March 16, 200718 yr ^ damn elitists and their "Presidents Clubs"....people like me have to fly on a buddy pass and slam down a 40 oz. on the Red line! So you're the SOB leaving St. Ides bottles on the seats! If it were not for their "club," then I would not be able to sit outside of the club and get free wi-fi.
March 16, 200718 yr ^ damn elitists and their "Presidents Clubs"....people like me have to fly on a buddy pass and slam down a 40 oz. on the Red line! So you're the SOB leaving St. Ides bottles on the seats! If it were not for their "club," then I would not be able to sit outside of the club and get free wi-fi. Oh so you're (one of) the SOB(s) that I'm always tripping over to get into the club or sitting to the right of the door trying to access the free wifi. I love seeing all those people congregate around the door or up the ramp to the circular gates all pacing back-n-forth like expectant dads trying to catch the wifi signal. LOL somedays I've been out there and have seen 10 of 15 people with back packs and laptops just parked in that area to the right of the doors. Im like people....just buy a membership, already!
March 16, 200718 yr Thankfully my mac can pick up the signal a little ways from door, so I don't have to sit around with THOSE losers.... just with a different bunch altogether. Seriously though - Why should we have to pay for access? I'm just a cheapskate and I do not recall for sure how things work at other airports, but isn't the trend to have access more readily available in other cities?
March 17, 200718 yr ^Off the top of my head, no, usually you have to pay. Although I was recently in Portland, and I do remember it being free there. If I'm somewhere where I have to pay, I just use my BB as a modem.
March 17, 200718 yr well, cleveland apparently wants to be the digital city. since they own the airport, it shouldn't be too hard to make free signals available throughout. vegas has free wifi, so does san jose. in the era of revenue generation at the airport, i guess the pertinent question is how much the tmobile or whoever is paying hopkins for the right to offer paid wifi is paying the city/airport (we already know that the aren't paying any taxes on the leased router real estate ;) ) . if it is a small amount, then the city should definately provide it for free.
March 17, 200718 yr I was wrong about Mr. Smith he seems to be very diligent in trying to make hopkins better. There has to be some accountability with these vendor not paying their share. ( Preferably sooner than later) I was skeptical also. I was under the "impression" that Mok was doing such a great job. Now that all these issues have been brought to the light, I'm not so sure. How can tennants not reimburse the airport for taxes for damn near 20 years?? Taxes which could have gone to improving services, improving the terminal and marketing the airport to new carriers and cities or keeping other costs low.
March 17, 200718 yr Not defending Mok, but how long was he here? 4 years - tops? I'm not sure we can place much blame on him yet (although the evidence against him is mounting). If this started happening at least 20 years ago, that takes us to Voinovich's administration. Has it really been just an oversite since then? Was there something fishy going on at the time and just became status quo since then? Where's Carl Monday?
March 17, 200718 yr Not defending Mok, but how long was he here? 4 years - tops? I'm not sure we can place much blame on him yet (although the evidence against him is mounting). If this started happening at least 20 years ago, that takes us to Voinovich's administration. Has it really been just an oversite since then? Was there something fishy going on at the time and just became status quo since then? Where's Carl Monday? Your right about the administration, but in that time frame we didn't have airport professionals working at the airport, but lawyers and bean counters. Ironic, isn't it? Four years is plenty enough time to find/sort out issues. Smith has started uncovering issues in just eight months.
March 17, 200718 yr I think Mok improved the airport, and now Smith is bringing it to the "next level"
March 17, 200718 yr I think Mok improved the airport, and now Smith is bringing it to the "next level" Lets hope! I pray for better coverage and more non stop flights from Cleveland and added/expansion of international flight, cause I hate going to EWR or DET to go across the pond!
