And for today's announcement, MORE flights to Charleston.  Allegiant announced 2x weekly to Charleston beginning June 6 and 2x weekly to Norfolk, VA beginning June 7th.  Both cities are seasonal.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2019/01/15/allegiant-air-16-new-routes-including-alaska-flights/2576112002/

Great to see improved service to the southeast...it looks like weekend getaways to Charleston are finally doable. This time last year it cost $450 RT minimum to visit, including a lengthy layover in either Charlotte or Atlanta.  I just hope Allegiant following Frontier into Charleston doesn't saturate the route so neither can survive.  

 

 

Nice ULCC adds! Is Frontier keeping San Antonio?

It no longer appears as a non-stop.

 

Edited January 17, 20196 yr by Pugu

Cleveland Hopkins passenger traffic grows 5.5 percent to highest number in 10 years

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland Hopkins International Airport welcomed 9.64 million passengers in 2018, a 5.5 percent increase over 2017 and the most since 2008, before the Great Recession hit.

And the airport is poised for more growth, according to Airport Director Robert Kennedy, who said predictions show the airport will exceed 10 million passengers in 2019.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/01/cleveland-hopkins-passenger-traffic-grows-55-percent-to-highest-number-in-10-years.html

Edited January 15, 20196 yr by ws966112

I wonder how close CVG will come to CLE in the passenger number category??

I remember them projecting 9.6 million at the beginning of the year. Impressive how accurate they were!

Crain's is finally on the story.....

 

 

On 1/16/2019 at 5:16 PM, richNcincy said:

I wonder how close CVG will come to CLE in the passenger number category??

 

700k less

It's nice to see all of Ohio's airports seeing positive year over year growth. 

The Jackson administration should: 

 

A.  Play circus music during their press conferences

 

B.  Turn over operations of the airports to people who run airports for a living.  

 

City Hall reverses policy, will allow curbside drop-off, pickup at Cleveland Hopkins airport by commercial vehicles

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/02/city-hall-reverses-policy-will-allow-curbside-drop-off-pickup-at-cleveland-hopkins-airport-by-commercial-vehicles.html

ha...how the mob going to smuggle if city aint running it?

Allegiant adding CLE-Nashville May 16th. 2x weekly.  Would be nice to see a new city from CLE, but this is better than nothing and adds some level of competition on the route as its only served by Southwest.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/02/allegiant-announces-new-flights-between-cleveland-hopkins-and-nashville.html

Ambitious Pittsburgh airport plan offers lessons for Cleveland Hopkins – Steven Litt

https://www.cleveland.com/expo/news/g66l-2019/02/94ca4b8b739940/ambitious-pittsburgh-airport-plan-offers-lessons-for-cleveland-hopkins-steven-litt.html

There are suddenly at least three billboards around town about Aer Lingus that says, "Aer Lingus Fáilte Cleveland", which translates to "Aer Lingus Welcomes Cleveland" meaning Aer Lingus may be adding Cleveland to their list of destinations.  A CLE-Dublin announcement may be coming in the next week or so.

15 minutes ago, Pugu said:

There are suddenly at least three billboards around town about Aer Lingus that says, "Aer Lingus Fáilte Cleveland", which translates to "Aer Lingus Welcomes Cleveland" meaning Aer Lingus may be adding Cleveland to their list of destinations.  A CLE-Dublin announcement may be coming in the next week or so.

 Wow. That’s pretty big news.  Where are the billboards?

I didn't see them myself but they are reported to be on 237 around Hopkins Airport, both northbound and southbound and one on I-71 northbound just south of Downtown.

 

My only hope is that the service is daily. Otherwise CLE will have an even tougher time landing a carrier for Cleveland-Europe that can be used by business. For business it must be daily and year-round, otherwise people will stick with AA/UA/DL/AC and connect on the east coast or YYZ before crossing the pond.  But if there is Icelandair and IE offering a few days a week each, then it makes it very hard for a daily to come in. Icelandair said they will be 4x/week. (Last year it was 5x.)

I should also add that Dublin (and also Shannon) has pre-clearance, meaning anyone leaving there and heading to Cleveland would have not to go through Hopkins' ridiculous FIS process where you have to clear immigration and then go through a lengthy TSA line (with no pre-check) just to be able to arrive in Cleveland.

30 minutes ago, Pugu said:

I should also add that Dublin (and also Shannon) has pre-clearance, meaning anyone leaving there and heading to Cleveland would have not to go through Hopkins' ridiculous FIS process where you have to clear immigration and then go through a lengthy TSA line (with no pre-check) just to be able to arrive in Cleveland.

