Europe Air Service From NEO Begins Today

Air service between Northeast and Ohio resumes today (May 19) as Aer Lingus inaugurates flights between Cleveland and Dublin, Ireland.

The first flight is scheduled to arrive in Cleveland at 6:50 p.m. and depart for Dublin at 8:20 p.m.

Flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday except for a six-week suspension starting next January.

Aer Lingus has assigned a 184-seat Airbus a32`neo plane to the route. The flights are timed to arrive in Dublin at 8:50 a.m. and depart from there at 3:30 p.m.

Cleveland is the 13^th destination in the United States for Aer Lingus.

The service was made possible by an $11.8 million guarantee over three years made by several state and local agencies, which included the governments of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, JobsOhio and the Greater Cleveland Partnership.

The money will only be paid to the airline if is fails to sell enough tickets to cover its costs.

Cleveland last had nonstop air service to Europe in 2018 when two carriers flew to Reykjavik, Iceland. Neither route lasted a year.

Service by Continental Airlines to Paris ended in 2008. Continental also during the same period flew between Cleveland and London before that service ended.

Airline officials said they believe the Cleveland market has the potential to support daily service starting in two or three years.

The Cleveland flights to Dublin are scheduled to connect with other Aer Lingus flights to 25 European cities,

Officials said initial sales of tickets on the Cleveland-Dublin route have been strong with the vast majority  of travelers originating their travel in Cleveland and ending their journey in Ireland.

Frontier Expands Service to Cleveland

Frontier Airlines is expanding service from Cleveland and is considering establishing a crew base there.

The low fare carrier recently began service to Charlotte, North Carolina, four times a week.

Frontier also plans to operate seasonal service between Cleveland and San Juan, Puerto Rico, and to launch new service to Dallas, San Digeo and San Francisco.

That will bring to 17 the number of destinations served by Frontier from Cleveland.

The San Juan flights will fly four times a week. The Puerto Rico and Dallas flights began this month while service to San Diego and San Francisco is to begin in June.

The San Diego flights begin June 8 and operate three times a week. The San Francisco flights begin June 23 and operate four times a week.

Frontier currently has crew bases in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Tampa. 

The carrier said it was considering adding a crew base in Cleveland but has not offered any details about when that decision would be made or how many jobs it would cover.

Breeze, Allegiant Expand Service at CAK

Two airlines have announced service expansions at the Akron Canton Airport. Allegiant Air has begun flying to Nashville, Tennessee, and plans to offer service to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, starting June 1.

The new Allegiant flights will operate on Thursdays and Sundays through Sept. 5.

Airport officials said those are the seventh and eight destinations being served by Allegiant from Akron-Canton.

Other cities served by Allegiant from CAK include Savannah/Hilton Head, Georgia; and the Florida cities of St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Sarasota/Bradenton, Ft. Myers/Punta Gorda, Orlando/Sanford, and.Fort Lauderdale.

Breeze Airways also recrecently announced a new route from Akron-Canton to Norfolk, Virginia, starting June 1.

Earlier this month, Breeze began service to Orlando International Airport, its eighth destination from Akron-Canton.

Breeze also flies from CAK to Charleston, South Carolina; Las Vegas; Nashville; New Orleans; and the Florida cities of Tampa and West Palm Beach.

None of the flights from Akron-Canton offered by Breeze or Allegiant operates daily.

Breeze operates about 28 percent of the airport’s available flight seats while Allegiant has 33 percent.

Other carriers serving Akron-Canton include American Eagle, which flies to Charlotte, North Carolina; and Reagan Washington National Airport; and United Express, which has flights to Chicago O’Hare Airport.

Hopkins Raising Parking Fees, CAK CEO Says Airport Has Lowest Fares in Northeast Ohio

The new year will bring higher parking rates at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

New rates that become effective Jan. 1 will see charges increase by $2 to $1 per day for vehicles parked over a 24-hour period.

The new rates will be Smart Garage: $22 (originally $20); Red Lot: $20 (originally $19); Blue Lot: $20 (originally $19); Orange Lot: $17 (originally $16); and Brown Lot: $14 (originally $13)

In other Northeast Ohio airport news, the head of the Akron-Canton Airport said recently that the airport located near Green between its namesake cities now features the lowest average fares in the region.

CEO Ren Camacho said it was part of a transformation of the airport that has played out over the past three years.

Camacho lauded the loyalty of local businesses using the airport and said the addition of low fare carriers Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways within the past two years has helped to keep fares lower.

