A Sad, Sad Day For ATL, CLE, DCA, And MSP Flyers

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Within hours of British Airways launching the Avios program in November of 2011 I noted how the 4.5K short-haul flights like from LaGuardia-Cleveland were real bargains.

There are currently 4 daily round-trip flights between Cleveland and LaGuardia but they will soon kill the route thanks to the USAirways merger.

No word on the status of the 1 daily flight between Cleveland and JFK, but that’s typically tough to get on an award and if the flight stays on it will likely become near impossible.  Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll see CLE-JFK gain a daily frequency but it seems unlikely.  There’s just too much competition on the route with 3 daily Delta flights from CLE-LGA, 8 United flights from CLE-LGA, 1 Delta flight from CLE-JFK, and 6 United flights from CLE-EWR. There are 2 daily Airtran/Southwest flights from nearby CAK-LGA. And Frontier also starts CLE-Trenton, NJ twice a week starting next month.

Even worse off are folks from Atlanta and Minneapolis.  They don’t even have service to JFK and their LGA flights are being axed as well.

Routes that will soon be killed as per today’s announcement:
Atlanta-LaGuardia
Cleveland-LaGuardia
Minneapolis-LaGuardia
Augusta, Ga.-Washington DCA
Detroit-Washington DCA
Fayetteville, N.C.-Washington DCA
Fort Myers-Washington DCA will become seasonal only
Fort Walton Beach, Fla.-Washington DCA
Islip, N.Y.-Washington DCA
Jacksonville, N.C.-Washington DCA
Little Rock-Washington DCA
Minneapolis-Washington DCA
Montreal-Washington DCA
Myrtle Beach-Washington DCA
Nassau, Bahamas-Washington DCA
Omaha, Neb.-Washington DCA
Pensacola, Fla-Washington DCA
San Diego-Washington DCA
Savannah-Washington DCA
Tallahassee-Washington DCA
Wilmington, N.C.-Washington DCA

New additions:
Los Angeles-Washington DCA goes from 1 flight to 2.
Charlottesville, Va.-LGA
Dayton, Ohio-LGA
Greensboro, N.C.-LGA
Knoxville, Tenn.-LGA
Little Rock, Ark.-LGA
Louisville, Ky.-LGA
Norfolk, Va.-LGA
Richmond, Va.-LGA
Roanoke, Va.-LGA
Wilmington, N.C.-LGA

HT: kracked dude, via DDF

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65 Comments On "A Sad, Sad Day For ATL, CLE, DCA, And MSP Flyers"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

stephen

whats ur plan now when u want to fly to NY?

yo

Do you kow if we will be able to get us airways filights like yyz – phl after the merger using 4500 avios

Dan

@stephen:
Going to play it by ear I guess. Best case scenario is them adding a 2nd JFK flight.
Otherwise it may be back to CAK with Airtran/Southwest.
OR maybe I’ll just burn 25K Delta or 20K United miles.
Or maybe I’ll drive to PIT where there will be lots of Avios flights come 03/31.
We shall see.

@yo:
You will.
At least until PHL is dehubbed and all the non-hub flights from their are scrubbed. Just like AA did to TWAs hubs.

Crying shame that the DoJ didn’t kill this merger as they originally said they were going to do.

Redbull3

Baruch Dayan emes

joel katz

I am crying right now. I lived off Atl to NY route

Andrew

geeze. it looks like DCA is the one that really is taking a beating. That is a lot of non-stops going away. The San Diego-DCA flight was in the works forever before it finally was implemented. I believe Alaska Airlines was trying to get on that route as well.

Go nyc

Another reason not to live in Cleveland

diandi

when does this go into affect?

Say what

I protest! #AAUNFRIENDLY!

Joe

Why is british airways the one to stop the flights ? How far away is Dayton fro Cleveland ?

Kevin @ Rent Your Credit

@Joe: It is using Avios points on American Airlines flights. So with AA reducing on that route there are fewer award seats available for Avios to claim.

