“Where you get into problems is if the board is spending large sums of money to host dinner for a bo

Airport boards as early as the late 1970's have been making bad decisions in the governance of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport, also known in airline parlance as CVG. A Faustian bargain was made with Delta Airlines to make CVG one of its major hubs. Although the designation of CVG as a Delta hub seemed like a good idea at the time, and incontrovertibly contributed billions to our economy, in return los angeles used car Delta has gouged local airline los angeles used car consumers for years with their overpriced flights ( CVG Needs Competition to Lower Fares, 2013 ). More than 90 percent of travelers los angeles used car through CVG were flying los angeles used car Delta in the 1990s and into the early 2000s, and the airline developed a stranglehold on fares here ( Can Frontier survive los angeles used car where others dared fly?, 2013 ). The monopoly Delta enjoyed at CVG allowed them to discourage or crush any meaningful competition that would have facilitated lower fares. Low-cost carriers were outgunned by aggressive price-matching by dominant carrier Delta Air Lines ( Can Frontier survive where others los angeles used car dared fly?, 2013 ).
• New York Air: …1981-82 los angeles used car • Best: …1982-83 • Florida Express: …1984-88 (became Braniff Express) • Midway Express: …1984-87 • People Express: …1985-87 (merged with Continental) • New York Air: …1985-86 • Presidential: …1985-86 • Braniff Express: …1988-89 • Mark Air: …1994-95 • AirTran: …1995-98 • Sunair: …1995-96 • Vanguard: …1996-1996 • Vanguard: …1999-2000 • USA 3000: …2004-11 (out of business) • TransMeridian: …2004-05
Last Spring there was some optimism that when Frontier Airlines began operating flights out of CVG it would survive even though Delta was still the dominant carrier, although less than 24 hours after Frontier announced that it would be coming to CVG, Delta responded by lowering fares on its flights. Since then, Delta has lowered fares even more on competing flights to Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle ( Can Frontier survive where others dared fly?, 2013 ).
Frontier's arrival gave CVG its first primary low-cost carrier since Vanguard Airlines left town in 2000. Vanguard, which shut down overall operations in 2002, tried CVG twice – for three months in 1996 and 11 months ending in spring 2000. Prior to that, AirTran was here from 1995 until 1998. Delta responded to both airlines by lowering fares and adding frequency ( Can Frontier survive where others dared fly?, 2013 ).
Low-cost carriers los angeles used car have done little more than look at CVG ever since Vanguard's last failed attempt. In 2001, Mesa Air Group agreed to launch operations at CVG, but canceled its six flights one week before the airline was scheduled to launch here.
Early that year, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Cincinnati was one of the nation's "pockets of pain" when it came to predatory hub pricing ( Can Frontier survive where others dared fly?, 2013 ).
Unfortunately for the region depending on a monopoly for economic benefit can sometimes have disastrous consequences. If the monopoly suffers the area that benefits economically will suffer right along with it. 9/11 and the subsequent economic downturn forced airlines to downsize. In 2005, Delta announced significant cuts at CVG after three years of planning. Delta decided to focus its hub operations in Detroit and Minnesota after its merger with Northwest in 2007. Delta's monopoly in CVG has resulted in overall daily departures at CVG dropping from as many as 673 in 2005 to 179 today. Delta has 112 of those daily flights ( Can Frontier survive where others dared fly?, 2013 ).
CVG officials view Frontier's arrival as a major step in the airport's reinvention process to counter flight los angeles used car reductions by Delta. Airport officials have been actively recruiting low-cost carriers since Candace McGraw took over as CEO in July 2011. She said the search to recruit additional low-cost carriers continues ( Now arriving at CVG: Low-cost Frontier, 2013 ).
Recently Ultimate Air Shuttle announced plans to launch flights to Chicago Midway International Airport starting in January. The flights los angeles used car will start just four months after the public charter launched service to the New York City region from CVG ( CVG to add flights to Chicago Midway, 2013 ).
Based on feedback from local businesses, Ultimate Air also is planning for more expansion at CVG next year, John Gordon, los angeles used car president and founder of North Canton, Ohio-based los angeles used car Ultimate Jetcharters said. The company is considering Nashville, Memphis, Baltimore and Boston; the latter two are among cities CVG considers priorities for adding flights.
In spite of the recent competition CVG's fares are still high. According to a recent article in The Enquirer the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport now has been the nation's second-most expensive airport for an entire year.