He noted that as recently as 2019 Akron-Canton had some of the highest average air fares in Northeast Ohio.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic also has transformed the flight offerings from Akron-Canton.

The airport has lost direct service to Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Washington Dulles Airport, and Houston.

It also has lost Spirit Airlines, which in early summer suspended its flights from CAK with plans to resume them in November. But as that month approached Spirit said it wasn’t returning to Akron-Canton.

Both Breeze and Allegiant offer less-than-daily service, much of it oriented to Florida with flights also serving Las Vegas; Charleston, South Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee. Some routes are seasonal.

Daily service has shrunk to flights to Chicago O’Hare Airport by United Express; Charlotte, North Carolina, by American Eagle; and Reagan Washington National Airport by American Eagle.

Breeze to Launch CAK-Orlando Route in March

Breeze Airways said this week it will launch twice-weekly service between Akron-Canton Airport and Orlando International Airport next March.

The flights will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays, departing CAK at 10:20 a.m. and returning at 3:35 p.m.

The announcement came a week after Spirit Airlines said it would not resume service to Akron-Canton in November has it had earlier indicated it would.

Until Spirit suspended service to CAK last June, it had flow to Orlando year around with those flights operating daily during some times of the year.

Allegiant Air this fall launched service from Akron-Canton to Orlando-Sanford Airport, which is located about 30 miles north of Orlando. Those flights do not operate daily.

CAK President Ren Camacho said Orlando is the top destination for leisure travelers using the airport.

Breeze also has routes from Akron-Canton to Tampa and West Palm Beach in Florida, Las Vegas, Nashville, New Orleans and Charleston, South Carolina. It briefly flew from CAK to Hartford, Connecticut.

None of those flights operate daily and some of those destinations are seasonal. The low fare carrier began service to Akron-Canton in June 2021.

Spirit Will Not resume CAK Flights

Spirit Airlines will not resume service to the Akron-Canton Airport next month.

The low fare carrier had suspended service to the airport in June, saying at the time that it would resume those flights in November.

The Plain Dealer reported that an airport official had initially said Spirit was “postponing” its resumption of service until next May.

Later that same official acknowledged that the service suspension is permanent.

Spirit had flown year-round to Orlando and offered seasonal service to Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida.

The loss of Spirit is the latest in a series of airline service losses that Akron-Canton Airport has suffered in recent years, with many of those rooted in air service restructuring prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic that began in spring 2020.

Spirit began serving Akron-Canton in 2016. Last year Spirit handled 81,500 passengers at Akron-Canton, which was about 20 percent of the airport’s total.

In June 2021, a start-up airline, Breeze Airways, began service at CAK, followed by the return of Allegiant Air last March.

Allegiant had served Akron-Canton earlier but pulled its flights out in 2017 favor of concentrating its service at Cleveland Hopkins Airport. That same year Southwest Airlines also ended service to Akron-Canton in favor of focusing on its service to Cleveland and Columbus.

Last January Allegiant ended its Cleveland flights in favor of resuming Northeast Ohio service at CAK.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Akron-Canton has lost air service to Atlanta, New York, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington Dulles Airport.

American Eagle, which operates regional jet flights for American Airlines, also has suspended its flights to Chicago O’Hare.

Current service at Akron-Canton is provided by American Eagle to Charlotte, North Carolina, and Washington Reagan National Airport; and by United Express to Chicago O’Hare.

Breeze and Allegiant operate less than daily service, most of it focused on points in Florida and the Southeast.

Allegiant last week launched nonstop service from Akron-Canton to Orlando Sanford International Airport while Breeze recently began service to Las Vegas.

Price of International Air Route From Cleveland to Ireland Will Actually be Nearly $12M

The price of landing air service from Cleveland Hopkins Airport to Europe has turned out to be far higher than local officials had initially indicated.

The Plain Dealer reported that a document on the website of the City of Cleveland contained details of the financial package offered to Aer Lingus to launch four-day-a-week service to Dublin starting next May.

City, county and state government agencies agreed to offer the Irish airline nearly $12 million in revenue guarantees for the service for up to three years.

Most of that money is coming from JobsOhio, a private economic development agency of the state that is funded by liquor sales.

The local contributions toward the service are $825,000 from the county, $600,000 from the city, $600,000 from the Greater Cleveland Partnership, $275,000 from Destination Cleveland and $100,000 from Team NEO. JobsOhio, is contributing $9.4 million.

The funding is not a direct subsidy to Aer Lingus but is funding being made available to get the service started.