March 19, 200718 yr Hooray! The PD has finally run a story that actually gives Cleveland MORE credit than it deserves. Apparently Hopkins MIGHT be one of the 5 or 6 American airports that is served by the A380...just like Cleveland MIGHT host the 2016 Olympics, or the Browns MIGHT win the Super Bowl next year... If you forget for a moment the taxi-way widening, apron stregthening, jetway and terminal improvements, and ideal weather conditions that would allow the A380 to regularly utilize 9000 ft runways, then the spokeswoman has just delivered some optimistic news!!! Hopkins runway could handle superjumbos Monday, March 19, 2007 Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, with 9,000-foot runways, could handle the A380, airport spokeswoman Pat Smith said. The world's largest airplane, the six-engine Antonov An-225, landed at Hopkins in 2003, she said. There is no word yet on whether Hopkins will see A380s on a regular basis. The A380 is larger than the Boeing 747 jumbo, which has reigned as the largest airliner for four decades. The Antonov An-225 is a Russian cargo airliner, designed to transport spacecraft for the former Soviet Union. Reuters News Service, The Plain Dealer.
March 19, 200718 yr Since we have a reliever hub and continental is already short on planes, I HIGHLY doubt we'll be seeing any big jets, remember the London and the new paris service is on a 757, in Cleveland anytime soon. The exception is jets flown by the rich middle easterns to bring their families in for check ups at the Cleveland Clinic.
March 19, 200718 yr Bigger plane huh? The airlines already treat their passengers like cattle. The A-380 is just a bigger cattle car. My daughter was one of those thousands stranded at Philadelphia's ariport by U.S. Airway's inability to get enough planes in the air. It was her first solo flight and she was already anxious that it go smoothly. What should have been an easy flight to Orlando with a change in Philly turned into a long night of back and forth cell phone calls to keep her (and my wife and I) calm.... no thanks to the lack of information or any other help from the airline's people on the ground. It took her 16 and a half hours to complete a trip that should have taken half of that time. Oh yes, the CEO of US Airways will have an e-mail from an irate Dad on his desk after her return flight home.
March 19, 200718 yr Bigger plane huh? The airlines already treat their passengers like cattle. The A-380 is just a bigger cattle car. My daughter was one of those thousands stranded at Philadelphia's ariport by U.S. Airway's inability to get enough planes in the air. It was her first solo flight and she was already anxious that it go smoothly. What should have been an easy flight to Orlando with a change in Philly turned into a long night of back and forth cell phone calls to keep her (and my wife and I) calm.... no thanks to the lack of information or any other help from the airline's people on the ground. It took her 16 and a half hours to complete a trip that should have taken half of that time. Oh yes, the CEO of US Airways will have an e-mail from an irate Dad on his desk after her return flight home. Airlines usually treat you worse, if you happen to be "non elite". the noreaster that came thru on Friday affected air travel from DC to Boston. Part of the problem is the NY/NJ PA doesn't regulate Newark. Continental knows that it could send up to 20%of its flights to Cleveland to avoid delays that happen shortly after 11AM. LGA is regulated, but let a rain storm come in....it immediately means delays from DC to Boston. Noozer, what exactly happened?
March 19, 200718 yr Here's another blurb about the Airbus & Hopkins.... ___________________ Hopkins: We Can Handle World's Largest Jet 03-19-2007 11:39 AM (Cleveland, OH) -- If the new title-holder of "The World's Largest Passenger Jet" ever needs to land at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, it won't have any problem doing so. Hopkins officials say the airport's 9-thousand foot long runways can accommodate the Airbus A380, which debuts in the U.S. today. They point to a 2003 landing of the Antonov An-225, a Russian cargo jet which is considered the world's largest airliner. Since there are no U.S. orders for the A380 yet, it may be some time before one does actually land in Cleveland. Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 19, 200718 yr My daughter landed in Philly only to find U.S. Airways didn't have a plane vailable for the second leg of her flight to Orlando. Her scheduled flight was supposed to leave at 7:05 p-m. Whe they finally "found" a plane, it was almost 1:00 a-m before she boarded and the flight took off. She said the U.S. Airways people in the Philly airport were alternately rude or just plain helpless and uninformative about the status of flights. To be sure, they were faced with a lot of irate delayed passengers, but that doesn't excuse the siutation. I understand weather delays, etc.... but these were storms that were predicted and one would think the airlines would staff and otherwise prepare their fleet for just such an event. I mean, even the U.S. Navy and Air Force move their planes around when weather gets particularly bad (as in a hurricane or "Nor-Easter".) I've seen F-18's and other military aircraft from Florida and the Gulf Coast moved up to Wright-Patterson AFB and Ohio Air National Guard bases in advance of hurricanes. My daughter returns Tuesday evening (via Charlotte) on U.S. Air, so we'll see how that goes.