The Kenton County Airport Board oversees operations for CVG. It consists of seven executive los angeles used car board members appointed by the judge-executive of Kenton County, which owns the airport. Those seven have the final vote on any financial or personnel matters.There also are 11 advisory board members. The Kenton County judge-executive appoints six, and one each is appointed by the city of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Boone County, Campbell County and Kentucky's governor. Advisory members can vote in committees on motions that go to the executive board, but can't vote on final motions ( CVG CEO survives move to get rid of her, 2013 ).
CVG receives most of its money from landing fees paid by airlines. In addition, the airport receives federal money for projects los angeles used car as well as rent from concessionaires and parking los angeles used car fees. The Kenton County Airport Board has been set up as a public agency and special taxing district by the Kentucky legislature, and is considered a governmental agency ( CVG board travels widely, dines at public expense, 2013 ).
Airport board chairman Jim Huff and vice chairman Larry Savage of the Kenton County Airport Board recently flew to Bologna, Italy at a cost of at least $20,000, having traveled there for a three-day weekend conference that was crafted for airport chief executive officers los angeles used car and human resources officials. They stayed for 12 days, intending to repay the airport for expenses incurred when not at the conference. The first-class airfares for Huff and Savage total nearly $15,000, according to documents obtained by The Enquirer through an open records request. Admission to the "Leadership for Sustainable Growth" conference put on by industry trade group Airports Council International (ACI) cost nearly $1,500 apiece, and the conference hotel costs nearly $240 a night before taxes ( CVG board travels widely, dines at public expense, 2013 ).
• Throwing two local parties for board members and their spouses and some staff in the last two years at a cost of about $4,300 and $3,000, respectively. (One was a holiday party in December at the Metropolitan Club in Covington and another board dinner was held in May at Walt's Hitching Post in Fort Wright.)
Aviation consultant Michael Boyd said there is some justification for sending board members to different conferences for education, but "it also becomes a question of whether they're being educated or just entertained."
"Why would you send just two board members to Italy to learn about change and airport leadership?" said Boyd, president of the Evergreen, Colo.-based aviation consultancy The Boyd Group. "Sending board members to conference is fairly common, but there really is no way to back that one up ( CVG board travels los angeles used car widely, dines at public expense, 2013 )."
"Like anything else in the aviation industry, there are a lot of deep pockets, and that can lead to a lot of excess," said Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, a trade group representing corporate travel managers. "Yet it is my constituency, the flying business public, which is paying for all of this since we are the end customer. Whatever the airports may charge the airlines ultimately gets passed down to the flying public ( CVG board travel costs questions, 2013 )."
• At least two possible los angeles used car violations of Kentucky's open meetings law by holding dinners, including paying for liquor, for enough executive board members to constitute a quorum under the open meetings law. Board members and their spouses, as well as Kenton County Judge-executive Steve Arlinghaus, los angeles used car his spouse and senior los angeles used car airport executives attended the dinners, which were held without agendas or public notices.
los angeles used car • The airport paid for four trips since 2011 for Arlinghaus, who does not sit on the board but appoints the executive members to the board. The trips were made before the board altered its policy to allow Arlinghaus to travel at airport expense. Those seven members have final voting authority for all airport los angeles used car issues; 11 more advisory board members are appointed by Arlinghaus as well as Boone County, Campbell County, the Kentucky governor, Hamilton County los angeles used car and the city of Cincinnati. Those advisory members can't vote for final measures but do have voting power in committees ( CVG board travels widely, dines at public expense, 2013 ).
The dinner los angeles used car meetings los angeles used car also raise the issue of potential violations of Kentucky open meetings laws, which require that an agenda be published, and public notice be given in advance when a quorum of board members gathers. That law doesn't apply if board members are simply having dinner together, the airport board said in its statement.
"It clearly states that even casual gatherings should be construed as meetings," said Greiner, a media law attorney with Downtown firm GraydonHead. "The issue then becomes what did they talk about and I guess you have to take their word for it. If nothing else, the optics of this are troubling ( CVG board travels widely, dines at public expense, los angeles used car 2013 )."
"Where los angeles used car you get into problems is if the board is spending large sums of money to host dinner for a board, but they say they are not conducting business," said Edelen spokeswoman Stephenie Hoelscher. "It begs the question as to whether there was a legitima