I’ve always thought that our airport has been unfairly maligned. It’s easily accessible, it’s in the center of the country, and it’s of a comfortable scale. Of course it has had its challenges – but when was the last time you flew into LaGuardia?
Well, last month, the Airports Council International (ACI) named Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) as the “most improved” airport in North America – according to ACI’s prestigious 2017 Airport Service Quality Survey.
This improvement is reflected in the increasing traffic at CLE. For example, Crain’s Cleveland Business writes that “More than 9.1 million passengers traveled through Hopkins in 2017, an 8.5% increase from the 8.4 million passengers who used (CLE) in 2016. Last year’s number was significant because it marked the first time since 2013 – the last year United Airlines operated its hub here – that Hopkins crossed the 9 million mark.”
And, The Plain Dealer points out that “It’s the highest number since 2011, three years before United pulled the plug on its hub here in 2014.” Airport Director Robert Kennedy was delighted with the new perceptions and growth – saying that “If I had been here in 2014, and you would have told me that in three years we would surpass our traffic from the hub days, I wouldn’t have taken that bet .”
Kennedy went on to predict “an estimated 9.5 million passengers in 2018 and 10 million in 2019,” according to The Plain Dealer. He attributed the growth to “new airlines, lower fares and a greater emphasis on customer service at the airport.”
I acknowledge that more work needs to be done – and CLE is in the process of beginning to update its Master Plan, completed in 2008 and last updated in 2012. In the short term, The Plain Dealer reported last week that a group of smaller capital improvements will soon be underway – amounting to a budget of more than $37 million – “including $2.5 million to fix the airport's beleaguered baggage sorting system.”
But, like I said at the outset, I like its convenience and its size. I think CLE perfectly reflects The CLE – it’s a small big airport, in a small big town.
Come fly with me!
Z
