Wanna go on a great trip? Follow Kristie's many quirky journeys and jounts inside and outside of the airline industry.
- US Airways Flights to DC Rock!
Posted on 02/25/2010Yesterday was a day to remember! Bob Konstand, Rick McQueen and I spent the day in Washington D.C. visiting elected officials who serve our airport extremely well. Along with dozens of quailty bonding moments, we had a delightful breakfast meeting with our DC counsel, visited four congressmen, one congresswoman, and one senator. We didn’t have an agenda per se, instead we wanted to share the CAK success story with them and to thank them for their many efforts on our behalf.
We were thrilled that our visits began at Congressman Steve LaTourette’s office. He personally spent 20 minutes with us discussing issues of great importance to the airport and the community; like our runway extension and security upgrades. Congressman John Boccieri met us on the Capitol steps between votes, which was totally cool. Then, Congressman Tim Ryan sat with our team for roughly a half an hour brainstorming ways to advance aviation at all the airports in the region. Along with these three representatives, Congresswoman Betty Sutton’s and Congressman Zack Space’s senior transportation staff spent a generous amount of time with us as well.
None of this would have been possible though, without the nonstop flight from Akron-Canton Airport to Washington Reagan National Airport. About 13 months ago, US Airways won a competitive slot award from the US Department of Transportation to commence the service. We are so grateful that US Airways selected CAK for this slot competition. It wasn’t easy, but with the help from the businesses, travelers, and community leaders in our region, we prevailed and the service started last January. Now, our elected officials, businesses and community leadership can pack in a full day of meetings in our nation’s capital without having to stay the night. It is a blessing. Thanks US Airways!
- CAK has dang good year despite the bad economy
Posted on 02/04/2010We are blessed and determined at CAK. Despite the global economic meltdown, CAK held its own in 2009. Believe it or not, we had our second busiest year ever in 2009 welcoming nearly 1.45 million total customers.
On the air service front, we added two new destinations during the year-Washington D.C. Reagan National Airport (US) and Ft. Lauderdale (FL). We lost a frequency or two also, but that is pretty typical even in an exceptional year.
On the airfield side, we invested another $11 million in our runway extension and safety upgrade and designed a new operations/ fire house.
For our people, we didn’t layoff or furlough a single employee. Everyone got a 1% raise.
When things start to crumble around you, it is easy to panic. It’s easy to let things play out; just happen. Our management team is committed to anticipating the ups and downs. We don’t get too fat when things are good and we don’t let our people down when the economy goes south.
With the help of extraordinary airline partners- AirTran Airways, Frontier Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways and United Express- we remain deeply committed to providing what customers want most: access to the globe, reasonable fares and a relaxing airport experience.
So as we fly into the new year, let me personally thank the 1.45 million passengers that truly made CAK a better way to go. If we can do anything to make your next trip from CAK even more relaxing and enjoyable please let us know!
- CAK’s 5000+ FB fans come from throughout the Cleveland+ region
Posted on 01/08/2010What does it feel like to have more fans than any other airport in the United States? Amazing! When we started the year, CAK had a Facebook group of about 700 people. We thought that was pretty darn good, but Brad Kleinman, director of education at Cleveland based Worksmart Integrated Marketing, convinced us to launch a fan page to replace our group. We weren’t familiar with fan pages at the time, but Brad was pretty convincing.
“You can attract fans from a wider market and measure the value and impact of your
posts,” said Brad. “Don’t wait because this is the newest innovation and you want to stay
on the leading edge.”I am so glad that we listen to smart people. I am also so lucky to have a CAKtastic staff. Ryan and Elizabeth are committed to listening to, interacting with and delighting tech-savvy travelers every day.
Our Facebook page allows us to track all sorts of nifty information too; so we get to know our customers even better. One very cool measure is the number of fans by city. Our largest fan-base comes from Akron and Cleveland; Canton and Massillon round off the top four. To us, this is a true measurement of CAK’s appeal to the broader Cleveland+ region.
I also want to tell you about our Facebook 5,000 contest! Because CAK offers the most relaxing customer experience (according to our customers…and that’s what really matters), we partnered with John Robert’s Spa to offer up an ultimate spa package for one lucky fan. We’ll also be giving away coupons for a free massage in one of our fabulous massage chairs, when you take your next trip through Akron-Canton Airport. Click here to enter and win!
- Happy holidays from CAK
Posted on 12/23/2009Ho, ho, ho and away we go! It seems like this year and this decade for that matter, have literally flown by. So much has happened at CAK, but the important things remain the same.
Even though we lost our beloved airport director, Fred Krum, we keep his spirit alive by following his advice and being inspired by his past leadership. Fred said that our best days are still ahead of us, and I believe that a truer statement has never been made.
We remain committed to keeping the CAK family of employees happy, healthy and safe.
We will always work hard to delight customers and stay focused on delivering a relaxing customer experience.
We will keep airport costs low for passengers and for our airline partners.
We will tell the truth, honor our commitment to pubic service and work hard to be an active force in the upcoming economic recovery.
Even though the first decade of the new millennium is behind us, we have so much for which to be grateful and so much to look forward to. New flights, more passengers, incredible people everywhere. I am blessed to be part of this team! So, happy holidays to all. May we all find peace, joy and a renewed commitment to what really matters in the New Year.
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