BY JENNIFER DORSEY
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Mayor Michael White and Continental
Airlines chairman and chief executive Gordon Bethune announced a
$120 million expansion at Cleveland Hopkins Airport.
The centerpiece of the project is an $80 million concourse for
Continental's ExpressJet service, using 50-passenger Embraer 145
regional jets, that will make Cleveland a "premier one-of-a-kind
regional facility," the airline said.
"In just two years, Continental will have the facilities
necessary to operate a 360-flight-per-day hub in Cleveland," White
said.
"This hub will make it easier for business travelers and
tourists to visit our city and will provide more jobs for the
citizens of our city and more tax dollars in our economy," he
said.
The new concourse will have 12 regional jet gates with interior
jetbridge loading and 24 turboprop loading positions.
It will be connected to Concourse C by an underground tunnel
with moving sidewalks and will eliminate the need to bus travelers
between the terminal and their planes, according to Continental
Express president David Siegel.
When all phases of Continental's development are completed, the
airport will have 56 gates serving Continental and Continental
Express customers.
That total includes 20 gates for larger Continental jets plus
the 12 regional jet gates and 24 Express turboprop loading
positions.
The current operation involves 16 jet gates and two Express
turboprop hold rooms serving 24 Express loading positions.
As of last December, Continental's Cleveland service offered 251
daily departures, including 146 with turboprops and 105 with
jets.
By the end of the decade Continental said, it will be operating
more than 350 daily departures out of Cleveland, with the increase
coming from additional large-jet and regional-jet flights.
The expansion project will be financed by a combination of
general airport revenue bonds and special revenue bonds issued
through the City of Cleveland, with the sole responsibility of
payback falling on Continental Airlines and Continental
Express.
A line maintenance facility will be developed at the airport to
service the new Embraer regional jet that Continental is
introducing to the Cleveland market.
Continental Express will have 25 of the new regional jets
servicing its Cleveland, Houston and New York (Newark) hubs by the
third quarter of 1998, with options for 175 additional aircraft
during the next 10 years.
The new ExpressJet service is designed specifically with the
business traveler in mind.
It cruises at speeds similar to other jet aircraft at
high-enough altitudes to provide a fast, smooth ride.
The cabin offers comfort and amenities associated with larger
jets, including a seat pitch of 31 inches, ample head room,
carry-on luggage storage, leather-covered orthopedic seats, a
full-sized galley and the widest aisle in its class, Continental
said.
The jet aircraft soon will be equipped with the latest in
digital telephone technology, Continental said.