Kevin @ Rent Your Credit

The one time an announcement actually benefits me… I live in Knoxville. Our current direct flights on any airline: Chicago (AA), Dallas (AA), Charlotte (US), Washington DCA (US), Philadelphia (US), Atlanta (Delta), Denver (Frontier), and random cities in Florida that Allegiant flies to on every 3rd Tuesday if it is sunny outside. Adding LGA is a HUGE addition for our market and at 647 miles is right in the sweet spot for Avios. Any idea on how soon inventory will be added for the new routes? I have a trip planned in May and was going to drive to Charlotte for a direct on Avios.

yyk

Any way a can write a petition…? Dan, don’t give up so quickly! 🙂

Go nyc

@Dan:
Dan check the facts before you talk:

http://cleveland.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=cleveland&s1=OH&c2=new+york&s2=NY

Yes my main priority is manufactured spend. Some of us have real spend and don’t need manufacturered spend.

thejerseyguy

Didn’t they promise DOJ to keep all routes for 5 years?

Dan

@Joe:
Far.

@yyk:
Go ahead. Don’t hold your breath.

@Go nyc:
Want to know more facts? There are probably 7 jews living in Cleveland. The 85K jews who live “in CLE” live out in the suburbs where crime is practically unheard of and mansions can be had for less than the price of a cockroach infested Brooklyn apartment.

Another fun fact, see city #2 here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_population_by_urban_areas#Jewish_population_outside_Israel_per_cities_in_percentages

The MS was added as a joke.

@thejerseyguy:
Doubt that.

Joe

Is nyc really that bad, Dan ?

Pitt (CS)

Quote,
@Dan “Or maybe I’ll drive to PIT where there will be lots of Avios flights come 03/31.”

We’d like to hear more about that.
Pitt’s gotten killed in the past few years – No more Jet Blue to NY!
So thanks for keeping us updated on our options.
We have a Fairmont here in PItt now, so you’re all set! 🙂

Dan

@Joe:
It’s great for about 1 day. Then I start breaking out…
I actually add she’lo garti b’new york in the morning brochos 😉

@Pitt (CS):
PIT will do great, our loss is your gain.
Though don’t forget that Airtran once served PIT-LGA once upon a time, but LCCs like Airtran and Jetblue don’t last long in PIT.

Airtran has flourished in CAK though. Would be neat to see CLE land JetBlue.

The Fairmont is great, stayed there several times.

thejerseyguy

“Another part of the settlement also committed the combined American to maintain its hubs in Charlotte, New York’s JFK, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago O’Hare, Philadelphia and Phoenix. For a period of five years, the merged company will continue daily service from those hubs to each of the states participating in the lawsuit: Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia.”

I guess you can blame the Governor of Ohio for not joining in the lawsuit.

Dan

@thejerseyguy:
Notice how DCA and LGA are conspicuously absent from that list…
That’s how DTW-DCA is ending. And why CLE-LGA would have ended even with an agreement.

yankel

do u know if ORD will loose any routes or get new ones

Joe

Good one, Dan. But one thing we got you beat is food. Block after block of restaurants ( & all the obese people to go with it )

Dan

@yankel:
Nothing announced yet.

@Joe:
What do you think keeps me coming back to NYC 😀
Great to visit and fress, but every time I return back to CLE and sail home on the 480 at 70 MPH I’m grinning from ear to ear.

But ORD has Shallot’s and Milt’s and that can hold it’s own against most NYC spots. At least CLE-ORD for 4.5K will stick around.

Lu

Wow
Msp is getting hammered. Only delta direct to DCA or once daily sun country. Anti trust my a$$

thejerseyguy

I know in DCA they were forced by DOJ to give up gates. Was the same true for LGA?

Aaron

@Joe:

I agree NYC (and Teaneck where I reside now) has a great diverse selection of places to eat. Although, being a former proud owner of Abbas Market & Grill- Cleveland (RIP), I find it difficult finding a one stop shop for quality/value in any NYC/Teaneck establishments in comparison to Abbas. I hope one day will see an Abbas style place open up sometime soon.

Dan great seminar in Teaneck. My wife thanks you for finally giving her the honeymoon she has been waiting about 4 years to take made possible by your delta glitch post…

Joe

@Aaron: I’m sorry about your place. What’s wrong with pomegranate ?