March 19, 200718 yr Noozer, the weather is the problem. the slighest bit of rain or snow, affects Boston to Dc. Granted we think that a plane should easily move from "here to there" but because of union rules, sometimes that is not an options. Was your daughter flying from Cleveland? Is, so why didn't she take the direct flight? Lastly, USScareways personell are the worst! They continulaly score low and passengers complain like crazy. Unless your daughter is "elite" I would think your letter will met by deaf ears. In a situation like Friday's delays and problems are bound to happen.
March 19, 200718 yr What the hell was Mok doing? Hopkins owes $1 billion Posted by jdubail March 19, 2007 13:12PM Cleveland Hopkins International Airport owes $1 billion and is spending half its operating income to pay off the debt, airport Director Ricky Smith told The Plain Dealer today. Meeting with the newspaper's editors and reporters, Smith said he has refinanced $128 million of that debt, which has saved about $15 million, but much more needs to be done to boost revenue. The director, new to the job in July, said the debt has pushed up Hopkins' landing fees, making them the highest in the region and hurting the airport's ability to attract new airlines. Smith said he is putting together a strategic plan for Hopkins. He said he wants to bring in new airlines and launch an aggressive marketing campaign. The director said he is committed to increasing revenues by re-negotiating retail contracts and expanding parking. Smith said he also wants to improve the looks of the airport's terminal and customer services, including taxi service. "It's crucial that the airport runs well, has strong customer service programs and that it's aesthetically pleasing,'' he said. "All I've done is put paint on the walls. I haven't done anything yet."
March 19, 200718 yr My daughter flew from Port Columbus and the only available (and most affordable) flight was with a stop in Philly. "Elite" or not, I intend to make the situation known..... I also plan a letter to the editor in US Air's hometown paper in Phoenix.
March 19, 200718 yr I believe all of this came from the IX center and airport expansion under mike white. What the hell was Mok doing? Hopkins owes $1 billion Posted by jdubail March 19, 2007 13:12PM Cleveland Hopkins International Airport owes $1 billion and is spending half its operating income to pay off the debt, airport Director Ricky Smith told The Plain Dealer today. Meeting with the newspaper's editors and reporters, Smith said he has refinanced $128 million of that debt, which has saved about $15 million, but much more needs to be done to boost revenue. The director, new to the job in July, said the debt has pushed up Hopkins' landing fees, making them the highest in the region and hurting the airport's ability to attract new airlines. Smith said he is putting together a strategic plan for Hopkins. He said he wants to bring in new airlines and launch an aggressive marketing campaign. The director said he is committed to increasing revenues by re-negotiating retail contracts and expanding parking. Smith said he also wants to improve the looks of the airport's terminal and customer services, including taxi service. "It's crucial that the airport runs well, has strong customer service programs and that it's aesthetically pleasing,'' he said. "All I've done is put paint on the walls. I haven't done anything yet."
