2 hours ago, surfohio said:

I have a trip to CLE scheduled in four weeks. At this point I'll be kind of surprised if my flight isn't cancelled. Who knows what the situation will be like by then. 

 

I agree that it will likely be cancelled---at least I hope so. The whole country needs to shut down otherwise we'll never get ahead of this. All the states can order quarantines, but only the Federal government can stop the flights (unless the airlines themselves to it). In the BEST CASE SCENARIO, i've heard the peak will be the end of April/early May. But that's only if the country as a whole acts now, but Trump doesn't appear remotely capable.

"Cleveland Hopkins (CLE): 

 

• Cancellations today (3/26): there are 133 flight cancellations for Cleveland Hopkins: 72 flights to Cleveland and 61 Cleveland departures.
• United Airlines is suspending LAX-CLE through the end of April. Currently still on the schedule at 2x daily in May."

https://www.centerforcleveland.org/covid-19

1 hour ago, Pugu said:

"Cleveland Hopkins (CLE): 

 

• Cancellations today (3/26): there are 133 flight cancellations for Cleveland Hopkins: 72 flights to Cleveland and 61 Cleveland departures.
• https://www.centerforcleveland.org/covid-19

You mean they parked 11 planes?

^No. That means 72 flights from whereever that were destined for CLE today have been cancelled. ALSO, 61 scheduled departures were also cancelled.  yes, the difference between the two numbers is 11, but that doesn't mean anything about where aircraft are.  UA has been storing some planes in CLE--but they're not directly tied to these numbers. DL, AA, B6, WN, Frontier---everyone is cancelling flights all over the country.

Construction to start at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on expanded center for shuttles, limos
 

https://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/2020/03/construction-to-start-at-cleveland-hopkins-international-airport-on-expanded-center-for-shuttles-limos.html

Also posted in the Coronavirus thread.....

 

 

Well, we all wanted to see more planes at CLE.  It finally happened.  ?

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/04/frontier-airlines-cuts-90-of-capacity-flying-only-to-orlando-from-cleveland-hopkins-in-april.html

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/04/spirit-airlines-suspending-service-at-cleveland-hopkins-other-airports-for-one-month.html

31 minutes ago, skiwest said:

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2020/04/spirit-airlines-suspending-service-at-cleveland-hopkins-other-airports-for-one-month.html

 

Hmm, what are the chances I'm getting a refund? 

5 minutes ago, surfohio said:

 

Hmm, what are the chances I'm getting a refund? 

 

I'm sure they'll want to offer you a credit towards a future flight.  

On 4/2/2020 at 4:49 PM, surfohio said:

 

Hmm, what are the chances I'm getting a refund? 

 

I got a full credit for my flight I had scheduled for mid-May.

 

Not that I was clamoring for it lol it was a whole $29.

2 hours ago, GISguy said:

 

I got a full credit for my flight I had scheduled for mid-May.

 

Not that I was clamoring for it lol it was a whole $29.

 

Nice. Did you have to call them?

2 hours ago, surfohio said:

 

Nice. Did you have to call them?

 

Nope, I was able to do it through their website - confirmation number and last name and login/cancel the flight, it was super easy surprisingly. 

 

They had my wrong email otherwise I assume I would've gotten an email about it sooner, I just saw the news and decided to check out the site. It took maybe 5 minutes.

2 hours ago, GISguy said:

 

Nope, I was able to do it through their website - confirmation number and last name and login/cancel the flight, it was super easy surprisingly. 

 

They had my wrong email otherwise I assume I would've gotten an email about it sooner, I just saw the news and decided to check out the site. It took maybe 5 minutes.

Good to hear, thanks again. Especially since their customer service via phone in the past has been...not good. FYI they have my correct address but haven't emailed me yet about their cancellations. Meanwhile I've got nothing currently booked on Frontier and they're emailing every day explaining their situation in detail. 

On 3/18/2020 at 1:13 PM, Cleburger said:

 

Cabin air is recirculated in far greater frequency than most other gathering places. 

 

https://www.askthepilot.com/questionanswers/cabin-air-quality/

I see absolutely no reference to that recirculated air being forced specifically through HEPA filters however.  I'd feel a little more comfortable knowing that the recirculated portion is HEPA filtered. Furthermore, no filtration system can protect passengers from an ill passenger in an adjacent seat.

 

You still have tremendous exposure to unsanitary surfaces and potentially un-HEPA filtered air on planes.

