cptlflyer

When I first visited HI in 2008, several friends and family -- worldly, competent and well-educated people -- asked me if I needed a passport to go there. When I told that story to my friends living in HNL at the time, they laughed and said that was a more common question than I might imagine. So, your niece seems to be in good company.

RNE

The Union Jack is so confusing.



RNE, an amateur vexillologist.

buckeyefanflyer

CMK10

You know what people traveling to leisure destinations like doing? Going to the United Club. Hint hint, United.

lincolnjkc

If enough of those leisure travelers hold club memberships UA will get the hint -- the metric is # of club members/day through the station -- as of last I heard (which was a few months ago) CLE was a little over 1/2 the number it needed to be in absolute numbers and seemed to be only very slowly trending up based on numbers I had heard from other sources a month or two before that.

In other words: If you don't already have a membership, get one and fly frequently so we can all get back in ASAP .

RNE

I'm flying out of CLE in June. I'm sure Uncle Scotty will open the United Club for me, his favorite nephew.

RNE, fully vaccinated and ready to roll!

RobS

Friends of mine who live there describe the islands as "almost like the United States."

buckeyefanflyer

If June schedules are firm notice the following.

Only 1 CLE-LAX was 2
CLE-IAD 3 only 1 mainline. When they pulled the DCA route promised to upgrade IAD just 1 mainline.
CLE-EWR 3 Same when LGA pulled promised to keep several EWR trips.

yes flying is down with pandemic the past year but seems lots of people are now flying and summer travel is approaching.

RNE

Not happy that UA moved our early-June First Class reservation on UA661 CLE-ORD 737 (was it cancelled?) to UA4384 CLE-EWR on a CRJ550 (no FC seats). And it's flown by GoJet (whatever that is). Our destination is PHX, so EWR isn't exactly on the way. What gives?

lincolnjkc

The CRJ550 has a very nice FC cabin (and the best FC:Y ratio of the fleet. The only major drawback is no power in FC and they've stopped stocking the self-serve first class refrigerator. But the floor-level luggage compartments more than make up for it. GoJet is nothing awful, nothing special.

That said if you don't want to fly G7 under the contract of carriage the change of operating carrier triggers rights including possibly a forced refund. In other words if you don't like the computer-suggested reaccommodation just call UA with the flights of your choice. I had them flip a 737 nonstop to a multi-stop with a CR2 a few years ago and I called and was polite in informing them they were insane if they thought I'd voluntarily take a CRJ-200... res agent worked through lots of permutations several with a "oh, but that's a 50 seater...that won't work" and I reminded him I was OK with an ERJ-145 just not the CR2...but he was perfectly willing to find me a all mainline routing if that's what I really wanted ("Thank you for keeping me on the phone... the inlaws are visiting and I need every excuse I can get to stay away" )

RNE

Yes, indeed. You're talkin' to the King of Flight Changes. I scoured the schedule for better alternatives, but I had to hand it to UA's box of vacuum tubes: it picked the best routing.

RNE, still wondering what happened to early June's UA661 CLE-ORD.

FreqFlyerCLE

According to ExpressJet airline’s website, “Our 2021 business plan intends to service those unmet customer needs by providing high-quality, reliable, efficient point-to-point flying to small and medium sized cities that have lost service in recent years as a result of U.S. airline industry consolidation and culminating in additional COVID-19 driven reductions.”

Given their history in CLE, and maintenance operations at Hopkins, I wonder if they will serve the CLE market?

link: https://www.expressjet.com/

cptlflyer

Looks like 1 CLE-SFO is back, too (was 2 pre-pandemic), but only the awful pre-dawn departure (and redeye return).

lincolnjkc

It's not outside the realm of possibility but I wouldn't bet money on it -- they've cleaned out shop in Cleveland (as far as I can tell) -- I'd bet that first markets are more southern. Based on XE's attempts at a standalone operation in the past and Independence Air's (fka Atlantic Coast Airlines) implosion with a similar strategy I wish XE all the best (I loved their crews, and kind of missed the days when it was as simple as "A Continental 73X or 75X or ExpressJet E145" not the 400 fleet types and 10 Express operators we have to keep track of these days) -- but I'm not holding my breath.

Of course, perhaps things have changed enough that a strategy will work -- but just on product it's going to be a tough sell to some (no power, no IFE, no wifi...doesn't even NK do WiFi?)

RNE

Why has this Greater Clevelander never heard of GoJet before?