March 20, 200718 yr Video link to the landing of the A-380 in L-A. Pay close attention to what happens when it first touches down: looked like the pilots were trying to land several thousand tons of Jello. Not sure I would have wanted to be on board for this landing. http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/business/2007/03/19/vo.ca.airbus.landing.cnn
March 20, 200718 yr Merged. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 20, 200718 yr Airport boss wants more retail sales in terminal Smith says vendor monopoly stifles purchases by fliers Tuesday, March 20, 2007 Michael O'Malley Plain Dealer Reporter People at Cleveland's airport spend a lot less on food, drink and gifts than people at the nation's other airports, and airport Director Ricky Smith blames contracts that give one company a monopoly. Smith said Monday he plans to generate more retail sales - and airport revenue - through new vendor contracts when they expire this year and in 2009. Out of the largest 50 airports across the nation, he said, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ranks 45th in the amount of retail dollars passengers spend in terminals while waiting for flights. At Hopkins, which is strapped with $1 billion in debt, a passenger spends an average of $5.50, he said. "Every passenger should be spending about $11," he told a meeting of reporters and editors at The Plain Dealer Monday. The airport receives a percentage of sales once the concessions meet minimum thresholds. Smith speculated part of the problem is too much control by one company, HMSHost of Bethesda, Md., which has all food, beverage and gift-shop contracts at Hopkins. Plain Dealer reporter Susan Vinella contributed to this story. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-4893
March 20, 200718 yr Video link to the landing of the A-380 in L-A. Pay close attention to what happens when it first touches down: looked like the pilots were trying to land several thousand tons of Jello. Not sure I would have wanted to be on board for this landing. http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/business/2007/03/19/vo.ca.airbus.landing.cnn from the appearance of things, somebody goofed on the brake modulation, and the right-side brakes got a little grabby, or else the plane touched down ever so slightly tilted to starboard... either of these situations could cause the yawing seen in the video, which is further amplified by the sheer size of this damn aircraft... what's the over/under on when the first one goes kaboom? every "turrist" with access to a shoulder-launched SAM has got to be salivating...
March 20, 200718 yr One of travel staff members at one of the mags (either TIME, Popular Science or T&L) was on the flight and some folks from my staff along with other correspondents got to see/tour the plane this morning at the media preview. I understand the IFE is supposedly awesome, the plane has a camera in the tail, so you can see the entire plane (wing to wing, tail to nose) while in flight. Most people on the plane thought that was the coolest channel in IFE. They could see the plane takeoff and land, but that was just for the test flight, they don't think that they will keep that on, during regularly schedule flights. The way that the plane is set up, with (IIRC) 18 FC seats, 60 Business class seats, it felt roomy. The bathrooms have windows in them (which I think is a cool feature) and are twice the size of current bathrooms. It even has an "bar/lounge" on it. I don't think that will stay once the product is delivered to airlines though.
March 21, 200718 yr the bathrooms have windows?! oh you mean facing out.. that actually took me a second. i just wish I had flown on a 747 when they still had piano bars.
March 21, 200718 yr the bathrooms have windows?! oh you mean facing out.. that actually took me a second. i just wish I had flown on a 747 when they still had piano bars. Sorry, yes. I'm not sure if it is a window or several windows that look to the outside of the plane, not into the cabin. I think its nice you can "handle your business" will watching the fluffy clouds go by. :laugh: I think JAX is in the early stages of planning how to join the Mile High Club! :wink:LOL
March 21, 200718 yr ^This coming from a man with a Picture window in front of his tub. Noozer: My wife was in Scotland/Ireland/Wales last week. Was scheduled to come home Saturday night via ny/nj... finally came home today.
March 21, 200718 yr ^This coming from a man with a Picture window in front of his tub. Noozer: My wife was in Scotland/Ireland/Wales last week. Was scheduled to come home Saturday night via ny/nj... finally came home today. OH MY GOD. How dare you use that against me! You can't see into my bathroom. Its just the tub, not the toilette, besides the lights are usually out when I'm in the tub.
March 21, 200718 yr So, what is the normal debt figure for most large airports? I know that $1 billion is an awful lot of money, but how does that compare with Pittsburgh, Cincy, Columbus, etc? I'm not expecting a rosy response, but I'd bet its not as bad as the PD makes it out to be.
