to mainline jets whenever that would be needed. 

It is a short walk from the ticketing lobby to the end of A or B concourses.  It is a very long walk to the beginning of the D concourse - especially from the ticket desks at the north end of the terminal.

 

Exactly. Most airline corporate real estate departments take distances between assets into great consideration. Even though the facility is newer, its relative isolation is a huge deterrent. If CLE were to create access from the head house to Concourse D via a tunnel or other means it might help change things, however check-in desk location would remain incrementally poorer as one moves north along the head house regardless.

 

Concourse D is closed for a few reasons but mainly because it is designed for "regional" aircraft. With the hub gone, most of the aircraft operating at Hopkins are too large to use those gates. It needs to be realigned to handle a 737 or A320. Or it needs to be demolished once the United lease is up. Dealing with this situation should be the next Hopkins project along with a Customs upgrade. Not holding my breath on either though.

 

Wasn't concourse D designed for this to happen easily?  I thought it was designed for conversion to mainline jets whenever that would be needed. 

 

I believe only the end RJ gates are readily capable to handle mainline aircraft. Even if the East side fingers used for propeller-driven aircraft were to be removed and replaced to handle larger planes, I'm not sure if there's enough room for aircraft to taxi in and around the concourse. Not to mention the concourse itself would be stretched for interior space if all current carriers consolidated there as its only slightly wider that the banjo neck of the C Concourse.

Concourse D is closed for a few reasons but mainly because it is designed for "regional" aircraft. With the hub gone, most of the aircraft operating at Hopkins are too large to use those gates. It needs to be realigned to handle a 737 or A320. Or it needs to be demolished once the United lease is up. Dealing with this situation should be the next Hopkins project along with a Customs upgrade. Not holding my breath on either though.

 

Wasn't concourse D designed for this to happen easily?  I thought it was designed for conversion to mainline jets whenever that would be needed. 

 

I heard that too but maybe the financial investment isn't worth it. That's fine, it's just that once the United lease is up Cleveland will be footing the bill to keep an abandoned concourse alive. Needs to be dealt with sooner than later, especially with the amount of debt Hopkins has. The people running the airport have stayed silent about this issue.

Concourse D is closed for a few reasons but mainly because it is designed for "regional" aircraft. With the hub gone, most of the aircraft operating at Hopkins are too large to use those gates. It needs to be realigned to handle a 737 or A320. Or it needs to be demolished once the United lease is up. Dealing with this situation should be the next Hopkins project along with a Customs upgrade. Not holding my breath on either though.

 

Wasn't concourse D designed for this to happen easily?  I thought it was designed for conversion to mainline jets whenever that would be needed. 

 

I heard that too but maybe the financial investment isn't worth it. That's fine, it's just that once the United lease is up Cleveland will be footing the bill to keep an abandoned concourse alive. Needs to be dealt with sooner than later, especially with the amount of debt Hopkins has. The people running the airport have stayed silent about this issue.

 

UAL is sitting on "D" for a reason.  They could have easily exercised the lease termination provisions of the Lease Agreement and Indenture which govern the Bond issued to finance the Project and been done with it.  Just because UAL didn't make a hub work at CLE is no reason why someone else couldn't and UAL knows that.  "D" can easily handle to new generation of larger RJ's such as the E170/175, E190/195, CRJ700/900/1000 and others.  And as pointed out, with some slight modification, B737 series and A320 Series.  "D" also need a connection to the main terminal/ticketing area. 

Does anyone know how long the lease is for? Is there a clause in the lease allowing the City to terminate?

Does anyone know how long the lease is for? Is there a clause in the lease allowing the City to terminate?

 

The lease goes through 2027.  I think it's likely that there is or could be a termination clause, but seeing as United is paying the city a fair amount of money on that lease, there is little incentive to terminate at this time.