 

When I was younger, I would travel in suits and more formal attire; until I saw a sick passenger and a child ruin a seat cushion and armrest. They were cleaned and swapped out at the next stop. Today, I'm ultra casual on flights.

 

Edited April 12, 20205 yr by Frmr CLEder

2 hours ago, Frmr CLEder said:

I see absolutely no reference to that recirculated air being forced specifically through HEPA filters however.  I'd feel a little more comfortable knowing that the recirculated portion is HEPA filtered. Furthermore, no filtration system can protect passengers from an ill passenger in an adjacent seat.

 

You still have tremendous exposure to unsanitary surfaces and potentially un-HEPA filtered air on planes.

 

When I was younger, I would travel in suits and more formal attire; until I saw a sick passenger and a child ruin a seat cushion and armrest. They were cleaned and swapped out at the next stop. Today, I'm ultra casual on flights.

 

 

"Bleed air", i.e. fresh from outside, is even better but using it degrades fuel efficiency so it doesn't happen often.

 

Only the young can dress ultra casual successfully.  If I do it, I get mistaken for one of the homeless and treated like one..

Cleveland Hopkins was awarded $46 million in grants from the CARES Act recently passed. John Glenn received roughly $31 million. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky received $42 million. 

https://www.faa.gov/airports/cares_act/media/cares-act-airport-grant-amounts.pdf

 

It's nice to see all these jets at D concourse, even though they are just parked there temporarily.

Edited April 20, 20205 yr by skiwest

Took a trip to the cell lot with my son to look at some Sad airplanes (see the engine coverings) what struck me is I hadn’t realized just how much room there is for mainline 737 and the like A320 style size jets on the backside of D concourse in the gate and taxiway, as I’d only ever seen it with regional jets. More than enough space in an airport revamp, for the ground floor walkout gates to be removed, and concourse level jetways installed, re do the taxiway and inside waiting areas and you’ve got a brand new 15-20 gate terminal. Room for up to 9/10  parked per side depending on how much space you could squeeze inside. This would be ideal, to move Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant To as a low cost terminal, or even half delta / southwest, as Concourse A and then Concourse B are rebuilt in phases. In the end this concourse could serve any of those long term.  
 

Of course you would have to let United out of their lease when ready to start...

6 hours ago, Taller_is_better said:

 

Of course you would have to let United out of their lease when ready to start...

 

 

I wonder if a stronger Congressional rep could have held United to the fire on the lease in lieu of receiving bailout funds.    Of course it would also take strong city leadership to be ahead of that and offer United a deal to get out during this economic downturn.  

2 hours ago, Cleburger said:

I wonder if a stronger Congressional rep could have held United to the fire on the lease in lieu of receiving bailout funds.    Of course it would also take strong city leadership to be ahead of that and offer United a deal to get out during this economic downturn. 

 

United would be happy to get out the lease. They pay over $1M per month. Its the city would be the loser here if that money stopped coming.

On 4/26/2020 at 9:46 PM, Pugu said:

 

United would be happy to get out the lease. They pay over $1M per month. Its the city would be the loser here if that money stopped coming.

 

There in lies the problem.

 

As long as CLE is city owned and operated, it will never realize it's full potential of becoming a regional economic engine vs a short-term income stream. The city is too focused on short-term income versus long-term regional investment and development.

 

United is very vulnerable right now and I have little sympathy after being de-hubbed, not once, but twice by them.

 

It's a shame but CLE's value is being underappreciated similar to the way in which Westside Market has been squandered as an economic engine and community resource. You look at SEA and Pike Place Market and you can see what could have been and what could be.

 

A tale of two cities; one successful, one not so much!

Edited April 28, 20205 yr by Frmr CLEder
Terrible spell check.

Starting May 3rd Frontier will be expanding ops to four destinations: Denver, Ft. Myers, Tampa and Orlando. Currently they are just flying to Orlando 4 times a week.

 

Spirit will be back on May 5th with a flight to Orlando. For the first half of the month this flight will stop in Columbus to pick up more passengers on the outbound flight.

 

I used to fly Cleveland-Columbus on Dash 8s back in the 90s on Continental Express. It's been a while since the two cities were linked up with air service. maybe a decade or so.

 

Baby steps. Will see how all this works out.

Edited April 27, 20205 yr by AmrapinVA

 

Hopkins will DOUBLE the amount of service in June......from 20 daily flights to about 40.

