General Lee
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2002
- Posts
- 20,442
Continental Airlines document suggests huge cuts in Cleveland Hopkins flights
Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 11:10 PM Updated: Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 6:40 Am
Amy Sancetta, Associated Press fileContinental Airlines regional jets would be the hardest hit in a merger with United Airlines, according to estimates in an internal Continental "Hub Stats" document.
With Joel Rosenblatt of Bloomberg News in San Francisco
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Documents presented in a federal court Tuesday suggest that Cleveland Hopkins International Airport could be in line for huge cuts in daily flights in the merger between Continental and United airlines.
A preliminary analysis by Continental said that flights on its mainline jets at Hopkins could drop by more than half, from 42 average daily departures to 20, under that scenario. Also, the analysis suggests that flights on regional partners that serve Continental -- which today account for about four out of five departures -- would plunge from a daily average of 168 to 13.
The estimates come from an internal Continental "Hub Stats" document projecting "optimized" flight networks for the merged Continental and United. They were presented to Continental Chief Executive Jeff Smisek on Tuesday by a lawyer representing 49 plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking to block the deal.
Joseph Alioto, a lawyer representing consumers in the suit, asked Smisek to explain the Hub Stats document that the plaintiffs obtained through pretrial discovery.
Smisek said they were prepared by Continental's "network group," which "put together their best guess given the limited information we have."
The documents were used "to get an idea of what the combined network would look like" to evaluate the merger, Smisek said.
But Smisek added that no firm decisions have been made. The data from the documents are "insufficient" to make concrete decisions, because they rely on projections, he said. Smisek said the Continental team did not have actual information from United in making its projections.
"I hope we will keep all our hubs open, but I can't guarantee that," Smisek said in court. "I don't know what we'll do because we haven't done the optimization." Reached late Tuesday, a Continental Airlines spokeswoman released a statement:
"Plaintiff's counsel is completely twisting the facts. This scenario was never Continental's intention for Cleveland. This document was taken out of context and was immediately refuted during testimony. This suit has no merit, and we will vigorously defend the merger for the benefits it provides to Cleveland travelers."
Government, business and civic leaders in the region worry that the merger could mean the loss of the airport's status as a hub and a number of flights. Hopkins has been a Continental hub since 1987. Though any reduction in flights is far from certain, the potential for such a drastic cut worries U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the Cleveland Democrat who has expressed concerns about the merger since it was announced May 3.
"This report, if accurate, is a clear indication that the Continental-United merged company has little intention of regarding the economy of the Greater Cleveland area," he said late Tuesday. "What they plan to do is beyond acceptable. It's a betrayal and abandonment of our community." Efforts to reach Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Airport Director Ricky Smith after hours for comment were unsuccessful.
The airlines were sued in June over claims their proposed merger would create a monopoly, increasing fares and costing jobs. United and Continental received clearance from the Department of Justice last week to proceed with their $3 billion all-stock deal.
The new company would surpass Delta Air Lines as the world's biggest airline and tie together Continental's service to Latin America and Europe with United's strength in the Pacific. At the time of the merger announcement, Continental and United said that all 10 of the combined carriers' existing hubs would remain hubs after the merger. They also said that all destinations served by the two airlines would continue to be served.
The documents presented in court Tuesday had information for not only Cleveland but also Denver, San Francisco, Newark, Houston and other hubs. All but one showed a decrease in departures.
Bye Bye--General Lee
Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 11:10 PM Updated: Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 6:40 Am
Amy Sancetta, Associated Press fileContinental Airlines regional jets would be the hardest hit in a merger with United Airlines, according to estimates in an internal Continental "Hub Stats" document.
With Joel Rosenblatt of Bloomberg News in San Francisco
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Documents presented in a federal court Tuesday suggest that Cleveland Hopkins International Airport could be in line for huge cuts in daily flights in the merger between Continental and United airlines.
A preliminary analysis by Continental said that flights on its mainline jets at Hopkins could drop by more than half, from 42 average daily departures to 20, under that scenario. Also, the analysis suggests that flights on regional partners that serve Continental -- which today account for about four out of five departures -- would plunge from a daily average of 168 to 13.
The estimates come from an internal Continental "Hub Stats" document projecting "optimized" flight networks for the merged Continental and United. They were presented to Continental Chief Executive Jeff Smisek on Tuesday by a lawyer representing 49 plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking to block the deal.
Joseph Alioto, a lawyer representing consumers in the suit, asked Smisek to explain the Hub Stats document that the plaintiffs obtained through pretrial discovery.
Smisek said they were prepared by Continental's "network group," which "put together their best guess given the limited information we have."
The documents were used "to get an idea of what the combined network would look like" to evaluate the merger, Smisek said.
But Smisek added that no firm decisions have been made. The data from the documents are "insufficient" to make concrete decisions, because they rely on projections, he said. Smisek said the Continental team did not have actual information from United in making its projections.
"I hope we will keep all our hubs open, but I can't guarantee that," Smisek said in court. "I don't know what we'll do because we haven't done the optimization." Reached late Tuesday, a Continental Airlines spokeswoman released a statement:
"Plaintiff's counsel is completely twisting the facts. This scenario was never Continental's intention for Cleveland. This document was taken out of context and was immediately refuted during testimony. This suit has no merit, and we will vigorously defend the merger for the benefits it provides to Cleveland travelers."
Government, business and civic leaders in the region worry that the merger could mean the loss of the airport's status as a hub and a number of flights. Hopkins has been a Continental hub since 1987. Though any reduction in flights is far from certain, the potential for such a drastic cut worries U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, the Cleveland Democrat who has expressed concerns about the merger since it was announced May 3.
"This report, if accurate, is a clear indication that the Continental-United merged company has little intention of regarding the economy of the Greater Cleveland area," he said late Tuesday. "What they plan to do is beyond acceptable. It's a betrayal and abandonment of our community." Efforts to reach Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Airport Director Ricky Smith after hours for comment were unsuccessful.
The airlines were sued in June over claims their proposed merger would create a monopoly, increasing fares and costing jobs. United and Continental received clearance from the Department of Justice last week to proceed with their $3 billion all-stock deal.
The new company would surpass Delta Air Lines as the world's biggest airline and tie together Continental's service to Latin America and Europe with United's strength in the Pacific. At the time of the merger announcement, Continental and United said that all 10 of the combined carriers' existing hubs would remain hubs after the merger. They also said that all destinations served by the two airlines would continue to be served.
The documents presented in court Tuesday had information for not only Cleveland but also Denver, San Francisco, Newark, Houston and other hubs. All but one showed a decrease in departures.
Bye Bye--General Lee
Last edited:
