Originally Posted by
mrmoo
This is exactly what I was trying to underscore. There has been a lot of scrutiny over PIT's BA service because of the subsidies, which were given by the city. Any subsidies for service would be taxpayer dollars for which I would not support. As much as I'd love international service, I do not want to help pay for it with taxes. CLE has a lot of frequent flights to large connection hubs. Aside from being a hub or focus city, I think CLE is not in a bad spot service-wise. I would like to see some more business destinations, I think SEA would be good (DL or AS could possibly fill the gap), MCI would be good (WN possibly). Domestic leisure travel from CLE has never been better with all of the ULCCs fighting for popular destinations.
I understand your point but there’s more to it than simply spending public money to attract international air service. Some people view this as a worthwhile investment because it helps attract companies who value having international service as an (alleged) enhancement to their business.