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| Cleveland Hopkins International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: CLE ICAO: KCLE FAA: CLE | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | City of Cleveland | ||
| Serves | Cleveland, Ohio | ||
| Hub for | Continental Airlines | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 791 ft / 241 m | ||
| Coordinates | 41°2442N 081°5059W / 41.41167°N 81.84972°WCoordinates: 41°2442N 081°5059W / 41.41167°N 81.84972°W | ||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 6L/24R | 9,000 | 2,743 | Concrete |
| 6R/24L | 9,955 | 3,034 | Concrete |
| 10/28 | 6,017 | 1,834 | Asphalt/Concrete |
| Statistics (2007) | |||
| Aircraft operations | 244,719 | ||
| Based aircraft | 47 | ||
| Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (IATA: CLE, ICAO: KCLE, FAA LID: CLE) is a public airport located nine miles (14 km) southwest of the central business district of Cleveland, a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States.[1] The airport lies just within the city limits of Cleveland and it is the largest airport in the state of Ohio.
The airport was founded in 1925, making it the first municipally owned airport in the United States.[2] The airport has been the site of many other airport firsts: the first air traffic control tower, ground to air radio control and the first airfield lighting system, all in 1930, and the first U.S. airport to be directly connected to a local or regional rail transit system, in 1968. The airport was named after its founder, former city manager William R. Hopkins, on his 82nd birthday in 1951.
The airport handled 11,459,390 passengers in 2007, representing a 1.22% increase over 2006, and 11,106,194 passengers in 2008, down 3.08% from 2007. There were 244,719 operations (takeoffs and landings) in 2007. The airport handles more than 325 daily nonstop flights to over 85 destinations. It is the third largest hub for Continental Airlines and its regional carriers ExpressJet, Chautauqua, and CommutAir, which operates its second largest hub from the airport. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, along with Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport comprise the Cleveland Airport System operated by the city of Cleveland's Department of Port Control.
In 2006, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport unveiled a new marketing and branding campaign. The slogan, "CLE Going Places", is said to depict the airport's pursuit of improving passengers' experience as they upgrade the airport facility and negotiate additional air services.[citation needed] Improvements include upgrades to the restaurant and store concessions program, taxi service, on-site parking, customer service areas, and the attraction of additional flights to new destinations with the airport's new air service development program (begun in 2007).
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Cleveland Hopkins International Airport covers an area of 1,900 acres (769 ha)[1] which contains three runways:
The older parallel runway, formerly designated Runway 6C/24C, is 7,096 x 150 ft. (2163 x 46 m). Its ends are prominently marked with lighted "X" signs to prevent its inadvertent use, as it has now been decommissioned as an active runway.
For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2005, the airport had 258,926 aircraft operations, an average of 709 per day: 64% air taxi, 31% scheduled commercial, 5% general aviation and <1% military. There are 47 aircraft based at this airport: 49% jet, 30% single engine, 13% multi-engine and 9% military.[1]
Since 2008, BAA Cleveland has developed and managed retail and dining locations at the airport. A redevelopment project will add 76,000 square feet of new locations.[12][13][14]
Cleveland Airport consists of one passenger terminal which is divided into four concourses:
| Airlines | Destinations | Concourse |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Jazz | Toronto-Pearson | B |
| American Eagle | Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia | A |
| Continental Airlines | Boston, Cancún, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston-Intercontinental, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami [seasonal], New York-LaGuardia, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, San Diego [seasonal], San Francisco, San Juan [seasonal], Seattle/Tacoma [seasonal], Tampa, West Palm Beach [seasonal] | C |
| Continental Connection operated by CommutAir | Columbus (OH), Dayton, Erie, Flint, Grand Rapids, Harrisburg, Indianapolis, Madison, Pittsburgh, South Bend, Syracuse, Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Dulles | D |
| Continental Connection operated by Gulfstream International Airlines | Bradford, DuBois, Franklin, Jamestown, Lewisburg | D |
| Continental Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago-O'Hare, Columbus (OH), Hartford/Springfield, Indianapolis, Louisville, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Providence, Raleigh/Durham, St. Louis, Washington-Reagan | C, D |
| Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Albany, Albuquerque [seasonal], Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Burlington (VT), Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dayton, Grand Rapids, Green Bay [resumes May 2], Greenville/Spartanburg, Hartford/Springfield, Indianapolis, Jacksonville [seasonal], Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Madison, Manchester (NH), Miami [seasonal], Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Montréal-Trudeau, Nassau [seasonal], New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia, Norfolk/Virginia Beach [resumes May 2], Philadelphia, Portland (ME) [seasonal], Providence, Québec City [seasonal], Raleigh/Durham, Richmond, Rochester (NY), Syracuse, Tampa [seasonal], Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach [seasonal] | C, D |
| Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines | Atlanta | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Comair | New York-JFK | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines | Detroit | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Mesaba Airlines | Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul | B |
| Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines | Atlanta, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul | B |
| Midwest Connect operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Milwaukee | A |
| Southwest Airlines | Baltimore, Chicago-Midway, Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando [begins March 20], St. Louis | B |
| United Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare | B |
| United Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| United Express operated by Mesa Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| United Express operated by SkyWest Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Denver | B |
| United Express operated by Trans States Airlines | Chicago-O'Hare, Washington-Dulles | B |
| USA3000 Airlines | Cancún, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Fort Myers, Punta Cana, St. Petersburg/Clearwater | A |
| US Airways | Charlotte | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Air Wisconsin | Philadelphia | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Chautauqua Airlines | Philadelphia | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Mesa Airlines | Charlotte | A |
| US Airways Express operated by PSA Airlines | Charlotte | A |
| US Airways Express operated by Republic Airlines | Charlotte, Philadelphia | A |
Hopkins International Airport is connected to the Cleveland Rapid Transit system. Passengers can board Red Line trains at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (RTA Rapid Transit station) airport terminal. During late night/early morning hours, service is provided by the # 75 bus from Hopkins to Downtown Cleveland.