Anonymous

@Joe:

Abba’s was awesome! Chinese, sushi, fresh pitas, and get your shopping done.

Dan

@Aaron:
Was really a sad day in CLE when the city forced Abba’s and Yacovs to close.
Someone is going to make a fortune in the restaurant business in CLE one day…

Meir

That will be the only direct flight from Little Rock – NYC. No other airline has that.

Joe

If all else fails, we still got CH and 770. Try beating that !!

MendyP

Dan, if I need to fly ny-cle for a weekend in December, should I book this with BA miles now before this is taken away? I guess they’d move me to another flight if they cancel them before my trip?

Aaron

@Joe:

I rather enjoy Pomegranate and think they have created a great brand. The only problem is that they are very pricey…

reuvenhunt

Go PIT!!!

Hope that there is another MR -> Avios promotion before I have to close the AMEX green card I just downgraded to. Do I have 60 days from the plat->green downgrade or 60 days from the gold->plat upgrade.

telk

So Avios points will now work on us air flights from msp-phl instead of lga?

tel

So to clarify I can now (once finalized) use Avios on Us Airways from MSP-PHL? (I just lose the LGA option)

don

Thats pretty crazy about beechwood ohio being 90 percent jewish !

Gingi

Dan,

I don’t know you personally, but have a lot of respect for your talents and the way you bring things across.

I do have some issues with some of the things you write, but those are not issues I would write about in public.

However, I beg you to stop for a minute, look at your wife and kid, think about all you have and who you are, and tell me if you can really call it a “sad, sad day…”

Please try to keep things with a little bit of perspective (especially from a Yid), it is a wonderful day, with some challenging news. That’s all!

There’s a lot more to life than free travel and great hot deals.

Keep up the good work and always keep a positive attitude and outlook (which you seem to have), just don’t lose perspective in your writing.

annoyingguy

@Dan:
@don:
the stats in that wiki list are entirely misleading – somehow the entire greater NYC area is lumped together in one category yet beachwood is all by itself. i’m sure if you slotted each of the 5 towns separately (or if you included beachwood together with greater cle) it would look different.
Also, the numbers are suspect, as according to the 2010 census (referenced in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beachwood,_Ohio) beachwood is 13.7% black and 7.4% asian (not that there can’t be a little overlap…)

Reuvenhunt

@Gingi: A person who writes such a comment shouldn’t do it at 3:24am.

ClinicDoc

Indeed depressing especially for a new clevelander like me with family on NYC. So what is the final rundown on which flights/ destinations will be available from CLE using avios on AA or US

Hocker

@Dan,
You can use the Columbus CMH>NYC route.
Two Hour drive, multiple daily flights, dirt cheap parking. Cincinnati people have been using it for a while.

TG

@Gingi:
How do you live with yourself when every blog post that has the word “sad” in it puts you in a deep depression?

TG

@Dan:
Please don’t lump EWR in with JFL and LGA.
NJ has mansions for cheap and much less traffic than NYC. And did I mention, grass and trees!!

good

stay in clevland anyway

Jeff

@Gingi:

You obviously don’t travel all that much. But for those of us who do, and put in countless hours to ensure our families and friends will be able to travel affordably (especially last minute,) this is tough news to digest.

Yossi

@Gingi …get a life !

ari d

any word on how much avios the new added flights will cost?

yitz

does anyone know when this goes into effect?
flights for may and june are still showing as available to be booked on aa.com
how much warning would they have to givebefore cancelling the whole route if lots of people already have tickets?

DZ the Telzer

Dan,
Will this affect the flights from Philadelphia to Cleveland from US Airways, will those be available for 9,000 BA miles for round trip.

MSP flyer

Dan,
what are the best options now for those that fly from NYC to MSP often?

Dan Stalker

@Gingi:

Gingi meet Dan. Dan writes a popular blog. Blogs use words to describe things. Sad is a word. Gingi look in the mirror. Perhaps you have red hair? You are lucky. It is a great day indeed. Grow a pair and some Gingi hair on your chest and stop whining.