 

"Next month, Hopkins airport will reinstate nonstop service to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Newark, Washington Reagan, Miami, St. Louis, Raleigh/Durham, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, SC, and Norfolk."

 

https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/several-nonstop-flights-return-to-hopkins-airport-next-month/

^ not getting on plane now with the reduced flights/crowding horror stories you see. ugh.

^ Can't say I blame you. I can just imagine the EWR and LGA flights.

On 4/27/2020 at 9:45 AM, Frmr CLEder said:

The city is too focused on short-term income versus long-term regional investment and development.

 

In a slow but sure way, the city has managed to reduce the airport's debt by about $300 million over the past 6 years despite the  dehubbing. The virus disruption will probably cost them a year, but even so, by 2024 the debt should be down to about $300 million or less. If the city hadn't done this, they could not finance a major (perhaps total) rebuild of the terminal, which is being planned at present. 

 

They really have been doing lots financially behind the scenes - not to mention handling record 2019 O&D traffic, a reflection of the area's economic progress.  The payoff should become visible when the master plan rewrite is finished and they can commission the design of a splashy new terminal.

 

I'm not sure a regional management body could have done much more.

32 minutes ago, Dougal said:

 

In a slow but sure way, the city has managed to reduce the airport's debt by about $300 million over the past 6 years despite the  dehubbing. The virus disruption will probably cost them a year, but even so, by 2024 the debt should be down to about $300 million or less. If the city hadn't done this, they could not finance a major (perhaps total) rebuild of the terminal, which is being planned at present. 

 

They really have been doing lots financially behind the scenes - not to mention handling record 2019 O&D traffic, a reflection of the area's economic progress.  The payoff should become visible when the master plan rewrite is finished and they can commission the design of a splashy new terminal.

 

I'm not sure a regional management body could have done much more.

 

Thanks for putting this out there - maybe it'll teach people to do a minimal amount research before resorting to the old Cleveland loser mentality comments.

Edited May 29, 20205 yr by Clefan98

^ Its not about a "Cleveland loser mentality" it's about a dysfunctional airport management structure that's been consistently scandal prone.

 

That has been well documented.

Edited May 29, 20205 yr by Frmr CLEder

Perhaps, but I'd take the city running the airport any day over the county, which has zero experience.  And about the county, there is Jimmy Dimora & friends....  That has been well documented.

Local leaders in Cuyahoga, Summit, Geauga, Medina, and Lake counties should invest in seeing what a single, regional airport could do for the region. 

3 hours ago, Pugu said:

Perhaps, but I'd take the city running the airport any day over the county, which has zero experience.  And about the county, there is Jimmy Dimora & friends....  That has been well documented.

 

The Country has run CGF for decades.  It's a well-maintained reliever airport.  You'll also notice that it has more aviation-related businesses and offices surrounding the property than CLE and BKL combined, which IMO is a sad indicator of what it's like to have the City of Cleveland as a landlord.... 

Spirit Airlines launching flights from Cleveland to New York City

 

Fares from Cleveland to the New York City area could start coming down this summer as Spirit Airlines begins service between Cleveland Hopkins and Newark Liberty International Airport.

 

The new flights would compete with dominant United Airlines, which recently restarted service between Cleveland and Newark, N.J., and offered as many as seven flights a day to the city before the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Although air travel demand has plummeted since the pandemic, airlines have been gradually resuming service.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cleveland/news/2020/06/03/spirit-airlines-launching-flights-cleveland-ny.html

 

I went from traveling practically every week for work to now likely not traveling again until 2021 at best... BUT- I would've loved a Delta CLE - EWR route.  Nothing like flying to LGA hell to then treck across Manhattan to get into Jersey (I'm being dramatic, but still ?)

The Post-Gazette says that Standard and Poor's has recently downgraded PIT airport's credit outlook to negative, adding that other airports were affected as well.  It's easy to believe CLE would be one of the affected.  So it's good CLE's credit needs are minimal for the next couple of years. 

 

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2020/06/05/Pittsburgh-International-Airport-1-1-billion-modernization-Standard-Poors-credit/stories/202006050081

Edited June 5, 20205 yr by Dougal
to include site ref.

https://fox8.com/news/coronavirus/more-airlines-restart-service-at-cleveland-hopkins-international-airport/

 

Edited June 10, 20205 yr by skiwest

Jet Blue, showing a bit of confidence, announced it will add "up to" one daily flight from Cleveland to Ft Myers beginning October 1st.  I'm guessing "up to" means daily in peak periods, less than that otherwise.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200618005531/en/

Edited June 18, 20204 yr by Dougal

^That's great as it shows B6's interest in CLE and will hopefully eventually lead to more routes.