March 21, 200718 yr My daughter landed in Philly only to find U.S. Airways didn't have a plane vailable for the second leg of her flight to Orlando. Her scheduled flight was supposed to leave at 7:05 p-m. Whe they finally "found" a plane, it was almost 1:00 a-m before she boarded and the flight took off. She said the U.S. Airways people in the Philly airport were alternately rude or just plain helpless and uninformative about the status of flights. To be sure, they were faced with a lot of irate delayed passengers, but that doesn't excuse the siutation. I understand weather delays, etc.... but these were storms that were predicted and one would think the airlines would staff and otherwise prepare their fleet for just such an event. I mean, even the U.S. Navy and Air Force move their planes around when weather gets particularly bad (as in a hurricane or "Nor-Easter".) I've seen F-18's and other military aircraft from Florida and the Gulf Coast moved up to Wright-Patterson AFB and Ohio Air National Guard bases in advance of hurricanes. My daughter returns Tuesday evening (via Charlotte) on U.S. Air, so we'll see how that goes. Noozer, Moving commercial aircraft is no means like moving military aircraft. A wide variety of military aircraft can recieve clearance in weather above and beyond anything commercial. The weather on the east coast on that Friday was horrendous. If there are any METAR's reporting moderate ice pellets, moderate freezing rain or heavy snow almost all commerical airlines will not allow aircraft to takeoff or land, even flights that are to be ferried to make up for operational delays. DCA, IAD, BWI, PHL, JFK, LGA, BDL and BOS all had multiple hours of either moderate freezing rain or moderate ice pellets before changing to light/moderate snow. Even if conditions had improved by arrival to allow her aircraft to land....the aircraft she was to take to MCO could very well have been stuck in BOS or someother place and could not recieve clearance due to the 3+ hour ground delay program that Philly had. (By the way, none of this information is secret, you can get accurate hourly airport weather reports at www.nws.noaa.gov and you can find airport/commercial airspace delay information at both fly.faa.gov and at www.fly.faa.gov/ois/. DON'T EVER check an airline website even if those morons in the media advise it...call the reservation center. They can give you the most up-to-date info.) If there was no aircraft to be "found", I highly doubt this was an "union issue". The plane was probably literally was stuck somewhere else and USAir router in Phoenix was probably trying to see if there was an existing aircraft at PHL that could handle the flight. That being said, I don't care how busy it is, if a USAir employee was rude to your daughter, you should let someone know. If you don't like the results, I would complain to the U.S. DOT. If USAir was not giving you any information, you need to make sure you get the names of the employees involved. If they refuse, ask to speak to supervisor. If they refuse that request, go to another counter or gate that is not busy and ask them to get one and the names of the people. My only suggestion for you and your daughter, don't start the conversation by picking a fight. Be polite/move on, if you are polite eventually you find someone equally so, who will help you. It may feel like pulling teeth and you might have to go through 20+ people to find this person, but they are there (even with the USAir folks in Philly) and they will help. If you need any additional info Noozer, feel free to PM me. I hate it when idiots from one airline help to make us all look bad.
March 21, 200718 yr Video link to the landing of the A-380 in L-A. Pay close attention to what happens when it first touches down: looked like the pilots were trying to land several thousand tons of Jello. Not sure I would have wanted to be on board for this landing. http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/business/2007/03/19/vo.ca.airbus.landing.cnn from the appearance of things, somebody goofed on the brake modulation, and the right-side brakes got a little grabby, or else the plane touched down ever so slightly tilted to starboard... either of these situations could cause the yawing seen in the video, which is further amplified by the sheer size of this damn aircraft... what's the over/under on when the first one goes kaboom? every "turrist" with access to a shoulder-launched SAM has got to be salivating... Jetdog, I saw the same yaw landing problem with this fat-ass plane when it landed at LHR last fall. I don't know if it's a A380 problem or a pilot training issue, but it if keeps landing like that...these planes will be out-of-service with maintenance issues alot longer than any of the airlines intended.
March 21, 200718 yr So, what is the normal debt figure for most large airports? I know that $1 billion is an awful lot of money, but how does that compare with Pittsburgh, Cincy, Columbus, etc? I'm not expecting a rosy response, but I'd bet its not as bad as the PD makes it out to be. 3231, It's not the debt that's the issue. It's the airport landing fees. If they are using the airlines to pay of the a greater proportion of the debt than in say CVG, CMH or PIT, then airlines will be reluctant to start new services at CLE and will go to other airports. If CLE can't get new flights, then there won't be more passengers, meaning less revenue for the city, vendors, etc.
