lincolnjkc

I had a flight recently and was chatting with someone who's been based in CLE (CO -> UA inflight) since the mid-80s and their recollection was that the previous LGW/LHR service was underwritten in part by some of the larger Cleveland companies (by a combination of minimum booking guarantees and subsidies).

Maybe I had heard that before and forgotten but I don't remember hearing that twist in the past and if correct it would certainly support the notion that (excepting possibly a ULCC throwing darts) that intl from Cleveland won't happen without external financial support. The question is (particularly in this environment) which CLE companies generate sufficient, predictable, passenger traffic to/from Europe to make that a good investment on their part.

RNE

That recollection is specious.

navi_jen

I'd kill to have nonstops to Heathrow, Amsterdam or DeGaulle.

Any thoughts on the impact of the the proposed merger of Terrible Airline 1 and Terrible Airline 2?

lincolnjkc

I don't think the CLE metro has enough residual SkyTeam affection for AMS or CDG to make a ton of business sense and the proximity to DTW doesn't help make it any more attractive. We're definitely in a bit of a shadow there and the "as the crow flies" proximity (95 miles) doesn't help win over bean counters -- even if actual driving distance/time is far greater.

That their terriblity will be multiplicative rather than additive?

I was a bit surprised to hear one of the news pieces reference that the merger will create [presumably assuming no changes to service] the largest airline at CLE -- but the metric wasn't specified and I'll also admit I really haven't been paying attention to passenger numbers for the past two years.

I've also heard (repeatedly over the years and recently from different sources) that CLE is an obnoxiously expensive airport to operate an airline from which seems antithetical to a ULCC business model, especially for an airport to have a large presence at. If Frontier Spirit thinks they can get passengers to follow them, it wouldn't surprise me if they use their combined mass to try to negotiate something with CAK -- and they may have more success attracting people to make the trek south together than separate.

RNE

I wonder how many of us NEO'ers availed ourselves of TATL opportunities when they existed? As others herein have noted, not enough of us cared.

My thought is the merged airline will have higher fares to the same destinations.

RNE, whimsically opining that the new airline will be named Wing and a Prayer Air

JimInOhio

The one summer there was CLE-LHR service (2009), flights averaged 75% load per the Plain Dealer. Don't know about the one summer of CLE-CDG (2008).

RNE

It was that low?

RNE, recalling the Halcyon days.

navi_jen

Fair point....I'm a longtime Platinum DL flyer, and I hate that CLE is not a skyteam friendly airport

lincolnjkc

If you had been here in ~2011 and before it was a very SkyTeam friendly airport with the Continental hub we had... missed it by > < that much

Though most of my early adult flying was SkyTeam (NW and CO), I swore I'd never fly DL again on August 23, 2004. Might be up for parole in a couple more years but until then I can sympathize but can't say I'm sorry... If you're ever tempted by the dark side I'd be happy to introduce you to some of the best above the wing people in the industry

navi_jen

Speaking of Skyteam and CLE

I have a 7a DL international destination flight on Saturday (connecting thru ATL and STT)...I will probably check luggage (bleech). If I do, how far in advance to I need to be at the check-in counter (I hate to be any earlier than I have to). I'm Platinum, the initial leg is in 1st and I have PreCheck. I'm not even sure if DL has enough traffic to have a 1st class/Medallion queue.

H$ll, I'm not even sure where the DL counter is...it's at the very end of the counter run, after JetBlue, right?

TIA....

lincolnjkc

They're pretty far down to the right of PRE/the B concourse when you're looking at it from the airport entrance... I thought American got the award as being the very end but it's in that general neighborhood.

Do you have CLEAR + PRE or just PRE?

I've seen some heinous lines for both CLEAR-less PRE and DL in (as well as UA/AA and standard TSA) in the mornings. Pretty sure DL has a priority lane for their counter (if they can do priority in Richmond I can't imagine CLE not having enough traffic) DL says bag must be checked no later than T-30. Not being a morning person and with CLEAR I'd probably call it at least an hour to be safe. Without CLEAR, I'd check the TSA wait times (which apparently requires their app, why it can't just be on their webpage....?) and be prepared for a bit earlier. (This may be self evident but part of that calculus has to be the consequences if you're late -- part of the itinerary require a once-a-week flight? Add plenty of buffer as much as early morning airports suck... Flight every couple hours? Cut it a little closer.)

navi_jen

Thanks...I'm so used to Boston where I fly direct to the Caribbean and/or Europe, I'm not used to these mutli-leg international flights (or CLE). I was planning on getting to the airport 90 minutes before...I suspect that will be enough (particularly since we don't seem to be in the OH school vacation week madness yet...in BOS, this week is a madness due to ski week. (In MA, we take a week at Presidents Day, then again in late spring). I'm pre-check only....the lines are normally short enough not to warrant Clear (now if I was ATL, DTW or DCA, that would be a different story).

FreqFlyerCLE

Full article on UA:

https://www.cleveland.com/travel/202...is-summer.html

lincolnjkc

Are they really "dropping" vs. "not reinstating"? Since these seem to all be seasonal routes that ended last year. (and I'll gladly take increased hub frequencies -- I've been to ORD 4 times this month and while there are a nice variety of options both directions, it would be awesome to have a few more timing options more closely spaced)

Given that these were all low-frequency CR5 routes I'm not surprised -- I'm actually most surprised that NAS is generating enough revenue to survive but hey, as an international route -- even if the Bahamas isn't really my cup of tea -- I'll take it.

dergon darkhelm

This is my very good friend's brewery in Lakewood OH now on tap at CLE

Try an ISB pilsner