United Airlines says it will drastically cut flights from its unprofitable Cleveland hub

[alp227]

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- United Airlines told its employees here today that it will slash around 60 percent of its flights that depart from the city beginning in April in a massive downsizing of what it called its unprofitable Cleveland operation.

The reductions were announced in a letter to workers from Jeff Smisek, chairman of United's board and the airlines' president and chief executive offer, that was obtained by the Plain Dealer, and confirmed through interviews with United employees at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and with people from the city of Cleveland.

"Our hub in Cleveland hasn't been profitable for over a decade, and has generated tens of millions of dollars of annual losses in recent years," Smisek's letter said. "We simply cannot continue to bear these losses."

Hopkins employees said this evening that the cuts will primarily be in flights that leave the D Concourse, ones that in the past were generally operated by Continental Airlines, before that airline merged with United. These flights are described by United as regional departures, or smaller commuter jets. The reductions will be made incrementally into June.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/02/united_airlines_says_it_will_d.html

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Bloomberg: United to Drop Cleveland Hub in $2 Billion Savings Push

[pscot]

1. Will the last person to leave Ohio

please turn out the lights.

[dembotoz]

2. as air service declines to be just like poor bus service

[go west young man]

3. United is a shit airline.

They don't even prioritize families seating together with small children on Transatlantic flights. And when they fuck up they won't put those same family members together in economy plus even though they have room to do so. It happened to us with a one year old on lap and a 4 year old. They had us in 3 different sections of the plane after we booked together. On a transatlantic flight they had our 4 year old sitting on his own. And they would not fix the problem. They are fucking useless as an airline. If you have kids people don't book United.

[rollin74]

4. happens every time there is an airline merger. smaller hubs get closed or drastically reduced

hardly surprising.

another recent example is Memphis with the Delta/Northwest merger