PIT-CDG
 

The Pittsburgh Airport Authority has been expanding it's advertising in the Greater Cleveland area about the Paris flight, billboards, radio, TV, Newspaper, and even internet. I wonder how many passengers it will draw from this. It's not a bad drive at all since they redid the interstate and the airport is great.
I would think city leaders here would be talking to Delta about starting seasonal service from CLE in light of the United hub closure. Since CO cut London and Paris they have probably backed off trying to talk to other airlines and they were scared to upset United but UA has hung them out to dry. I am wondering however if the PIT advertisement campaign may hurt any chance of CLE-CDG.
I am also surprised DL did not add back some CLE-CVG flights as they also could feed traffic for CVG-CDG for those not wanting to drive to PIT or avoid JFK.

I would think DL would be satisfied with DTW-CDG and PIT-CDG. No need to add CLE-CDG.

I don't think the OP is suggesting that DL fly CLE-CDG nonstop but rather add domestic connecting flights to make it easier for CLE passengers to fly to CDG through PIT or CVG rather than DTW/JFK/ATL/MSP. This would involve flights through outstations where neither is a hub or even necessarily a hub let or focus city, so I would think it's unlikely but it could be a way to help fill some TATL flights. [Is the PIT flight still guaranteed/subsidized?]

Wouldnt it take less time to drive CLEPIT than to deal with the airport and fly there?

DL has no reason to add something like CLE-CVG when time-efficient connections are available CLE-DTW/JFK/ATL-CDG.

If 'Start your TATL journey with a 2-hour drive' is the best the PIT airport authority can come up with for CLE-origin passengers, they should know a 2:15 drive could get passengers to DTW for non-stops to LHR/AMS/CDG/FRA and seasonal FCO.

I thought I recalled something about the airport authority/allegheny county working hard to make this flight happen, like several years of revenue sharing. I would think Cleveland would have to do the same, if not more, to get DL to try something like this. Given the proximity to DTW and PIT, it probably won't happen.

Another problem with sustaining TATL flights from CVG, PIT, etc. is that if the right size aircraft is a 757, many people aren't happy about a long flight on a narrow body aircraft and BE passengers have been spoiled by the wide bodies with flat beds and aisle access.

Nope, no longer subsidized, but they're keeping it going. Those stopped in 2011, I believe.

I am so glad it's here. Made getting to Delhi with one stop in Paris a simple treat, although I sure would love a better BE product.

Now if we could get LAX, then we'd be in business.

UA has had PIT/LAX for years, and AA recently started a flight, too! I'm wondering if AA started with the anticipation of the UA flight going away when US switches to OW from :-:A.

That said, I think right now, with 2 nonstops a day, a DL flight would be over the top, but, I'm not even sure it would be feasible if it was the ONLY flight each day. The PIT airport employees I've talked to seem to think a PIT/SEA nonstop is possibly in the works.

No, absolutely -- LAX is out of the question given UA/AA having snatched that one up. I didn't want to get my mild hopes up about the SEA possibility, but I like to be wrong on rare occasion.

Exactly. +1

MOST people could care less. A few that do care might spend a lot of money.

Well, CVG-CDG is still a 767-300ER. It was one of the first routes to get the renovated 767's.

This is where it gets tricky for me, actually. I absolutely am more comfortable in BE on basically any other ship they fly, but I want to support this flight in any way I can. If it means sacrificing a little personal comfort, so be it.

Yeah but does that get you 500 MQM and a MQS? Same reason I love going RDU-CLT-XXX instead of driving the two hours to CLT.