 

Excellent point

On a completely unrelated note, I work in inflight for United, and for the first time since 2012 they've started adding more flight attendants/pilots to the CLE base! 

https://mobile.twitter.com/Sgt_Barone/status/1102307910158299138/photo/1

 

This one's on Rte 237

PD picked ran a story on the mystery:  https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/03/is-aer-lingus-coming-to-cleveland-hopkins-billboards-near-airport-raise-the-possibility.html

9 hours ago, ws966112 said:

On a completely unrelated note, I work in inflight for United, and for the first time since 2012 they've started adding more flight attendants/pilots to the CLE base! 

 

that's interesting as UA hasn't added any service. Is it for upcoming retirements or do you see (or hear) more service begin added? Would be a nice shift from UA's recent attitude towards CLE. For example, UA just cut Boston and within days of that announcement, DL swooped it up.

2 hours ago, Pugu said:

 

that's interesting as UA hasn't added any service. Is it for upcoming retirements or do you see (or hear) more service begin added? Would be a nice shift from UA's recent attitude towards CLE. For example, UA just cut Boston and within days of that announcement, DL swooped it up.

 

BOS was one of those point-to-point routes - I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.  I doubt that they will add any routes, but I wouldn't be surprised to see more upgauging (I was on a flight from Dulles to Cleveland recently on a 737... in the past it's always been on a much smaller CRJ-700).  Since they still have a reasonably costing 737 maintenance facility in Cleveland, and the airport continues to serve more and more O&D traffic, I would not be surprised to see them adding more capacity to their hubs from CLE.  Their load factors seem pretty high, and every time I fly, there is at least one flight in the vicinity of my gate where the flight is oversold.

 

That said, I would love it if they brought back CLE-DFW.

Anyone notice this nugget in the Litt piece about the new Pittsburgh terminal?

 

Robert Kennedy, Cleveland’s director of airports, has said the new plan for Cleveland-Hopkins could lead to $1 billion worth of construction starting in 2023. Airport executives also have hinted a new terminal could be in the offing.

5 hours ago, Pugu said:

 

that's interesting as UA hasn't added any service. Is it for upcoming retirements or do you see (or hear) more service begin added? Would be a nice shift from UA's recent attitude towards CLE. For example, UA just cut Boston and within days of that announcement, DL swooped it up.

I have not heard of any major shift in flying at CLE, however, we have added capacity on our seasonal routes (FLL, RSW) to include both mainline and an express flight. United also brought back TPA with express as well, with a potential it be covered by mainline. I have heard that the CLE base has been understaffed for years, so hopefully this gives the company potential for expansion, although it may not be major, at least it is something. 

Edited March 4, 20196 yr by ws966112

51 minutes ago, punch said:

Anyone notice this nugget in the Litt piece about the new Pittsburgh terminal?

 

Robert Kennedy, Cleveland’s director of airports, has said the new plan for Cleveland-Hopkins could lead to $1 billion worth of construction starting in 2023. Airport executives also have hinted a new terminal could be in the offing.

 

A friend of mine works at the engineering firm doing the Hopkins masterplan. They are working through a lot of ideas at this point. He even sent to me some site use concepts regarding a possible Amtrak/intercity rail interface for my review and comment. So apparently everything is on the table!

18 hours ago, Pugu said:

There are suddenly at least three billboards around town about Aer Lingus that says, "Aer Lingus Fáilte Cleveland", which translates to "Aer Lingus Welcomes Cleveland" meaning Aer Lingus may be adding Cleveland to their list of destinations.  A CLE-Dublin announcement may be coming in the next week or so.

Gotta wonder why Aer Lingus would have ''welcome'' to Cleveland billboards if service wasn't coming to Hopkins.  

 

Cleveland having a huge and deeply rooted Irish community doesn't hurt either.

Edited March 4, 20196 yr by Oxford19

That would be great for CLE to get Aer Lingus service. Makes alot of us CVG users jealous. Starting to think our airport board has gotten comfortable with the new domestic service and carriers and arent as hungry for more. Since WOW is no more it would be nice to try and gain intl service beyond CDG for our airport. 

The Aer Lingus mystery continues.  Apparently some of the billboards were all taken down--one day after they were put up. Also revealed today was that there are delays in Aer Lingus' newest aircraft order.  (https://www.independent.ie/life/travel/travel-news/delayed-delivery-of-aer-lingus-aircraft-to-impact-thousands-of-passengers-37876736.html)

 

So---were the billboards real (but not commissioned by IE, but someone else like Destination Cleveland?) and taken down after the delayed delivery became news?  Or a hoax performed by someone with a cash to burn?  Something else? Airports Director Kennedy said it wasn't the city who paid for the billboards.

