lincolnjkc

I always wondered why NW seemed to have so many gates in CLE (when I arrived here in 2005) with the DTW hub just across the lake

JimInOhio

DTW was basically just a focus city for NWA before their merger with Republic in 1986 (what an operational disaster that was!). I honestly can't recall where NWA's gates were at CLE.

lincolnjkc

They had IIRC the first 4 gates on the even side of C -- where JetBlue is now (what is that C4/6/8/10... But it always seemed excessive to the schedule they ran out of CLE even though it was a partner hub -- and they had some other infrastructure (like old B&W CRT FIDS arrivals/departures screens facing the jetways) that seemed odd for a small outstation... Figured there was more to the NW/CLE story than just a few DTW/MSP (MEM?) turns... At some point after I was settled in CLE they turned C10 over to CO which is the reason in the era of the plywood-and-laminate gate furniture era it had a completely different dot matrix display behind the podium than any of the other CO gates in CLE (being much closer to the displays used at IAH)

plinth857

I should have specified... first time that I can remember since I started flying more frequently (~2011)!

RNE

I recall the oft-opined metaphysical certitude that NW and CO would merge and CLE's hub would go bye-bye.

RNE, saying, right scenario; wrong merger.

RobS

It went back to ancient history when the glacially-slow Civil Aeronautics Board finally awarded competing routes in 1965 or '66 (I forget which) for CLE-ORD, CLE-NYC, and CLE-PHL, which became monopolies in 1961 when UA and CA merged. With monopoly status UA ran lots of clapped-out old DC-6s and first-class-only Caravelles from CLE offering only the occasional coach flight on a few 4-engined jets a day.

NW was awarded CLE-ORD and PHL, while AA got CLE-NYC. NW already had WAS, PIT, DTW, MKE, MSP and points west authority. With the new routes NW grew to about 40 dailies and used 4-5 gates, then at the east end of Concourse A. Right up until deregulation NW offered a very competitive schedule; after dereg they were at a disadvantage to the growing UA CLE hub and slowly reduced their schedule.

moops380

Airspace is closing as of 1/31/2020. I was told after then they will be renovating/expanding the area and a PP lounge will open a few months later, probably a good sign to entice any further flights that are international and need a partner lounge (not WOW).

guy44134

Until the 1980's NW had a decent-sized operation at CLE and had up to 6 gates on the former South (now C) Concourse (gates 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, and 57 on the banjo). I don't think they ever really needed that many gates as they had about 20 daily flights and ran multiple daily DC-10's, too. There was also an old NW club there between the only gates 41 & 43, although I can't recall the exact timeline of its operation.

Here's a terminal map from1975: CLE75

ctownflyer

More bad news from UA incoming

nevansm

What does that mean?

guy44134

As rumored, UA is cutting CLE-LGA and CLE-DCA:

https://www.cleveland.com/business/2...-national.html

plinth857

Some of the comments on that site are mind-boggling.

FreqFlyerCLE

I would imagine that ExpressJet will be closing up shop (maintenance and crew bases) in CLE since LGA & DCA were their last major routes ex-CLE other than a few flights daily to ORD and EWR.

JimInOhio

I'm not sure ExpressJet will close though I suppose there's a good chance it will. They are flying some E175s based at CLE now, none of which are used for LGA or DCA flights.

ETA: I'd like this spokesperson to explain how there will be more "premium seats". For March 30, four of UA's seven flights to EWR are operated with 50-seat E145s. The last two-class aircraft leaves CLE for EWR at 9:10 AM. That cynically suggests to me they are simply getting those 737s back out ASAP in the morning after their overnight maintenance stop.

As for IAD, only the first departure is a mainline... the other three are Mesa CRJ700s with their whopping six seats in F.

moops380

Maybe someone else will pick up the slack. Fingers crossed.