greenair727 wrote:ncflyer wrote:I gotta figure that Allegiant somehow caught wind of NK's future plans.
I think this Spirit announcements is one of the better things to happen in CLE in a while. Yeah OK only one gate and some offices but you don't let that hit the media unless you have decent sized plans. And the leisure markets or at least Florida feel pretty well saturated from CLE so maybe they will surprise us with some route possibilities. And best of all, NK is cheap enough that you're really going to draw people from PIT CMH TOL if they fly some unique routes. Lastly, if Spirit a ULCC isn't worried about CLE's cost structure or a future burden of an airport renovation-- then the rest of us shouldn't be either.
I agree--if NK has unique enough destinations from CLE, it will draw pax willing to drive 2 hrs--which puts the catchment area up to like 10M. The easiest destination would be San Juan---and daily. Would also love to see BAQ, BOG, SJO, and STT. NK would a have a nice little bustling hub at CLE.
You seriously think Spirit could even fill a 319 from CLE to Colombia? BOG, BAQ, SJO etc are destinations that require a local population to support them. Unless Ohio randomly acquires a sizable Colombian population that’ll never happen. Chicago doesn’t even have service to Colombia. It’s just one more gate likely only leased because the economy of scale for their CLE operation now supports it. Not saying you won’t see growth at CLE for NK, but let’s keep the expectations reasonable.