Airline officials coming to Cleveland: "We hope it makes them want to put airplanes here"

Top airline and airport officials from North America are gathering in Cleveland next week. (Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Top representatives from the nation's largest airlines will converge in Cleveland next week, meeting with officials from Cleveland Hopkins and other airports about where their planes should fly to next.

The annual event is called JumpStart, and is described by organizers as "speed dating" for the aviation industry.

Cleveland airport officials hope that Northeast Ohio makes a fine impression during the three-day courtship.

"We're constantly marketing the city of Cleveland and all of the assets of the region," said Todd Payne, chief of marketing and air service development for the airport. "But it's different when they can actually see it. When they get the vibe of how cool this city is - we hope it makes them want to put airplanes here."

The annual conference, which runs Monday through Wednesday, is hosted by Airports Council International-North America, a trade group that represents the interests of airports in the United States and Canada. Representatives from more than 200 airports will be in Cleveland, along with officials from more than 30 airlines.

Among the airlines represented: American, Delta, Southwest, United and German-based Lufthansa.

Kevin Burke, the president and CEO of ACI-NA, said Cleveland was chosen for the event in part because of how well the airport has recovered from its downturn in 2014, when United Airlines announced it was closing its hub at Hopkins.

"That's one reason we picked Cleveland, because they've done a great job of recovery," said Burke. "My other answer is 'Why not?' It's a great city and it's easy to get to."

Burke said the JumpStart meeting launched several years ago, a direct result of a desire from airports to have more face time with airline officials.

During the conference, airports can request up to 10, 20-minute one-on-one sessions with the airlines, where they'll make their best pitch for expanded or new service.

Burke said some sessions are informal discussions about future possibilities, while others result in formal agreements.

Payne credits a similar meeting last year in Northern Ireland with helping to land Cleveland's two new European carriers, Wow Air and Icelandair, which started flying from Hopkins to Reykjavik, Iceland, last month.

At this conference, Payne and John Hogan, the airport's deputy chief of marketing and air service development, will meet with representatives from nine airlines in hopes of attracting additional service. Seven of the carriers already fly from Cleveland - American, Delta, United, Southwest, Frontier, Spirit and JetBlue. Two do not - Alaska Airlines and Lufthansa.

In addition to selling the airlines on new service from Hopkins, airport officials hope to sell them on Cleveland.

The group, meeting at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, will attend an opening-night reception at the Rock Hall. The Indians are in town, the Cavaliers play in the NBA Finals at home on Wednesday, and an optional trip to Cedar Point is planned for later in the week.

"The bigger issue is to showcase the region, to get them excited about having more people coming here," said Payne. "We want them to see that Cleveland is a great place to be."

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