Dan's Unlicensed Unretained Attorney

@Go nyc:

Although I don’t put much stock in the comparative stats you cite, even according to your own source you are in error. Beachwood does not have stats on that site but here are two Jewish CLE area places that do.

http://cleveland.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=University+Heights&s1=OH&c2=New+York&s2=NY

http://cleveland.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Cleveland+Heights&s1=OH&c2=New+York&s2=NY

And also. Dan and his manufactured spend are cool. Cool like the coolest kid in the class. Even if you do real spend, still you are just jealous.

zalmy c

its Time for Dan to Move to a warmer climate like Miami , all his friends from all over come to visit there every winter im sure

Max

How about a Avios from Clev-Miami? I am scheduled for late Feb.

Dan

@MendyP:
They would probably move you to the JFK flight.

@Aaron:
How can anyone compete with that $4.99 Abba’s Burger+Fries special with that freshly made pita.

@telk:
On 03/31, yes.

@Gingi:
Lol. It’s called hyperbole.
It’s sad news for flyers, not jump off the bridge news for anyone. Should I not write about sad news stories?
Not sure what that has to do with the amazing family that Gd has blessed me with.

@annoyingguy:
Beachwood isn’t a neighborhood.

It’s a full-fledged city with its own elected mayor (2 jews recently ran against each other), its own police force (they are wonderful cops, I’ve never gotten a ticket here and they respond to emergencies within 30 seconds), its own top-rated school system, its own garbage trucks that do free on-demand pickups, its own snow plows that leave no flake on the ground unpunished, its own sidewalk plows so you don’t have to shovel, etc.

That’s why it’s counted separately.

@ClinicDoc:
We lose LGA but we gain PHL and CLT.

@Hocker:
PIT is 1:40 away and will have tons of flights come 03/31.
Though CAK may be the better option with Southwest points.

@TG:
Fair enough, though housing and schooling isn’t nearly as cheap as CLE.

@ari d:
Depends on the distance, just like all BA flights.

@yitz:
They’ll just move them to the JFK flight.

@DZ the Telzer:
It will be bookable 03/31.

@Dan’s Unlicensed Unretained Attorney:
Lol.
Though if I lived in Cleveland Heights I don’t think I’d feel nearly as safe at night as Beachwood.

@zalmy c:
So I should trade 6 months of beautifully mild summers in CLE for 6 months of torture in MIA in the summer?

Yotza s’choro b’hefseido.

Never mind the crime that goes on in NMB, or the high cost of housing in safer areas.

Ideally I’d live there in the winter and here i the summer like my grandparents. But I don’t think that’s legal until you’re at least 65 😀

@Max:
Nothing changes there.

annoyingguy

@Dan:
while beachwood’s technical municipal status of “city” is not shared by lawrence or cedarhurst (which are villages), that seems like an arbitrary distinction in the context of the discussion at hand.
I will say that it is a lot easier to find a shabbos goy in beachwood than it is in lawrence!
(personally, i’d rather live in a less densely jewishly populated area, so I don’t really have skin in the game on this particular point)

srulky

This really good for cinci travelers.
We now have avios availability from CVG,DAY,CMH, & SDF!

Gingi

@Dan:
Hyperbole understood, though from some of the reactions to my comment some people don’t take it us such.
Family connection is simple – any day you can see G-d’s blessing (and that would be every day) cannot be called “a sad, sad day”.

Can we settle on one “Sad” being acceptable hyperbole and “Sad, Sad” being overboard? 😉

p.s. my whole thinking about this was in the context and aftermath of the Menachem Stark tragedy, and another friend who just lost his long battle with the dreaded disease.

Aaron

@Dan:
Very true…although we were not running it as a business for profit so hard to compare prices and portions to other establishments. We still make pita from time to time when I go home to visit…reminds me of the good old days.

Nic

Gingi – I get what you are trying to say. However this is a travel blog – yes, in the overall world it’s not a bad thing (it’s first world problems) but in the travel world it is indeed a sad sad day.

Jonny

Everyone chill out pls..

And btw ny metro is simply the best/most convenient place to live as a yid in galus

Apple

is NYC TO WASH lost?
NYC – Ord?

Chrishena

is it really possible that there won’t be flights from Atlanta to New York? I thought LGA was a hub for Delta as well as LaGuardia. Hard to believe.

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