Originally Posted by
buckeyefanflyer
British Airways just picked up 12 additional slots at LHR. Are we talking with them. Nashville has a direct flight. It’s been 20 years now since Continental started the direct flight to LGW.
I'd be very surprised if the city hasn't had conversations with a number of overseas carriers. In fact, there have been many PD articles over the past years quoting airport directors saying as much. That in mind, I doubt it'd be BA. Nashville is a tourist destination itself, I imagine there are some number to folks from Europe are heading to Nashville.
According to
Wikipedia, Cleveland's overall metro area has a greater population than Nashville, but Nashville is a booming population market (15% growth vs about (1)% in CLE). Also keeping in mind that BNA was a former hub for AA, there are likely still a number of AA loyalists much like UA has in CLE.
Personally, I think the likely international carrier to move in would be either Aer Lingus or Lufthansa depending on the market capture. Lufthansa would be a more business-focused grab since it maintains *A for loyal frequent UA folks here, but Frankfurt is not a hot tourist destination and unless costs were low (unlikely), I think most people travelling to Europe for lesuire wouldn't care if the connection was in JFK/EWR/CLT/PHL/YYZ/etc. vs FRA. Aer Lingus typically offers better prices than the US legacy carriers and I believe Dublin would be a better tourist destination for a lot of folks in Cleveland. Just my two cents anyway.
I'm sure the city is continuing to make pitches to airlines without subsidies at all or very few. Personally, I'd prefer Cleveland keep its money to fix other issues in the City than to subsidize a foreign carrier.