CONTINENTAL'S PLANS
The airline has said its $50 million expansion at Hopkins would bring:
711 new jobs.
Increased flights and destinations.
More connecting flights through Cleveland.
New ticketing and reception areas.
Continental Airlines is expected to announce plans Friday for enlarging its hub at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport - an expansion that's likely to create hundreds of jobs and pump millions of dollars into the region's economy.
Airline executives declined to talk about the deal Tuesday. But a source familiar with the plans said they will deliver the news to Mayor Frank Jackson and others at a City Hall meeting on Friday morning.
Jackson's office would neither confirm nor deny the meeting, but State Rep. Matt Dolan, who earmarked $1.5 million in the state budget to aid potential Continental growth, said he has been invited to the City Hall meeting and was told the gathering concerned the airline.
"I'm just assuming it's good news," the Republican from Russell Township said.
Gov. Ted Strickland's office reported Tuesday that the governor also will be speaking with the airline's executives Friday morning in Cleveland.
State officials, worried that Continental would choose instead to grow at its Newark, N.J., or hometown Houston hubs, dangled $16 million in financial incentives to land the project.
Continental has offered few details about its plans. But in documents filed with the Ohio Department of Development, the airline said the $50 million expansion would bring an unspecified number of new flights to Hopkins and create more than 700 jobs.
Cleveland is the Midwest base for Continental, which as of March had more than 2,000 employees here. The airline is Hopkins' largest carrier.
This year, Continental asked Ohio to help fund the expansion, which would include construction of new ticketing and passenger reception areas. The state responded with a $16 million combination of grants, loans, tax credits and hiring services.
Those perks are in addition to the money Dolan tabbed in the budget.
Continental had said that financial incentives would help determine where the company expanded its business. But Richard Fernandez, public-affairs director for the Houston Airport System, said Tuesday he was unaware of a competition with Cleveland to land a larger hub.
"Their biggest hub is already in Houston," Fernandez said. "As far as expansion, they've been growing here for a number of years and will continue growing here."
Cleveland leaders welcomed word that Continental is likely to continue growing here, too.
"It's more a symbol of Continental's commitment to the community," said Cleveland Councilman Kevin Kelley, chairman of the council's Aviation and Transportation Committee.
Dennis Roche, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland, said the announcement would be a boost to the local economy in more ways than one.
"Obviously, we'll see more people working," Roche said. "It also makes us more attractive as a destination because we'll be more accessible. It's one good thing layered on another."
Columbus Bureau Chief Mark Rollenhagen and Washington Bureau Chief Stephen Koff contributed to this story. To reach this Plain Dealer reporters: [email protected], 216-999-5405
[email protected], 216-999-5010