Cleveland Hopkins hopes to build a new ground transportation center by Thanksgiving

 

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is in the final planning stages for a new ground transportation center for hotel vans, limousines and other commercial vehicles that pick up and drop off passengers.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cleveland/news/2020/06/26/cleveland-hopkins-new-transportation-center.html

 

I thought they were already working on the new ground transportation center.

^No luggage and virtually no people at all in that rendering!

Where is this located?   I couldn't get into the article and not about to give Advance Media any subscription money ?

1 hour ago, Cleburger said:

Where is this located?   I couldn't get into the article and not about to give Advance Media any subscription money ?

 

North end of the terminal.  There is a passageway at that end on the baggage claim level that you walk through to get to this area.  They've been doing shuttle drop-offs in that area for a while now.

 

https://www.clevelandairport.com/ground-transportation-center-construction-project

 

 

Here's a nice history of Cleveland Hopkins airport, just published in honor of its 95th birthday today.

 

https://www.airporthistory.org/cle-95-years.html?fbclid=IwAR1YvO_c2T8Ddgi_BbImhLCZehIP2aWA0EdsSlFFBGoar4z65uHUt89g8s8

 

Here's to hoping that we are celebrating the 100th birthday in 5 years with a new terminal and renovated concourses based off the upcoming master plan.

 

Article highlights the numerous "firsts" of Hopkins:

First municipally-owned airport in the United States (1925)

First air-freight route started by the Ford Motor Co. to and from Detroit (1925)

First scheduled interstate passenger services in the United States (1927)

First air traffic control tower in the US (1929)

First National Air Races (1930)

World’s first airfield lighting system (1930)

World’s first airplane-to-tower radio communication system (1930)

First passenger information board providing schedules of more than one airline (1956)

World’s first airport-based Emergency Training Program (EMT) program established (1965)

First direct airport to downtown rail service in the United States (1968)

 

Lots of great pictures too:

 

 

 

 

A technicality -- Hopkins (Cleveland Municipal) Airport had its first downtown rail line the day that it opened. The 1895-built Cleveland Southwestern Interurban Railway from Bucyrus and Medina to downtown Cleveland by way of Kamms Corners went up Rocky River Drive past the airport and had a stop there starting in 1925. It even offered joint ticketing with Stout Air Services to Detroit for a brief time. But "The Southwestern" ceased service in 1931. The airport-downtown portion was continued by the Cleveland Railway Co. (which operated the city's streetcar system) as an extension of the Lorain Avenue #20 streetcar. It operated until Dec. 15, 1937 via Kamm's corners until it was cut back to West 137th Street, then extended back to Kamms the following year, then to Puritas in 1942 and continued that way until the #20 streetcar was converted to trackless trolleys in 1952. But the "airport spur" continued to operate for the air show and other special events at the airport.

United Airlines to lay off 450 people at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

 

 

With the travel industry decimated by the Covid-19 crisis, United Airlines told the state of Ohio this week that it plans to lay off 450 people at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

 

"As of mid-June, demand for air travel remains more than 90% lower than last year. So, even if demand continues to slowly improve, it is unfortunately very likely that we will need to adjust the size of the company to reflect lower demand levels and implement a workforce reduction to reduce our labor expenses, beginning on October 1," wrote Kate Gebo, executive vice president human resources and labor relations at Chicago-based United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL), in a letter to the Ohio Office of Workforce Development.

 

Traffic at Cleveland Hopkins is a fraction of what it was a year ago.

 

According to the airport's own statistics, there were only around 44,000 passengers in the month of May, which is a tenth of the number from a year ago.

 

More below:

https://www.bizjournals.com/cleveland/news/2020/07/10/united-airlines-to-lay-off-450-people-at-cleveland.html

On 7/10/2020 at 11:40 AM, ColDayMan said:

United Airlines to lay off 450 people at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

 

 

 

 

Not surprised--I had somewhere around 25 flights since March that I've had refunded.    And there are people that fly WAY more than me doing the same.  Truly sad--hopefully United will make it through this downturn.   

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/07/united-airlines-chooses-cleveland-based-commutair-for-regional-flying-will-end-expressjet-partnership.html
 

If I’m reading this right this seems like a net positive for the region because they chose to go with a local company CommutAir.