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Continental grounds Charleston-to-Cleveland flight
By Molly Parker
Staff Writer
Cleveland might rock, but Charleston fliers are going to have to roll through another airport to get there. Continental Airlines this month said it plans to ground the only nonstop flight between Charleston and Cleveland beginning Sept. 3 as part of its
company-wide cost-saving proposal.
On the same day, United Airlines and US Airways announced plans to charge passengers $15 to check their first bag, and US Airways will ask for an additional $2 should a flier choose to indulge in a nonalcoholic drink midflight.
“Market forces are whipping the airline mercilessly,” Charleston County Aviation Authority Chairman David Jennings said. “Other than keeping the cost to operate in Charleston as low as we can and encouraging people to fly, there’s not much we can do.”
The companies follow in the footsteps of American Airlines, which also services the Charleston International Airport, in turning features traditionally included in the ticket price into an a la carte system.
For United fliers, the new fee is in effect for all economy-class tickets purchased June 12 for flights starting Aug. 18. Premium members of the airline’s frequent-flier program are exempt, as are business, first-class and international travelers. United also is increasing the fee to check three or more bags, overweight bags and items that require special handling to $125 from $100, or to $250 from $200.
The new fees for US Airways’ customers will go into effect for all tickets booked after July 9.
The nation’s major airlines say rising oil prices are beating down their bottom lines.
Continental’s decision to nix its Charleston-to-Cleveland service is part of its plan to ground numerous flights, retire older, gas-guzzling airplanes from the fleet and eliminate 3,000 jobs.
In a letter to employees, Continental CEO and Chairman Larry Kellner and President Jeff Smisek said the industry faces “its worst crisis since Sept. 11” and vowed to forgo their own salaries for the rest of the year.
The Continental flight between Charleston and Cleveland was added about three months ago, Jennings said. He guessed the flight’s elimination stemmed from Continental’s plans to hold off on developing Cleveland as a hub.
“Continental tells us they have good load factors on the flight, but with the corporate decision to delay expanding the Cleveland hub, our guess is they don’t think it makes sense to have a single Charleston-to-Cleveland round trip,” he said. “I think when things are better economically, we’ll get that flight back.”
Continental and its subsidiaries, Continental/Chautauqua and Continental Express, will continue to charter passengers daily to Houston and Newark, N.J.
Continental’s plans call for trimming domestic mainline departures by 16% compared with last year. The airline collectively served 9,246 passengers on 11 daily flights traveling from the Charleston airport in April, according to the last available operations report.
“Right now, the state of the airlines is so fluid you just don’t know,” said Bill New, Charleston’s deputy director of airports. “They’re struggling with the high cost of fuel. You read every day about what’s going on with the airlines.”
Without the fleet reduction, the company said, it would pay $2.3 billion more for fuel this year than it did last year.
“Although these changes will be painful, we must adapt to the reality of today’s market to successfully navigate these difficult times,” the letter said.
The company hopes to trim the majority of the 3,000 workers through voluntary programs but also plans to terminate and furlough some of its staff.
By the end of 2009, the company expects to have 30 fewer planes in its fleet while replacing older jets with newer, more fuel-efficient models.
As part of its nationwide trimming, Delta Air Lines grounded its daily flights from Charleston to Boston and Orlando in June.
Despite the industry turmoil, airport traffic in Charleston is holding steady, New said, with 6% more passengers in April of this year compared with the same period last year.
Molly Parker is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at mparker@scbiznews.com.
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