March 21, 200718 yr Hooray! The PD has finally run a story that actually gives Cleveland MORE credit than it deserves. Apparently Hopkins MIGHT be one of the 5 or 6 American airports that is served by the A380...just like Cleveland MIGHT host the 2016 Olympics, or the Browns MIGHT win the Super Bowl next year... If you forget for a moment the taxi-way widening, apron stregthening, jetway and terminal improvements, and ideal weather conditions that would allow the A380 to regularly utilize 9000 ft runways, then the spokeswoman has just delivered some optimistic news!!! Hopkins runway could handle superjumbos Monday, March 19, 2007 Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, with 9,000-foot runways, could handle the A380, airport spokeswoman Pat Smith said. The world's largest airplane, the six-engine Antonov An-225, landed at Hopkins in 2003, she said. There is no word yet on whether Hopkins will see A380s on a regular basis. The A380 is larger than the Boeing 747 jumbo, which has reigned as the largest airliner for four decades. The Antonov An-225 is a Russian cargo airliner, designed to transport spacecraft for the former Soviet Union. Reuters News Service, The Plain Dealer. CLE needs reliable 767 service first that could go non-stop to Europe before even thinking of the 380. Gotta live the PD on this one though.
March 25, 200718 yr In addition to new Houston-Heathrow service in 2008, Continental has also announced that it will inaugurate service to Paris in 2008 from the airline`s hub at Cleveland where it operates seasonal service to London/Gatwick. The airline is working with the City of Cleveland to establish the necessary facilities at Hopkins International Airport in time for the launch of the Paris route. Under the SkyTeam alliance, passengers on the Continental flight to Paris will make convenient connections to other points around the world on Air France flights from its Paris hub. http://www.traveldailynews.com/new.asp?newid=36277&subcategory_id=53
March 25, 200718 yr actually Continental, has applied for IAH-LHR service, its not 100% confirmed. I wish they would apply for CLE-LHR, CLE-AMS, CLE-BER, CLE-DBN service, along with mexico city, Daily San Juan, Virgin Island, Hawaii, domincan republic, Panama City & Isreal service but I can only dream...
March 25, 200718 yr According to someone posting on Wikipedia.....Continental will start CLE-YQB (Quebec City) service, once daily, on June 8th. No CAL announcement though.
March 25, 200718 yr i dont believe hopkins needs retail...in fact i dont know what ails them and how they could get to 1 billion before any bells went off. ive been to quite a few airports and i find cleveland as one of the cleanest, easy to navigate airports. when i need a beer i can find a bar. when i need a paper or magazine i can find one. there seems to be plenty of retails options aside from those. what do u want a wal-mart there. just manage your money and keep it clean.
March 26, 200718 yr i dont believe hopkins needs retail...in fact i dont know what ails them and how they could get to 1 billion before any bells went off. ive been to quite a few airports and i find cleveland as one of the cleanest, easy to navigate airports. when i need a beer i can find a bar. when i need a paper or magazine i can find one. there seems to be plenty of retails options aside from those. what do u want a wal-mart there. just manage your money and keep it clean. How often do you fly? the reason for the upgrades, which is needs to do BADLY! Is that hopkins is a hub airport and in order to keep up, rather catch up, with other hubs which often face long delays especially from a domestic to international flight, you need amenities, rather up to date amenities to compete with other hub airports. the pluses for hopkins is the easy to navigate and very few delays even in bad weather. but, those waiting areas are cramped, outdated, small windows, not many plugs and the restaurants that are there are not quality. also, if you're on concourse D there is no PC club. the only good thing happening is that northwest is moving to concourse A although, people connecting to those flight will have further to go. Also, the check in areas are a bitch at times. Customer convienience is high on list. Look at Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Newark, Detroit, Dallas, IAD and all the amenities they offer passengers, then cmpare them to Cleveland. Hell even Boston, Baltimore, Oakland, Portland, Ft. Lauderdale, Pittsburgh and Covington make Hopkins look bad.
March 27, 200718 yr I'm w/MTS, although for a hub, I believe Cleveland has relatively little connecting traffic which makes the retail a bit less impt. Still, what's there is generally crap. Also, can we get some natural light in terminal C???
