Originally Posted by
cfabar1
I worry about CVG's future long term. I wish that Delta would have prioritized CVG and DTW instead of MSP and DTW. I realize there were issues with what types of terminals, planes, bases, etc. but I just find as a traveler that CVG is more pleasant to navigate than MSP.
Originally Posted by
KDCAflyer
As much as I love CVG, MSP is a much stronger market, and has much better facilities for a large mainline hub operation. CVG was designed as a midwest RJ connection point with a decent amount of O/D traffic. Once that business model disappeared, there was no place in the network for a large hub at CVG.
CVG is definitely more pleasant these days, but the Concourse C days were not fun at all.
Have to concur with KDCAflyer here. Even as a former CVG/DAY resident (and possibly soon to be back in the area) who would love to see CVG return to its glory days of the 90s and 2000s, it's just not economically viable and in the wake of the DL/NW merger, MEM and CVG were the logical hubs to downsize as DL consolidated the network. The hubs provided little that couldn't be covered by ATL/MSP/DTW. Hubs rely on a combination of O&D and connecting traffic and MSP and DTW both provided stronger O&D traffic while MEM and CVG relied far more heavily on connecting traffic and that traffic could easily be funneled via other hubs.
In the wake of COVID-19, I too worry a bit about the future of CVG. It seems like DL had "right-sized" CVG and CVG still maintained a decent operation for a city its size, especially with so many other hubs nearby but unless air travel rebounds incredibly quickly, I wonder how much of CVG's operation just prior to the COVID-19 impacts will remain.