CLEVELAND, Ohio — United Airlines today announced a major increase in service to Florida from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, including twice-a-day flights to Orlando, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale.
Although some flights are temporary, the route additions constitute the largest expansion by United in Cleveland since the carrier dismantled its hub at Hopkins in 2014.
The additions also reflect a growing trend in the U.S. airline industry toward leisure travelers and destinations, as business travel continues to stagnate during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s one of the oldest pages in the airline playbook,” said industry analyst Seth Kaplan. “When you don’t know what else to do, fly to Florida because you can always fill a flight.”
Starting Nov. 6, United will fly once-daily from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Tampa, joining an existing daily flight to Orlando. And then on Dec. 17, the carrier will add a second daily flight to Orlando, Fort Myers and Fort Lauderdale.
The Tampa service and second daily trips are on the schedule only through Jan. 10, while the other flights can be booked into the summer.
The Cleveland additions were part of a bigger United announcement on Wednesday, all focused on Florida. The carrier also announced new flights to the same four Florida destinations from Boston, New York LaGuardia, Columbus, Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh.
“Right now, for airlines, there aren’t very many good options,” said Kaplan. “There are bad options and worse options. And you can almost always fill a flight to Florida.”
Cleveland travelers already have lots of nonstop options to and from numerous Florida destinations on several carriers, including Spirit, Frontier, JetBlue and Allegiant.
The increase in flights to Florida comes despite the state’s high number of Covid-19 infections. Florida is currently one of six states on Ohio’s travel advisory list, meaning visitors arriving from those states are asked to quarantine in Ohio for 14 days.
In recent years, United has flown to all four of these Florida markets from Cleveland, though not always daily or year-round. The carrier is likely hoping to tap into the still-strong United frequent flyer base in Cleveland, loyal to the airline since the hub days.
Ankit Gupta, United’s vice president of Domestic Network Planning, said the Florida expansion represents the airline’s “largest expansion of point-to-point, non-hub flying, and reflects our data-driven approach to add capacity where customers are telling us they want to go.”
Meanwhile, air travel nationwide continues to languish. On Tuesday, the Transportation Security Administration reported 559,420 passengers passed through TSA checkpoints in the U.S., about a quarter of the number from a year ago.
In Cleveland, Airport Director Robert Kennedy recently told members of Cleveland City Council that he expects passenger traffic at the airport to drop to 4.1 million travelers in 2020, down from more than 10 million a year ago.
Flight details
Starting Nov. 6:
Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale: Departing Cleveland at 9:15 a.m., arriving FLL at 12:12 p.m.; departing FLL at 1:05 p.m., arriving in Cleveland at 3:58 p.m.
Cleveland to Fort Myers: Departing CLE at 9:30 a.m., arriving RSW at 12:13 p.m.; departing Fort Myers at 1:10 p.m., arriving in Cleveland at 3:52 p.m.
Cleveland to Tampa: Departing Cleveland at 8:15 a.m., arriving TPA at 10:57 a.m.; departing Tampa at 11:35 a.m., arriving Cleveland at 2:10 p.m.
Already flying: Cleveland to Orlando: Departing Cleveland at 9 a.m., arriving MCO at 11:32 a.m.; departing Orlando at 12:30 p.m., arriving Cleveland at 2:58 p.m.
The flights to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Orlando will be on 166-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft; the Tampa flight will be on a 76-seat Embraer E175.
Starting Dec. 17, United will add a second daily flight:
To Fort Lauderdale: Departing Cleveland at 12:55 p.m., arriving 3:52 p.m.; departing FLL at 9:10 a.m., arriving Cleveland at 12:03 p.m.
Fort Myers: Departing Cleveland at 1:45 p.m., arriving at 4:27 p.m.; departing RSW at 10 a.m., arriving Cleveland at 12:38 p.m.
Orlando: Departing Cleveland at 3:35 p.m., arriving at 6:01 p.m.; departing Orlando at 8:45 a.m., arriving Cleveland at 11:12 a.m.
The Tampa flight, meanwhile, will be upgraded to a 737 in mid-December.
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