You misunderstand....the termination option would be at united's discretion and not the city's.  Ual would pay a termination price and walk away which would be cheaper than 11 more years of lease payments.  And im sure that since that lease was written in the 1990's the provisions were probably to cal's advantage.  Ual is def sitting on D for a reason...either to stiffel competition or against future expansion....ive heard that they wanted to keep enough gate space to accomodate approx 130 departures/day and appear to be doing just that.  130 isnt much of a loss from the 175 or so when there was a hub

You misunderstand....the termination option would be at united's discretion and not the city's.  Ual would pay a termination price and walk away which would be cheaper than 11 more years of lease payments.  And im sure that since that lease was written in the 1990's the provisions were probably to cal's advantage.  Ual is def sitting on D for a reason...either to stiffel competition or against future expansion....ive heard that they wanted to keep enough gate space to accomodate approx 130 departures/day and appear to be doing just that.  130 isnt much of a loss from the 175 or so when there was a hub

 

Yeah, I know. There is a grand mystery of why United is still forking out cash but Cleveland doesn't care because they are getting paid. Yet Cleveland doesn't have a plan when the money runs out. Needs to be dealt with sooner than later.

 

United blocking future expansion? From who? There are so many unused and underused gates currently without D an airline could come in and expand easily before running out of space.

 

This also begs the question why would United re-start the hub or even make it a large focus city again. The money is in international flights and Cleveland has no plans to renovate the ancient Customs facility and the hub was losing money for years. Hoping the United hub comes back is pipe dream currently.

 

There is probably a deal between Cleveland and United that is keeping lease payments going. Maybe the termination fee is something ridiculous.

Well the deal is the Lease Agreement and no matter the cost of termination , 11 more years of Lease Payments will cost much more.  While there appears to be excess gate capacity, AA is going to move to C from A and Delta is rumoured to be doing the same from B.  This will allow F9 and NK to move to B freeing up A for a much needed replacement - which may well include your customs facility. The claims that CAL/UAL lost money for years is contradictory to CAL's statements that CLE was profitable and contrary to statements made at the time of the merger which stated that the hub was profitable.  I dont see a hub returning either, but there is definite room for expansion by either UAL or AA.  CLE generates dexent yields and loads.  It is def in UAL's interest to keep another legacy carrier from expanding too much. 

Well the deal is the Lease Agreement and no matter the cost of termination , 11 more years of Lease Payments will cost much more.  While there appears to be excess gate capacity, AA is going to move to C from A and Delta is rumoured to be doing the same from B.  This will allow F9 and NK to move to B freeing up A for a much needed replacement - which may well include your customs facility. The claims that CAL/UAL lost money for years is contradictory to CAL's statements that CLE was profitable and contrary to statements made at the time of the merger which stated that the hub was profitable.  I dont see a hub returning either, but there is definite room for expansion by either UAL or AA.  CLE generates dexent yields and loads.  It is def in UAL's interest to keep another legacy carrier from expanding too much. 

 

A handful of points:

 

-- I've never seen the lease agreement so I don't know what the terms are. We can make all the educated guesses we want but we may never know why United is paying Cleveland.

 

-- Even with the airlines dancing around Cleveland has no plans to upgrade any concourse or the Customs facility.

 

-- Former United CEO Smisek said straight up the Cleveland hub was losing money for over a decade. I know he is a skeezebag but the hub was shut down for a reason.

 

Well the deal is the Lease Agreement and no matter the cost of termination , 11 more years of Lease Payments will cost much more.  While there appears to be excess gate capacity, AA is going to move to C from A and Delta is rumoured to be doing the same from B.  This will allow F9 and NK to move to B freeing up A for a much needed replacement - which may well include your customs facility. The claims that CAL/UAL lost money for years is contradictory to CAL's statements that CLE was profitable and contrary to statements made at the time of the merger which stated that the hub was profitable.  I dont see a hub returning either, but there is definite room for expansion by either UAL or AA.  CLE generates dexent yields and loads.  It is def in UAL's interest to keep another legacy carrier from expanding too much. 

 

-- Former United CEO Smisek said straight up the Cleveland hub was losing money for over a decade. I know he is a skeezebag but the hub was shut down for a reason.

 

 

Just because he said so doesn't make it true. As mentioned earlier, several other reports from CAL dispute the "losing money" claims of Smisek.

 

A handful of points:

 

-- I've never seen the lease agreement so I don't know what the terms are. We can make all the educated guesses we want but we may never know why United is paying Cleveland.

 

-- Even with the airlines dancing around Cleveland has no plans to upgrade any concourse or the Customs facility.

