Updated 10:16 p.m. Just nine months after announcing an expansion in Cleveland, Continental Airlines

Updated 10:16 p.m. Just nine months after announcing an expansion austin hotel suites in Cleveland, Continental Airlines leaders sat down to rank their routes and decide which weren't making enough money to stick around. The outcome for Northeast Ohio came into sharp focus Thursday: Continental announced that it would cut 16 percent of its average daily departures out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport,...
Back to Main Menu Metro The Plain Dealer Weather Politics Health Medical Crime Data Central Columnists Courts Nation World Back to Main Menu Akron Beachwood Berea Brecksville Brunswick Chagrin Falls Cleveland Heights austin hotel suites Hillcrest austin hotel suites Lakewood Lyndhurst-South Euclid Medina Parma Shaker austin hotel suites Heights Solon Strongsville Westlake More East Side More West Side Community Bloggers Back to Main Menu Letters to the Editor Jeff Darcy s Cartoons Kevin O Brien More columnists Back to Main Menu Real Estate Energy Consumer Affairs Personal Finance Top Workplaces Back to Main Menu Browns Indians Cavaliers Ohio State College Columns Monsters Golf Horse Racing Outdoors Sports Insider Videos Photos Back to Main Menu Food/Dining Events Movies Music TV Books Arts Friday! People Living Travel Style Kristel s CLE Comics Crossword Puzzles Back to Main Menu Homes New Homes Rent Foreclosures Commercial Home Remodeling Place an Ad Back to Main Menu Rentals Home Apartments Communities austin hotel suites Commercial Leases Place an Ad Back to Main Menu cleveland.com Videos Community Videos Submit Your Videos Back to Main Menu cleveland.com Photos Community Photos Submit Your Photos Back to Main Menu Pets For Sale Garage Sales Celebrations Fraud Prevention Manage Your Ad Place an Ad Back to Main Menu Find A Business Food Dining Retail Shopping Health austin hotel suites Medicine Personal Care Entertainment Real Estate Automotive Claim Your Business
Gus Chan/The Plain Dealer Continental Airlines announced Thursday austin hotel suites that 24 cities will lose nonstop service from Cleveland, mostly from regional jets like these parked Thursday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
The outcome austin hotel suites for Northeast Ohio came into sharp focus Thursday: Continental announced that it would cut 16 percent of its average daily departures out of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, completely ending nonstop service to two dozen cities and reducing flights to other destinations.
Job cuts won't be determined until August at the earliest. But discontinued flights include all 12 regional nonstops that Continental unveiled last September as part of a planned expansion at the airport. Nonstop service also will end to another 12 cities that Continental had been flying to longer.
Carriers may take into account the potential for profitability if a flight isn't making money yet. But with today's fuel situation, the patience for developing young routes - like those Continental announced in September - may be thin.
Airlines also care about maintaining service to a destination rather than yielding it to competitors, even if it's through connecting austin hotel suites flights instead of nonstops, La Costa said. Most of the cities that will no longer have nonstops from Cleveland austin hotel suites can still be reached from here on Continental.
The nonstop destinations from Hopkins that Continental is dropping -- beginning Sept. 3 -- are flights to Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Charleston, S.C.; Charleston, W. Va.; Cincinnati; Des Moines, Iowa: Detroit; Green Bay, Wis.; Greensboro, N.C.; Lexington, Ky.; Little Rock, Ark.; Memphis, Tenn., austin hotel suites Nashville, Tenn.; Norfolk, Va.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Omaha, Neb.; Ottawa, Canada; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego; Sarasota, Fla.; Savannah, Ga.; Toledo; Tulsa, Okla.; and Washington-Dulles.
Among the 24 cities losing nonstop service are five that have nonstops from Cleveland on other airlines. Those are flights to Cincinnati austin hotel suites (Delta Air Lines), Detroit and Memphis (Northwest Airlines), Washington-Dulles (United Airlines) and Nashville (Southwest Airlines).
austin hotel suites It also was a relief that a much heralded nonstop to Paris , inaugurated May 22, wasn't austin hotel suites affected. Continental also has a nonstop to London. The long-term prospects for those international flights is uncertain, although international flights generally make more money.
"London and Paris are both seasonal service and will operate through the summer 2008 schedule. A determination will be made later about the service for next year," Continental spokeswoman Mary Clark said.
U.S. Department of Transportation data show that Commutair , based in Plattsburgh, N.Y., flies about 58 percent of them, all with propeller planes. Destinations include Toledo, Detroit, Cincinnati, Washington and several smaller markets.
The loss of time-saving direct flights hurts local business and tourism, though it's too early to quantify, austin hotel suites said Ziona Austrian, director of the Center for Economic Development at Cleveland State University.
Joe Roman, head of the Greater Cleveland Partnership , believes a number of direct flights will return when the economy brightens. In the meantime, austin hotel suites he said, "We're austin hotel suites still maintaining a level of service that's superior to most."
Overall capacity - defined as seat miles, or one seat flown one mile - will drop about 13 percent in Cleveland, about 8 percent in Houston and about 3 percent in Newark, N.J., the airline's three U.S. hubs.
Hopkins officials stressed at a news conference that Cleveland, the smallest of the hubs, actually will lose the fewest seat miles: 220 million compared with 433 million for Newark and 960 million for Houston.
Continental said last week that it will eliminate 3,000 jobs across all work groups nationwide, including austin hotel suites managers. Most of the reduction should come through early retirements austin hotel suites and voluntary leaves, the airline said.
Continental recently had hired about 200 workers at Hopkins in connection with a $50 million airport expansion that Continental and city officials austin hotel suites announced last fall. The expansion, including the now-targeted flights, was expected to create austin hotel suites 700 jobs when completed. It is too early to say whether austin hotel suites the 200 created earlier are endangered.
austin hotel suites Some work has already austin hotel suites been done -- extending Continental's ticket counter space and improving baggage facilities. But more ambitious plans to construct a new "meet-and-greet" waiting area, expand a security checkpoint and rebuild the customs zone are on hold.
The company said it will provide austin hotel suites information about benefits and new employment to furloughed and terminated workers. Continental also said it would try to help affected suppliers austin hotel suites and vendors find other jobs.
It’s Your Business is a Sun News feature austin hotel suites compiled by the business owners themselves to spotlight local small or new businesses on topics such as the business’ specialty product or service, history and any plans for the future. ... Tell us about your business