March 29, 200718 yr Lawmaker: Airport chief skirted law Says Smith bypassed council on project Thursday, March 29, 2007 Susan Vinella Plain Dealer Reporter Cleveland's airport chief was accused Wednesday of intentionally skirting City Council to complete work on a new taxi pickup area, a violation of city law. The work, which includes a new wrought-iron fence, lights, sliding glass doors, curbs and road repair, is a significant improvement that requires council approval, Councilman Kevin Kelley said at a meeting of his Aviation and Transportation Committee. Airport Director Ricky Smith disagreed. "It's routine work that we do every day," he told Kelley, noting that a city attorney advised him he could proceed without council approval. But the attorney, Jack Arnold, told the committee that he was unaware of all the improvements Smith had planned. Arnold said that had he known the scope of the work, he would have advised Smith to obtain council approval. "To the extent of what I understand has been done," Arnold said, "I would have considered it a public improvement." Smith said he completed the work on a former employee parking lot near the terminal at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport with money from maintenance contracts that council already had approved. He said he did not know how much was spent or who did the work, but he promised to get that information to Kelley soon. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: [email protected], 216-999-5010 http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1175158563286060.xml&coll=2&thispage=1
March 29, 200718 yr Yeah, following the law does slow down progress. Ask the Chinese. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 29, 200718 yr well, a $10,000 limit seems pretty low to ask for approval, when you are running a large operation. if anything, this should be increased to 25 or 50k or something to give a little flexibility in operating the business.
March 29, 200718 yr I'll take a guess and say that the $10k limit probably wasn't indexed to inflation nor has it been increased in years to keep up with inflation. It was probably set in the 80s.
March 30, 200718 yr Yeah, following the law does slow down progress. Ask the Chinese. Don't you think that might be a bit harsh, KJP? Mr. Smith has been quite diligent and staightfoward about previous airport leaders and their staff with their handling of non-payment of taxes that has likely cost the airport millions of dollars. There also seemed to be a fair amount of illegality with contract issues as well. He has accused noone of wrong doing, yet I believe the man is being very diplomatic. Clearly something strange was going on. Meanwhile you're comparing him to a Chinese politican because he changed an employee parking lot to a revenue one? Mind you, the move was to INCREASE revenue for the city. My question is, where was City Council oversight on this issue that cost the airport so much money? Maybe Kevin Kelley, chairman of the Aviation and Transportation Committee knows: 601 LAKESIDE AVENUE, ROOM 220 CLEVELAND, OH 44114 (216) 664-2843 • (216) 664-3837 fax Ward 16 office: 4442 State Road Cleveland, Ohio 44109 (216) 351-7077
March 30, 200718 yr Crain's: Workers decry city's plans for Hopkins Ricky D. Smith, director of the Department of Port Control in Cleveland By JAY MILLER 3:00 pm, March 28, 2007 The city of Cleveland’s plan to pump up Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is running into a headwind. Airport workers and local labor union officials today told Cleveland City Council’s Aviation Committee that they fear the changes the Jackson administration wants to make would put the jobs of current workers in jeopardy. Kitty Blackmon, a 26-year airport worker, told the committee she’s worried that she could lose her medical benefits, or even her job, if HMSHost Corp., which currently operates all the shops at the airport, were replaced by a group of competing concessionaires. Dallas Sells, Ohio State Council director of Unite Here, the union that represents 300 restaurant and retail workers at Cleveland Hopkins, said as many as 125 current workers could lose their jobs if the city goes ahead with its plan. He said when a similar program was instituted at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, 200 workers lost jobs.
March 30, 200718 yr ^^ Yet Southwest hires likes crazy at BWI due to expansion. And hundreds of jobs have been added as BWI has record passenger year after record passenger year. Meanwhile CLE's best passenger number year was all the way back in 2000.
March 30, 200718 yr ^^ Yet Southwest hires likes crazy at BWI due to expansion. And hundreds of jobs have been added as BWI has record passenger year after record passenger year. Meanwhile CLE's best passenger number year was all the way back in 2000. Are you 100% accurate in saying those are "added" jobs or they "replacement" jobs for the employees of USAir who "lost" their "jobs" when USAirways downsized as a result of SW moving in?
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