 

-- Former United CEO Smisek said straight up the Cleveland hub was losing money for over a decade. I know he is a skeezebag but the hub was shut down for a reason.

 

The hub was shut down because of a lack of pilots for the regional carriers doing business as United Express.  Since CLE's operation was mainly regional, it was a logical target.  This couldn't be said publicly, because I believe they would have been fined under the terms of the agreement signed during the merger.  Thus, the claim of lack of profitability.  As a lawyer, I'm sure Smisek was well aware of the ways to accomplish what he needed.  The truth of the matter is that the hub was simply not needed and it was eliminated.  However, it was done in such a way that reminded me a bit of the "The Decision" and Clevelanders took it personally.

 

A handful of points:

 

-- I've never seen the lease agreement so I don't know what the terms are. We can make all the educated guesses we want but we may never know why United is paying Cleveland.

 

-- Even with the airlines dancing around Cleveland has no plans to upgrade any concourse or the Customs facility.

 

-- Former United CEO Smisek said straight up the Cleveland hub was losing money for over a decade. I know he is a skeezebag but the hub was shut down for a reason.

 

The hub was shut down because of a lack of pilots for the regional carriers doing business as United Express.  Since CLE's operation was mainly regional, it was a logical target.  This couldn't be said publicly, because I believe they would have been fined under the terms of the agreement signed during the merger.  Thus, the claim of lack of profitability.  As a lawyer, I'm sure Smisek was well aware of the ways to accomplish what he needed.  The truth of the matter is that the hub was simply not needed and it was eliminated.  However, it was done in such a way that reminded me a bit of the "The Decision" and Clevelanders took it personally.

 

Here's what I know, the horse's mouth said it was unprofitable for a long time, now others say he is liar. All I can go by is what is said. He hasn't been called out by anyone that matters and the hub is closed. Odds are it wasn't worth keeping open no matter what.

 

Just to make clear, I'm not Cleveland bashing. I think Cleveland is an underserved market now and I know there is a way to bring back most of the dropped United service to the area with carriers that want to invest in Cleveland. For example, I know JetBlue folks have a certain fondness for the area which is why they were so quick to come in once United left. The folks running Hopkins need to court that relationship.

 

Holding out hope that United will come back is a bad idea. I worry the master plan for the folks running Hopkins is sitting on their hands hoping they'll come back before the lease expires. I hope I'm wrong about that.

 

Here's what I know, the horse's mouth said it was unprofitable for a long time, now others say he is liar. All I can go by is what is said. He hasn't been called out by anyone that matters and the hub is closed. Odds are it wasn't worth keeping open no matter what.

 

Just to make clear, I'm not Cleveland bashing. I think Cleveland is an underserved market now and I know there is a way to bring back most of the dropped United service to the area with carriers that want to invest in Cleveland. For example, I know JetBlue folks have a certain fondness for the area which is why they were so quick to come in once United left. The folks running Hopkins need to court that relationship.

 

Holding out hope that United will come back is a bad idea. I worry the master plan for the folks running Hopkins is sitting on their hands hoping they'll come back before the lease expires. I hope I'm wrong about that.

 

The hub is NOT coming back, nor is any other hub going to come to Cleveland, but hopefully we can pick up a few destinations.  I don't know how scheduling and crew basing work, but I would believe that could be part of the issue for non-hub airports picking up additional destinations.  I will say this, one of my acquaintances who is a pilot has said that O'Hare had to pick up all of the regional passenger load from Cleveland and it hasn't been pretty (his words).

 

I hope you are right about JetBlue... they have a great product and I would love to see them enter the CLE-->JFK market.  Since United vacated JFK, whatever they would fly there would be an upgrade over the CRJ or ERJ service that is there currently.  I think they could do well with a once daily (or greater in the future) E190.  JetBlue is such a different product - I think the reason Smisek was reviled is because he nearly completely de-emphasized the customer and focused nearly entirely on the shareholder, which may help your stock in the short term, but is never a basis for long-term strategy in a service based industry like the airlines.  Having been surpassed by Delta earlier this week in size only confirms this shortsightedness by Smisek and United Continental as a whole.

 

I agree with you as well that it appears that those that manage Hopkins are unaware of how to maximize the potential of the airport and work with the carriers to provide more destinations and a better product.  I do hope that changes in the near future.

