Continental to Expand Cleveland Operation by 40 Percent

posted: 14 September 2007 03:05 pm ET

: Continental Airlines is adding many new destinations, many new flights and 40 percent more seat capacity at Cleveland Hopkins Interntaional Airports in Ohio. Most of the new services initially will be operated by Continental Express Embraer ERJ-135 and ERJ-145 regional jets reallocated from Continental's Newark hub, where the airline is replacing them one-for-one with larger aircraft. Credit: Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines is launching a major expansion of its services and flight capacity at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio, the smallest of its three U.S. domestic hubs.

The airline said today that it would build on the 10 percent year-over-year expansion of its Cleveland operation that it began last December by adding 27 new flights to 12 new destinations in early 2008.

The destinations include Greensboro, N.C.; Omaha, Neb., and Savannah, Ga., to be served from Mar 3, 2008; Birmingham, Ala., Charleston, S.C., Green Bay, Wis., and Tulsa, Okla., to be served from Apr 6, 2008; Little Rock, Ark., Memphis, Tenn., and Lansing, Mich., to be served from May 4, 2008; and Des Moines, Iowa and Kalamazoo, Mich., which will join Continental's Cleveland route network on June 12, 2008.

"We feel Cleveland has been underdeveloped. This gives us the opportunity to go ahead and right-size the Cleveland market," said Continental spokeswoman Julie King.

More cities and more flights will follow as the second phase of Continental's Cleveland expansion gains momentum. By next summer, Continental will have added 50 new flights and 20 new nonstop destinations at Cleveland. When the second phase of the airline's expansion at Cleveland is complete in June 2008, Continental will be operating 300 daily departures from the Ohio airport, up from 242 in June this year.

A third phase of Continental's Cleveland expansion, which will be announced in 2008, will add more new destinations and more seat capacity in time for the peak 2009 summer period. By the time the planned two-year expansion is complete in mid-2009, the airline will have increased its seat capacity on services from Cleveland Hopkins by 40 percent compared with summer 2007, said King.

"This growth strengthens Cleveland and gives customers more options when connecting within the Continental system," Larry Kellner, the airline's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Announcing the Cleveland service expansion today in the city, Kellner paid tribute to the State of Ohio, the Cleveland City Council and the Ohio Congressional delegation for making it possible. "All this support has helped make it possible for us to grow our presence here," he said.

The State of Ohio offered Continental an incentive package valued at more than $16 million. To date, the airline has been awarded a $900,000 Rapid Outreach Grant; a 70-percent, 10-year Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit; an Ohio Investment in training Program program grant value at up to $550,000; and will benefit from employment pre-screening, testing and recruitment services supplied by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Continental said its expansion at Cleveland would mean the airline and its regional-airline partners hiring more than 700 new employees for Hopkins-based jobs over the next 18 months.

Most of Continental's new Cleveland flights initially will be operated by regional jets reallocated from its hub at Newark Liberty Airport, N.J. However, beginning in 2009, the airline also will allocate additional mainline aircraft to its Cleveland operation to support its service growth there.

Reallocation of the regional jets from Newark doesn’t mean Continental is shrinking its operation there. Instead, the opposite is true, said King.

"It sits well within our overall strategy to build our business. We're replacing 37-seat and 50-seat regional jets at Newark on a one-for-one basis with new 747-seat Q400 aircraft in 2008, as a result of our regional partnership with Pinnacle Airlines, (and with) other Continental mainline aircraft," she said. Continental is taking delivery of 33 new Boeing 737 mainline jets next year.

By replacing smaller aircraft with larger aircraft, Continental will be able to grow its capacity at Newark -- which lies at the center of the Philadelphia-New York airspace region, the most congested airspace in the United States – "without adding to the congestion," said King.

The airline began increasing capacity at Cleveland last December with seasonal flights to San Diego. This year, Continental has added mainline flights from Cleveland to existing destinations San Francisco, Orlando, Seattle and Los Angeles.

It also began regional-jet service from Cleveland to Quebec City in June and is launching regional-jet services to the new destinations of Oklahoma City and Ottawa later this month.

Continental previously announced that it would begin seasonal service from Cleveland to Paris on May 22, 2008, using Boeing 757 single-aisle aircraft featuring the airline's international BusinessFirst seats. The carrier already serves London Gatwick Airport from Cleveland.