It will be paid if the flight fails to meet certain monthly performance goals. It can also be used to pay for such things as marketing of the service.

The newspaper’s story said that providing revenue guarantees has become a standard practice among cities seeking expanded air service, in particular international air service.

“It’s almost a part of doing business,” Megan Ryerson, a professor of transportation at the University of Pennsylvania told The Plain Dealer. “It may not make or break a deal, but it can really facilitate one.”

The Aer Lingus service will be the first direct scheduled flights between Cleveland and Europe since service to Iceland ended in 2018.

Cleveland-Dublin Air Service to Start May 19

Officials announced this week that non-stop air service between Cleveland and Dublin by Aer Lingus will launch on May 19.

The service was made possible after Cleveland City Council approved legislation providing a $600,000 revenue guarantee for the service. Additional revenue guarantees are expected to come from Cuyahoga County and the local business community.

An announcement made by airline and airport officials said the aircraft to be used on the route will have 16 business class seats with luxury dining and beds, and 168 economy class seats with complimentary meals and drinks. All passengers will have access to WiFi and in-flight entertainment.

It will be the first direct service between Cleveland and Europe since flights to Iceland ended in October 2018.

Officials said Dublin offers connections to various points in continental Europe.

Aer Lingus said introductory fares of $459 will be offered between May 19 and June 15. Seats must be booked by Oct. 19 to receive that fare.

Officials said 320 passengers depart Cleveland each day for destinations in Europe.

Cleveland Could Get Air Service to Ireland

Non-stop airline service to Europe may return to Cleveland Hopkins Airport next year if local officials agree to a financial package.

The Plain Dealer reported on Friday that Aer Lingus is poised to launch flights between Cleveland and Dublin four times a week as early as next May.

It would be the first direct service from Hopkins to Europe since Icelandair and WOW Air ended service to Reykjaveik in 2018.

The Cleveland City Council is reportedly ready to vote on a $600,000 incentive package that would last two years.

That would be part of a larger package totaling between $2 million to $2.9 million that is being assembled by the economic development agency Team NEO.

Other contributions are expected to come from Cuyahoga County and various local businesses.

The funding would not be grants but instead would be revenue guarantees design to help a carrier pay for the costs of starting a new route. Federal law prohibits direct subsidy payments for air service.

The Plain Dealer reported noted that in 2019 Aer Lingus considered offering flights between Cleveland and Dublin, but the local business community could not agree on funding incentives for the service.

Restarting direct service from Cleveland to Europe has been a top priority for Hopkins officials for years.

Before the Iceland service ended in 2018, Continental Airline flew between Cleveland and London and for one summer between Cleveland and Paris. The last of those services, Cleveland-London, ended in 2009.

Hopkins has daily international service to Toronto by an Air Canada contract carrier and various less-than-daily services operate from Cleveland to Cancun, Mexico.

In 2020, JobsOhio, established a program to help the state’s airports attract new air service.

One result of those efforts was the coming  of Breeze Airways to Akron-Canton Airport last year.

JobsOhio and Team NEO also created a package to entice Alaska Airlines to begin service from Cleveland to Seattle this year.

That service includes one daily flight with a second summer season flight expected to launch next year.

Breeze Drops CAK-Hartford Flights

Akron-Canton Airport has continued to lose flights as result of industry staffing issues.

Breeze Airways last month ended its service from CAK to Hartford, Connecticut, a month after it began

An airline spokesman cited workforce issues. “We’ve had to make some schedule adjustments given crew constraints,” said Gareth Edmondson-Jones.

Breeze, which began flying to Akron-Canton in June 2021, began the twice-weekly Hartford flights on June 3 and ended them on July 1. It has planned to end the service in early September.

The low-fare carrier flies from Akron-Canton to six destinations, although none of those flights operate daily and some are seasonal.

Akron-Canton has suffered a spate of service cuts and suspensions this year. American Eagle stopped flying to Philadelphia, United Express ended service to Washington Dulles Airport last March and Spirit Airlines suspended all service to CAK in early summer.

However, new flights are expected to begin at Akron-Canton later this year. Breeze said it plans to begin flying to Las Vegas in October and Spirit has indicated it will restore service to Orlando in November.

Allegiant Air said it will begin service to Orlando-Sanford Airport in early October and to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport in November.

Lisa Dalpiaz, vice president of marketing and air service development with the Akron-Canton Airport, told The Plain Dealer that Hartford flights could return next summer. “Bookings were increasing and awareness was spreading for that route, so I could imagine it coming back next season,” she said.