CLE-JFK is definitely underserved. When researching flights for an upcoming transatlantic trip, skyscanner and kayak tried to give me incredibly long (12+ hour) layovers at JFK, because CLE-JFK flights are so sparse. (I wouldn't have had a problem flying into LGA and finding a way across Queens, but then you have to do two separate tickets and that scares me.) Eventually I found a good itinerary though.

 

If JetBlue does a lot of codesharing with transatlantic carriers, even better.

 

Here's what I know, the horse's mouth said it was unprofitable for a long time, now others say he is liar. All I can go by is what is said. He hasn't been called out by anyone that matters and the hub is closed. Odds are it wasn't worth keeping open no matter what.

 

Just to make clear, I'm not Cleveland bashing. I think Cleveland is an underserved market now and I know there is a way to bring back most of the dropped United service to the area with carriers that want to invest in Cleveland. For example, I know JetBlue folks have a certain fondness for the area which is why they were so quick to come in once United left. The folks running Hopkins need to court that relationship.

 

Holding out hope that United will come back is a bad idea. I worry the master plan for the folks running Hopkins is sitting on their hands hoping they'll come back before the lease expires. I hope I'm wrong about that.

 

The hub is NOT coming back, nor is any other hub going to come to Cleveland, but hopefully we can pick up a few destinations.  I don't know how scheduling and crew basing work, but I would believe that could be part of the issue for non-hub airports picking up additional destinations.  I will say this, one of my acquaintances who is a pilot has said that O'Hare had to pick up all of the regional passenger load from Cleveland and it hasn't been pretty (his words).

 

I hope you are right about JetBlue... they have a great product and I would love to see them enter the CLE-->JFK market.  Since United vacated JFK, whatever they would fly there would be an upgrade over the CRJ or ERJ service that is there currently.  I think they could do well with a once daily (or greater in the future) E190.  JetBlue is such a different product - I think the reason Smisek was reviled is because he nearly completely de-emphasized the customer and focused nearly entirely on the shareholder, which may help your stock in the short term, but is never a basis for long-term strategy in a service based industry like the airlines.  Having been surpassed by Delta earlier this week in size only confirms this shortsightedness by Smisek and United Continental as a whole.

 

I agree with you as well that it appears that those that manage Hopkins are unaware of how to maximize the potential of the airport and work with the carriers to provide more destinations and a better product.  I do hope that changes in the near future.

 

Nobody is saying a hub will be back, but there is room for another airline to significantly increase service if they want and UAL has no incentive to allow that.  FWIW, UAL has not closed its CLE crew base and could easily increase flights by about 50% with little additional fixed costs. 

 

A Cleveland Hopkins Airport airfield maintenance worker drove a city vehicle across an active runway Sunday and passed beneath an aircraft that was taking flight.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2016/01/cleveland_hopkins_airport_work.html

 

Not cool. Neither is this....

One Allegiant Air plane had four emergency landings within six weeks http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/allegiant-air-appoints-new-coo/2262384 … via @TB_Times

Not cool. Neither is this....

One Allegiant Air plane had four emergency landings within six weeks http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/allegiant-air-appoints-new-coo/2262384 … via @TB_Times

 

Allegiant Air operates one of the oldest commercial fleets in this country.  This MD88 was put into service in 1989.  While not inherently unsafe due to age, you have to figure there is a couple bad apples floating around.

Not cool. Neither is this....

One Allegiant Air plane had four emergency landings within six weeks http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/airlines/allegiant-air-appoints-new-coo/2262384 … via @TB_Times

 

Allegiant Air operates one of the oldest commercial fleets in this country.  This MD88 was put into service in 1989.  While not inherently unsafe due to age, you have to figure there is a couple bad apples floating around.

 

Delta and American operate the MD88 on a much bigger scale than Allegiant everyday without incident. Allegiant is under investigation by the FAA for improper maintenance inspects and falsifying documents to save money. I wouldn't step foot onto an Allegiant plane, regardless the price of a ticket. Just look online, they have articles all over from varies incidences.

 

A Cleveland Hopkins Airport airfield maintenance worker drove a city vehicle across an active runway Sunday and passed beneath an aircraft that was taking flight.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2016/01/cleveland_hopkins_airport_work.html

 

So much bad pub coming from our airport. Christ, it's like he Browns. Mistake by the gates. 

