Flying from CVG to CLE on Delta, $850?

[insightofitall]

Originally Posted by t45209

Too bad those 12 people couldn't ride a train between Cincinnati and Cleveland.

Oh but you can, you can! You can take a train to Chicago, where you can pick up another train heading east and arrive in Cleveland a little over 24 hours later!

OR....if you're really adventurous, you can hop on a train from Cincinnati to Washington DC, where you would then pick up another train and head back west to Cleveland. That takes a little over 25 hours, but you would have just over a 22-hour layover in DC. So you're not looking at getting into Cleveland until roughly 47 hours after you leave Cincinnati - but personally I'd take that train because I'm sure it's more scenic that way.

[insightofitall]

BTW...I was being sarcastic.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by MOD220

really Delta? $850 for an in-state flight, when Continental is $370...am i missing something here?

and are there really zero direct flights from CVG to Pittsburgh?

these are flights I have to take every week, not sure Cincy will work if I can't get a flight path figured out

I was checking last minute fares last night. I went on Orbitz last night and the cheapest RT fare ORD-CVG was $900. The cheapest RT Fare between ORD -CMH was only $365. No kidding.

AMtrak is $84 and Megabus is $90 in comparison.

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by BostonToKC

I believe Delta has at least 3 daily flights between CVG and Pittsburgh.

An aside: airfares are not necessarily based on distance. They are based on several factors including:

1. Supply/demand on the particular route.
2. Level of competition that exists on the route.
3. Mix of business/leisure traffic on that route.

For the case of CVG - Cleveland, two airlines (Delta and Continental) fly that route. Delta has a (greatly diminished) hub at CVG and Continental still has a hub at CLE. The most recently released US DOT statistics reveal that only 12 passengers fly daily each way between CVG and CLE (this does NOT include connecting passengers - only local traffic). Delta has 86% of that local traffic between the two cities. That should explain a lot in terms of the ridiculous airfare you saw.

12 passengers...righhht. That's why Continental has 2 daily non-stops from CLE to CVG with planes that carry 37 passengers. Given your statistics, 12-(12*0.86) = 1.86 passengers per day or 0.93 passengers per plane per day. I find that model to be a bit flawed, doncha' think?

The fare rationale is quite simple: All business travel with no competition.

[BostonToKC]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

12 passengers...righhht. That's why Continental has 2 daily non-stops from CLE to CVG with planes that carry 37 passengers. Given your statistics, 12-(12*0.86) = 1.86 passengers per day or 0.93 passengers per plane per day. I find that model to be a bit flawed, doncha' think?

The fare rationale is quite simple: All business travel with no competition.

You're logic would make sense in a simplistic world, however the airline industry (which I know a lot about) is not so simplistic.

Most of the seats offered in this market are filled with CONNECTING traffic, not local or "origin/destination" traffic (as I stated earlier). For instance, someone flying from CVG - CLE - BDL (Hartford) or CLE - CVG - MSY (New Orleans) are counted as connecting passengers and not local (CVG-CLE) passengers.

US DOT statistics showing how many passengers fly each way between most major city-pairs (each quarter) is readily available. Look the information up if you are interested.

[flash3780]

Ya know, everyone blames Delta for the high airfares, but I notice all of the airlines at the airport have higher fares than elsewhere... which makes me suspect that the fees that airlines have to pay to the airport are exorbitant.

[unusualfire]

^Because Delta would just lower it's price on their(other airlines) particular routes and then raise it once they give up.

[wanderbygrace]

Originally Posted by MOD220

really Delta? $850 for an in-state flight, when Continental is $370...am i missing something here?

and are there really zero direct flights from CVG to Pittsburgh?

these are flights I have to take every week, not sure Cincy will work if I can't get a flight path figured out

First, CVG to CLE isn't an in-state flight. Sorry, couldn't let that technicality go...lol.

Secondly, have you looked at CAK as an alternative to CLE or PIT? Not sure if that'd be a viable option.