And it's CVG by a landslide!!!!

[laurenmarie]

$100 more than Anchorage, Alaska?!?!?!?! :eek: I hate driving so far to catch a plane... makes traveling much more trouble than it's worth sometimes. :mad:

Airfares tops again, by far
Tickets at CVG zoom up 12.6 percent
BY ALEXANDER COOLIDGE | ACOOLIDGE@ENQUIRER.COM

At an average $576 per roundtrip, airline tickets in and out of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport were once again the nation's most expensive in the third quarter of 2007. Fares here also rose faster than at any other airport, a new government report shows. CVG has topped the list for the past three quarters.

Local air fares were more than $100 more than the nation's No. 2 costliest airport, in Anchorage, Alaska, which averaged $467 per ticket. Airfares at CVG increased 12.6 percent from the same quarter in 2006. Nationally, average airfares dipped 0.8 percent for the quarter - July, August and September - to $328, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Local passengers departing the Hebron airport have long decried sky-high airplane tickets that are blamed on its status as a hub for Delta Air Lines.

That status might be in jeopardy as the Atlanta-based carrier considers a potential merger with either Northwest or United Airlines - a move experts say could lead to the dismantling of the local hub. Such a move would likely drastically cut local service but also attract low-cost competition and result in the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs.

Delta officials have declined to discuss the status of merger negotiations. The airline has consistently defended its pricing, noting it needs local passengers to cover the higher expense of operating the airline's second-largest hub.

Delta and its affiliates, including Erlanger-based Comair, account for more than 80 percent of service here - including nonstop flights to more than 120 cities in North America and Europe.

Average third-quarter fares at nearby airports, although they offer considerably less service and fewer direct flights, were:

Dayton - $333

Columbus - $277

Louisville - $315

Indianapolis - $306

One or more low-cost carriers serve each of the four airports.

[gwar469]

fuck delta in the ass with a red hot poker. single-handedly destroyed that airport. :mad:

[laurenmarie]

I flew out of there twice last year on my company's bill... the lack of travelers sure makes going through security a breeze.

[not_ontheboards]

At least the end of the monopoly is in sight....

Once Delta merges with Northwest, we are sure to lose the hub status at CVG. It sucks that a ton of people will lose their jobs and air travel will suck for a while, but the low cost carriers will flock to area, especially with companies such as P&G to service here. Then we can finally have choices in airlines out of CVG (hopefully) competition will drive down prices to normal.

Incidently, I was pricing a Delta flight to Florida for my parents. CVG to Ft. Myers: $360 RT. Dayton to Ft. Myers, connecting on the same flight at CVG: $220 RT!!

Delta: Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!

[laurenmarie]

Delta: Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!

Word. :cool:

[the-dude]

Back when I lived in the natti I used to fly from CMH and SDF instead of CVG. Fortunately I have family that lives in both cities.

[pomegranate]

I work at the airport. I don't fly out of it. (Or out of anywhere for that matter...). & I like my job..sooo... yeah.

[euro60]

Delta: Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!
couldn't agree more.. I am so sick and tired of the price gauging by Delta

[wileE]

So, jobs will be lost if Delta leaves, but won't jobs be gained when other air carriers take its place? And won't more jobs be created since prices will be lower and more people will start flying out of CVG instead of driving to Dayton, Indy, Columbus, or Louisville?

Sounds like it will be a bit painful, but turn out for the better.

[upwithpeople]

I'm flying to CVG next week from O'Hare. $700. Insane.

[ThomasC]

I'm flying to CVG next week from O'Hare. $700. Insane.
Ugh, yeah.

My mom is flying from Columbus to Taipei later this month for ~$650. A roundtrip flight halfway around the world is cheaper than Chicago to Cincinnati?! That's just wrong.

[mistergugi]

So, jobs will be lost if Delta leaves, but won't jobs be gained when other air carriers take its place? And won't more jobs be created since prices will be lower and more people will start flying out of CVG instead of driving to Dayton, Indy, Columbus, or Louisville?

Sounds like it will be a bit painful, but turn out for the better.I agree with you on that point, generally, but I'd also imagine that a hub creates secondary jobs which a variety of non-hub-creating carriers would not. I'm generally talking out my arse, but there's got to be extra positions that are associated with hub conditions.

[wileE]

I agree with you on that point, generally, but I'd also imagine that a hub creates secondary jobs which a variety of non-hub-creating carriers would not. I'm generally talking out my arse, but there's got to be extra positions that are associated with hub conditions.
So it's just a bunch of hub-bub?

[mistergugi]

So it's just a bunch of hub-bub?*rim-shot*

[the_birds]

DELTA

Don't
Ever
Leave
The
Airport

[berzerker]

Ugh, yeah.

My mom is flying from Columbus to Taipei later this month for ~$650. A roundtrip flight halfway around the world is cheaper than Chicago to Cincinnati?! That's just wrong.

Holy crap... that's insane.

So long, Delta stranglehold.

Like not_otb said, I booked flights from Dayton - Portland, connecting thru CVG that were $200 cheaper than those same flights to and from Portland that originated in Cinci.
$200 cheaper, to originate in Dayton? 2 more planes, pilots, co-pilots, flight crews, ground crews, gate crews... not to mention the fuel, "take off taxes," etc... and it still cost less.

[euro60]

Ugh, yeah.

My mom is flying from Columbus to Taipei later this month for ~$650.
Really? on what airline(s)? just curious. That is dirt cheap, man.

[ThomasC]

Really? on what airline(s)? just curious. That is dirt cheap, man.
Northwest. It's pretty much the time when not a lot of people go to Taiwan, because she's not going until two weeks after Chinese New Year. When it gets to June or July, the price goes up to $1,500 or so.

[euro60]

Pretty soon we won't have to worry about those Delta prices anymore, as there won't be much of Delta left here at CVG....

From the Enquirer:


Report: Delta to cut CVG flights

By James Pilcher • jpilcher@enquirer.com • March 10, 2009

Delta Air Lines will cut flying at its hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport by an additional 25 percent this summer over current levels as the economy worsens and the carrier continues its merger with Northwest Airlines, USA Today reported this morning.

In a larger story about the merger’s progress, the paper cited an analysis of the upcoming June schedule by OAG-Official Airline Guide, which also said the local operation would now be about the same size as the Northwest hub in Memphis.

In all, the Atlanta-based will shrink several hubs, including Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis, while its New York and Atlanta flying will continue to grow, the report said.

Delta officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Delta executives have previously committed to the long-term status of the hub, both publicly in the media and privately to area elected and business officials.

Airport spokeswoman Barb Schempf said that Delta had never disclosed any plans for such a drastic cut, only that the airline was going to wait until the summer to determine any further reductions.

Delta currently operates about 260 departures daily to 91 cities (that includes flying by its regional partners and subsidiaries, including Erlanger-based subsidiary Comair).

After a 12 percent cut this January, Delta has reduced its local flying by about half over the last three years. As a consequence, airport passenger traffic has fallen from its peak of more than 21 million in 2005 to just over 11 million last year.

Delta and Comair combine to employ about 6,300 locally, making it one of the largest corporate employers in Northern Kentucky.

[markalot]

That report is incorrect.

Delta is cutting a total of 25% from last summer, which is no surprise.

The re-worded article:

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20090310/BIZ01/303100026

Delta to cut flights, jobs

By James Pilcher • jpilcher@enquirer.com • March 10, 2009

Delta Air Lines will cut 6 to 8 percent of its flying throughout its system, including a 10 percent cut in the previously lucrative international market, and could be facing further job cuts, executives at the world’s largest carrier told employees in a memo this morning.
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Delta chief executive officer Richard Anderson and president Ed Bastain said that the cuts would start in September in response to the worsening global economy. Flights to Asia and Europe have been especially hard hit by the downturn, the memo said.

“In just the last few months since we last announced capacity reductions, revenues have weakened, particularly in international markets,” the memo said. “Once again, we must move quickly to adjust our capacity and stay in front of demand changes.”

How those cuts could impact the local hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport remains unknown.

All told, Delta will have reduced its flying by 25 percent as of this June as compared with last year out of the local airport as it took out flights due to last summer’s fuel crisis and to balance its network with other hubs in Detroit and Memphis.

After a 12 percent cut this January alone, Delta has reduced its local flying by about half since 2005. As a consequence, airport passenger traffic has fallen from its peak of more than 21 million in 2005 to just over 11 million last year.

Delta currently operates more than 260 departures daily to 91 cities (that includes flying by its regional partners and subsidiaries, including Erlanger-based subsidiary Comair). Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott said this morning that the overall number will be 269 daily departures including Northwest flying when the new schedule goes into effect in June.

“Cincinnati is now seeing the full year effect of capacity reductions in 2008 in response to the unprecedented high fuel cost that were disclosed in late 2007 and 08, but Delta remains committed to the Cincinnati hub,” she said. “And in recognition of that, Delta recently made adjustment to fares, and retimed the schedule to improve connection times for customers. All these efforts were geared toward the continued viability of the Cincinnati hub both for Delta and the community it supports.”

As for international flying, Delta currently serves Frankfurt, Paris, and London from Cincinnati, and is bringing back its summertime flight to Amsterdam on May 31. The airline has previously said its strategy was to boost international flying, send as a major profit center.

The memo did not lay out specifics about potential job juts. But it did say that the recent 2,100 voluntary buyouts met the overall target for job reductions, but that more could be needed.

“We again must reassess our staffing needs,” the memo said.

Delta and Comair employ about 6,300 locally combined, making it one of the largest corporate employers in Northern Kentucky.

“With the additional capacity reductions noted above, we again must reassess our staffing needs,” the memo said.

The company’s stock was up 28 cents in early trading, selling at $4.47 a share.