In 1998, Hopkins moved rental car operations off the airport grounds to a new consolidated rental car center. The facility has drawn mixed reviews from travelers because of its distance from the airport, inconsistent bus service, and fees and taxes that are very high relative to those of other airports; the charges cover costs of not only operating the center but also supporting other local projects, such as the Cleveland Browns stadium.[15]
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Continental Airlines, the largest tenant at Cleveland Hopkins, handles roughly 60% of all passenger traffic through the airport. Continental and Hopkins have both made substantial investments in support of Continental's presence at the airport, but Cleveland clearly remains the airline's third-tier hub behind George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.[17] This was reinforced in March 2009 when Continental CEO Larry Kellner omitted Cleveland but referenced Newark and Houston when commenting on the airline's strengths: "We are strong in the Atlantic, we are strong in Latin America, we are strong in New York, we're strong in Houston."[18] Unlike Continental's other hubs, its Cleveland operation has only a handful of flights to any international destinations, has not been able to sustain year-round service from the airport to Europe or other trans-oceanic destinations, handles an overwhelming majority (83% as of June 2009[update]) of its traffic via Continental Express regional aircraft rather than mainline jets (e.g., in Continental's case, its Boeing jets), and does not use any twin-aisle, wide-body aircraft (e.g., in the case of Continental, its Boeing 767 or Boeing 777 planes).[17][19] Further, Continental has reduced the size of its board of directors by halving the number of representatives from the Cleveland area, local passenger traffic volume has received scrutiny, and the airline has closed its four off-airport ticket offices in the Greater Cleveland area while maintaining offices near its Houston and Newark hubs.[20][21]
In 2003, Continental CEO Gordon Bethune publicly scolded the Cleveland business community and encouraged business flyers to support Hopkins rather than to take cheaper fights from neighboring Akron-Canton Airport, which advertises itself as the "preferred alternative" to Hopkins, and which is undertaking an ambitious expansion in response to substantial increases in enplanements while Hopkins boardings have remained nearly flat or declined.[17]
On September 14, 2007, Continental announced a "major expansion" at Hopkins that would have increased the hub's capacity by some 40% over a two year period. The expansion would have entailed some 20 new destinations served primarily on regional aircraft, followed later by a dozen new destinations served on mainline aircraft. This expansion was supposed to have created 700 jobs, and the state of Ohio offered a $16 million incentive package to help make the expansion happen.[22] However, when record-high fuel prices forced Continental to cut capacity in the summer of 2008, the airline reduced its workforce, eliminated service between Cleveland and 24 cities (including 12 cities that were part of Phase I of its hub expansion program), and reduced the frequency of its flights to a number of others; the service cuts in Cleveland were deeper as a percentage of overall flight volume than concurrent cuts at Continental's Houston and Newark hubs.[23] In March 2009, Continental indicated that it would continue to make capacity cuts in response to reduced demand for seats.[24]
It remains to be seen how Continental's October, 2009 departure from the SkyTeam alliance, its subsequent entry into the Star Alliance, and its enhanced code-sharing and cooperative agreement with United Airlines, Lufthansa, and Air Canada might affect Continental's Cleveland operations; Continental's previous merger talks with Star Alliance founding partner United were viewed in some circles as a serious threat to Continental's future at Hopkins.[25][26] The Continental-United relationship has been characterized as a "virtual merger" with potentially substantial impact on Continental's Cleveland operations; one possible outcome is that Continental would reduce or eliminate direct service from Cleveland to a number of cities and instead route passengers through United's hubs in Chicago and Washington.[27][28] The international component for which antitrust immunity has been granted "Atlantic Plus-Plus" may also substantially affect Continental's international flights from Cleveland. On March 11, 2009, Continental's chief operating officer Jeff Smisek stated, "Our [SkyTeam alliance membership] was a bit of a forced marriage. This (the United/Lufthansa partnership) is one where we are actually in love."[24] On July 10, 2009, the US Department of Transportation approved Continental's membership in Star Alliance and most aspects of the code-share agreement it had requested with United and other Star Alliance members.[29]
These and other factors, such as the cost of operations at Hopkins, have led to speculation and news reports that the airport's hub status might be diminished or lost altogether, as has been the case with each of the metropolitan airports closest to Cleveland: the former US Airways hub at Pittsburgh International Airport, the former America West Airlines hub at Port Columbus International Airport, and the Delta Air Lines hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, which has seen a substantial reduction in flight volume and has as a result shut down an entire terminal.[21] If Continental de-hubbed in Cleveland, it would not be the airline's first experience radically scaling back in a hub city Continental abandoned its hub in Denver when Denver International Airport was built. It would also not be the first time that Hopkins lost an airline hub United maintained a substantial hub in Cleveland before relocating it to Washington Dulles International Airport in the late 1980s.
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