Wanna go on a great trip? Follow Kristie's many quirky journeys and jounts inside and outside of the airline industry.
- More CAK-pacity means new record in May
Posted on 06/23/2010135,100. That is a dang good number. Why? That’s how many passengers came and went through CAK this May.We trounced our 2006 record by nearly 10,000!
Now, I don’t want to spend too much time bragging because the credit for our growth goes to our customers and to our airline partners.
A number of our customers are experiencing CAK for the first-time. We love to hear from them because many times they have discarded their regular travel habits to either save a little money or to see what CAK is all about. Often, they have to drive a little farther too. So we really appreciate their extra effort. Many times, our first-timers will post a comment to our FB wall sharing their airport experience. We learn a lot from them about how to tweak our offerings to make CAK even more relaxing.
Of course we can’t break records without additional capacity; airline seats and destinations. Building capacity though takes strong market fundamentals and a can-do attitude. The Northeast Ohio economy, particularly the southern flank is experiencing a slow and steady recovery from the economic meltdown that was 2009. We see that load factors and revenue are inching up and that seems to have inspired some confidence with airline route planners.
Here is a quick look at new CAK-pacity:
# Weekly Flights ‘09# Weekly Flights ‘10
AirTran Airways New York LaGuardia 14 21
AirTran Airways Orlando 7 11
SkyWest/ AirTran Milwaukee 0 13
US Airways Charlotte 28 35
Frontier Airlines Denver 14 14 (A320)
Delta Detroit 21 28
A lot of these extra flights are seasonal; here only during the peak summer travel season but that’s okay. We want our airlines to make adjustments based on demand and profitability.
So, in closing, I have to say thanks to our exceptional airline partners for having faith in our market and for bringin’ on the extra CAK-pacity. We rocked May but all the credit goes to our customers and airline partners. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- CAK Airport + Tenants=Jobs
Posted on 07/16/2010So, the other day I was at a meeting with a local school administrator and the marketing manager of a large employer in our hometown city, Green, Ohio. They were chatting about which one of them- the school system or the large service provider- was the largest employer in Green. Immediately (those of you who know me know that I simply can’t keep quiet if I know that an important fact is missing from the conversation), I said “wait a second, the airport is the largest employer in Green.” Needless to say, they were very surprised.The school administrator actually wanted to argue that the airport wasn’t all in Green (we all pay a 2% income tax, so I know that we are indeed located in Green).
1,034 people are employed by the Akron-Canton Airport in aviation related fields (including airlines, TSA, FAA, Authority employees, car rental agencies, dining and retail services, parking lot, fix based operators, maintenance base, and corporate aviation hangers).That’s a big number. It is especially important now as the U.S. is working hard to pull out of one of the worst recessions of all time. We generate $84 million in payroll and $6.6 million in taxes too. Our overall economic impact is just short of $400 million.
Airports are powerful economic generators and CAK is no exception.It is really at the heart of all we do. Our core business, transporting people and things to destinations throughout the world, generates lots of economic activity. As we continue to grow, adding new destinations and services, our economic contributions- jobs, income and taxes- also grow.
So, here’s to giving back, in a big way, to Green, Ohio, and beyond.
- CAK- Stretching Creative Tactics Again!
Posted on 08/31/2010Many of you have had a chance to view our newest campaign- Airport Intervention. I just love it when creative minds, in this case Dave Derby and Randy DeMusey, dream up concepts that test the status quo and get us to think in different ways about a brand- in this case ours.
I also love our Punchy Clown. He is adorable but a bit silly and over the top. Well, you have to think out of the box these days to cut through all the clutter of advertisements that are bombarding us. That’s why Punchy is so great. In a fun and creative way, he symbolizes the universal “big airport” experience. Long lines, big crowds, long walks and stress are inevitable at big airports. Most travelers though either start their trip or connect through a big airport, just like our punchy. He doesn’t know he has a choice; that he’s got two airports to choose from. Well, that’s where the idea to stage a make believe intervention in “docu”drama style came from. We wanted to show him that there is a better way to go at CAK!
Let me just tell you that filming this vid was a blast. Kevin Kerwin, Authentic Films director, based right here in Cleveland, really got into Punchy’s and his family’s head(s). He nailed the documentary style, making the 8 minute video realistic enough to be true to the A&E show “Intervention” but silly enough to know that it is a satire or parody of the real thing.
Along with the video we launched a contest called C’Mon Get Happy, where we will jet the winner off to Universal Studios in Orlando (courtesy of Traveline Travel). There is still time to enter the contest, by the way.
So far the results are encouraging. We are getting so much positive feedback from folks who watch the video. They love the cutting edge look and feel and they admire our courage to take a web-based approach towards advertising in a world that seems addicted to 10 second blurbs, texts and tweets. There have been a few (6 total) complaints from folks who took the video more seriously than it was intended.
Have a look at our Intervention and let us know what you think too!
- Continental and United, a match made in heaven?
Posted on 05/19/2010It was hardly a surprise when Glen Tilton and Jeff Smisek announced that the two airlines were engaged to be wed; to become one; to live United. A variety of industry conditions have made this marriage (or other pairings) fairly easy to predict. For one, major airlines CEOs like Glen Tilton and Doug Parker have been espousing the virtues of consolidation since 2001. In the global airline market, their thinking is “bigger is better.”
For those of us who remember the good old day when being the largest U.S. carrier was all the rage, the new global marketplace is a shocker but it is also a reality, and critical mass does count. Escalating fuel costs also play into the merger/marriage mania. Fuel is such an “X” factor in the airline industry. Speculation and other external threats to oil production and refinement wreak havoc on airline profits or as is more often the case losses. Add in over capacity on domestic routes and brutal fare wars, and you can easily see that it may just seem nicer to wake up with a partner every morning.
So, even though this couple broke up in 2008 after a lengthy courtship, it’s easy to see why they started dating again and then quickly became engaged. Of course, there was another woman lurking, not ugly at all, just waiting for her chance to “get a bite to eat” with Glen Tilton and United Airlines. Well, that just sealed the deal for Smisek and team.
There are still significant hurdles for the airlines to overcome- namely the Department of Justice and then linking their labor unions (will the children get along? Will they accept their new stepparents as their own?).
And in this part of the country, the newly engaged are making business and civic leaders in Cleveland extremely nervous about their future in the unified network. CLE is after all the smallest of all the hubs in the combined system. Small doesn’t mean insignificant though. With 70% O/D traffic generated by the local market, it is quite a plum that some airline will want to snatch up. It also could help smooth out crazy operations at Chicago O’Hare and Newark, two of the most congested airports in the U.S.
So, what does all this mean for CAK? At this point, it is business as usual. We are laser focused on what we do best- offering customers a relaxing experience and air fares they can afford. No matter what happens with this marriage or other market shifts, our commitment will not wane. When you operate in a dynamic marketplace, like the airline industry, it is vital to remain focused on the fundamentals. So what to expect from CAK in the future? Expect more of the same.
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