 

Edited March 5, 20196 yr by Pugu

So apparently the signs were just for a scouting visit from EI. Still not clear who paid for them or what the  purpose was.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/03/aer-lingus-scouts-cleveland-for-possible-new-transatlantic-service-to-ireland.html

11 hours ago, Pugu said:

So apparently the signs were just for a scouting visit from EI. Still not clear who paid for them or what the  purpose was.

 

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/03/aer-lingus-scouts-cleveland-for-possible-new-transatlantic-service-to-ireland.html

lol this tactic reminds me of the Lebron come to [insert city] billboards that sprouted up around town last year.

C'mon Eaton Corp.  Pull your weight!  You were once a Fortune 200 company here in the USA...

For all you Southwest fans:   Southwest added CLE-DAL (Dallas Love Field) to their timetable this morning, but its Sunday-only. Not sure of the point of that---as even on Sundays AA is 5x (in Oct. but to DFW) and Spirit is 1x. Service begins Oct 6th.

Edited March 15, 20196 yr by Pugu

On 3/15/2019 at 11:00 AM, Pugu said:

For all you Southwest fans:   Southwest added CLE-DAL (Dallas Love Field) to their timetable this morning, but its Sunday-only. Not sure of the point of that---as even on Sundays AA is 5x (in Oct. but to DFW) and Spirit is 1x. Service begins Oct 6th.

 

Maybe connections to Mexico for leisure travelers?

On 3/15/2019 at 11:00 AM, Pugu said:

For all you Southwest fans:   Southwest added CLE-DAL (Dallas Love Field) to their timetable this morning, but its Sunday-only. Not sure of the point of that---as even on Sundays AA is 5x (in Oct. but to DFW) and Spirit is 1x. Service begins Oct 6th.

 

Urban Ohio beat the Plain Dealer by a full two days with this info. 

 

Southwest Airlines reduces Cleveland-Las Vegas service, adds flight to Dallas Love Field

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2019/03/southwest-airlines-reduces-cleveland-las-vegas-service-adds-flight-to-dallas-love-field.html

 

Maybe connections to Mexico for leisure travelers?

 

DAL is domestic-only.

Are you kidding? The Plain Dealer hasn't reported on some stories that occurred more than a year ago and still deserve coverage.

^My apologies.  For new flights, at least, the usually cover it the day it is public. Though, in this case there was no press release on it so maybe that's their main source...

On 3/15/2019 at 11:00 AM, Pugu said:

For all you Southwest fans:   Southwest added CLE-DAL (Dallas Love Field) to their timetable this morning, but its Sunday-only. Not sure of the point of that---as even on Sundays AA is 5x (in Oct. but to DFW) and Spirit is 1x. Service begins Oct 6th.

Yeah w/ just 1x/wk WN is forcing people to fly them only one-way. I think a full 7 days in LAS is above the average vacation length for that destination. I find F9's schedule of like Wednesday / Saturday annoying enough but 1 day only is useless. 

It must be aimed at the Dallas market--so they can spend a week long vacation in CLE--Sunday to Sunday.

They are doing this in Cincinnati with 1x a week to PHX and MCO. Its great to finally have Southwest at CVG but either commit or dont introduce 1x weekly flights. 

Yeah not sure how that works as a test of the market for expansion at CVG

In Columbus Southwest has once weekly flights to New Orleans and Oakland. It's definitely an odd schedule and I can't figure out a reason for it. 

On 3/19/2019 at 9:23 AM, Pugu said:

It must be aimed at the Dallas market--so they can spend a week long vacation in CLE--Sunday to Sunday.

 

I wonder if this is just a positioning flight?

Cleveland friends of mine on Facebook are getting targeted by Aer Lingus ads lately. Here is one of them and the why they are being targeted....

When I get ads like this I leave a comment like "let me know when the direct flights begin!"

Icelandair gone?

^Yes, temporarily.

 

Icelandair cancels service from Cleveland, cites Boeing 737 Max 8 woes

 

Icelandair is canceling service from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for the summer, largely due to the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max 8 airplanes.

 

The carrier’s Cleveland to Reykjavik route, launched last year and set to resume May 17, used the 737 Max 8 plane exclusively. The aircraft has been grounded worldwide, following two fatal crashes within five months. It’s unclear when the plane will be allowed to fly again.

 

More below:

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2019/03/icelandair-cancels-service-from-cleveland-cites-boeing-737-max-8-woes.html

It was already reduced to seasonal though was it not? I'll wait and see, but feels like the aircraft issues just give them the necessary excuse to exit the market.

13 minutes ago, snakebite said:

It was already reduced to seasonal though was it not? I'll wait and see, but feels like the aircraft issues just give them the necessary excuse to exit the market.

 

Agreed.  I will be very surprised if they come back to this market in 2020.