Experts Back Decision Not to Extend Cleveland Runway

Aviation experts support Cleveland's decision not to extend an airport runway for travel to the Pacific Rim, saying they don't see enough demand.

Colorado aviation consultant Michael Boyd bluntly dismissed suggestions that a longer runway at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport would bring a rush of carriers interested in providing nonstop flights to Asia.

"There's no competition that's staying out of Cleveland because of the runways," Boyd said Friday. "Cleveland itself is not going to be an Asian gateway. You just don't have the horsepower. If you don't need it, don't spend it."

Plans had called for extending a 9,000-foot runway to 11,250 feet so large jets could take off for Asia filled with passengers, cargo and fuel.

But Ricky Smith, director of Hopkins, said late last week that the city has indefinitely postponed the project because it is unnecessary and too expensive. The city, which had estimated the cost at $54 million, rejected bids of $78 million or more last summer.

Continental Airlines, which has a hub at Hopkins, endorsed the decision. Continental would be best positioned to capitalize on demand because of its feeder flights into Cleveland, experts said.

Continental and other airlines would help pay for the project through landing fees. Smith wants to reduce fees to spur business.

Cleveland faces established competition if it wants nonstop flights to Asia. Detroit and other surrounding major cities are already gateways, said Dan Petree, dean of business at Embree-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Fred Krum, director of the Akron-Canton Airport, expects rising fuel prices to slow demand for air travel to Asia. He said Cleveland would be smarter to put cash into its existing business and wait for better timing.

The delay does not mean the extension will never be built, said Joseph Roman, president and chief executive of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, a metropolitan chamber of commerce.

"I think the plan that's emerging at the airport is the right one: focusing on making Hopkins the most cost-efficient place to do business," he said.

The city will soon extend the runway to 10,000 feet. That may be enough for an emerging generation of smaller aircraft that will fly nonstop to the Pacific Rim, said Dick Marchi, a senior adviser to the Airports Council International-North America, an industry group.

Plain Dealer reporter Susan Vinella contributed to this story.

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