 

A Cleveland Hopkins Airport airfield maintenance worker drove a city vehicle across an active runway Sunday and passed beneath an aircraft that was taking flight.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/index.ssf/2016/01/cleveland_hopkins_airport_work.html

 

 

Should have just said they were filming a movie.  :)

When I read about the incident, my first thought was "Wonder which councilperson he/she is related to?"

^The maintenance worker was, rightfully, fired. With all their other FAA issues, they did the right thing moving swiftly.

A newly issued (1/26) liquor license would seem to indicate that a Noodlecat outpost will be opening at Hopkins... ("5300 Riverside")

A newly issued (1/26) liquor license would seem to indicate that a Noodlecat outpost will be opening at Hopkins... ("5300 Riverside")

 

Great news!  Local flavors are always a plus at the airport.  There isn't currently a noodle place at the airport, is there?  I for one will be happy to get some ramen there if I have an afternoon flight.

This is good news indeed. Currently there is no place at Hopkins that I *want* to eat at. But with this I will actually build it into my schedule. Anyone know where its going to be?

Cool! Personally I have found that Hopkins actually offers a nice variety of places to eat at especially compared to some much larger airports I've been to. This should make it better!

If we go by the doom and gloom commentary on cleveland.com, United dropping St. Louis and Las Vegas as routes means that the regional economy is completely dead.  Because, as we all know, when people can't get to St. Louis or Las Vegas non-stop on a United plane, the local economy is in the toilet.

 

One real downside; there will be no non-stop flight between CLE and STL for about a month, since United shuts down their service in May and Southwest doesn't start their service until June.

 

If the city ever found itself flush with cash (haha!), I wonder what they would do if they could do whatever they wanted with the airport, assuming they still had to fit within their current footprint.  How many gates would they have?  Would they put in additional parking? 

United sucks....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/united_airlines_to_cut_nonstop.html

United sucks....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/united_airlines_to_cut_nonstop.html

 

Lame.  In my experience, the United CLE-STL flights have always been full.  At least Southwest is picking up the CLE-STL route again that they picked up a few years ago.....  And I guess I'm not going to Vegas nonstop ever, because I refuse to fly Frontier or Spirit. 

United sucks....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/united_airlines_to_cut_nonstop.html

 

Lame.  In my experience, the United CLE-STL flights have always been full.  At least Southwest is picking up the CLE-STL route again that they picked up a few years ago.....  And I guess I'm not going to Vegas nonstop ever, because I refuse to fly Frontier or Spirit.

 

You could get to Vegas non stop on SW too.

United sucks....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/united_airlines_to_cut_nonstop.html

 

Lame.  In my experience, the United CLE-STL flights have always been full.  At least Southwest is picking up the CLE-STL route again that they picked up a few years ago.....  And I guess I'm not going to Vegas nonstop ever, because I refuse to fly Frontier or Spirit.

 

You could get to Vegas non stop on SW too.

 

Poor reading comprehension on my part.  My point in general is that we seem to be becoming a hotspot of the ULCCs, and I'm not a fan.  It's better to have them than nothing, but it's disappointing we keep losing more and more flights on legacy carriers.

If a human soul has any measurable weight, the airlines would sell all of theirs to save a little airplane weight.

It looks like LaGuardia is getting a major modernization facelift. Hopkins is slowly falling into a league of it's own.

 

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/02/8591013/port-move-forward-62-billion-airport-projects

Still scratching my head over the fact that this rennovation still does not cover the dropoff or pickup zones.  You still have to unload or load your bags in the rain and snow....

 

In other news, she did note that AA is planning on moving to the C concourse.

 

Trying times for fliers at Cleveland Hopkins airport: one traveler's tale

 

http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/trying_times_for_fliers_at_cle.html#incart_m-rpt-1

I still don't understand why we are so harsh on Hopkins?! I've flown all over the US and world and while Hopkins is far from the biggest terminal, for it's size it has pretty good amenities. It's very clean too. Are the hallways paved in granite? No, but do they really need to be? Sure I would love it if they rebuilt the whole airport, but at this point, I would not say we are in a league of our own.