On Friday, Ben Mutzabaugh in his “Today in the Sky” Column reported that Akron-Canton Airport was rated as the 5^th least expensive airport in the country to fly from. The rating was based on an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that ranked the top 5 most expensive and least expensive airports to fly from.

The most expensive to fly from in the country was Cincinnati (CVG). The price situation in CVG illustrates an interesting conundrum that happens when you have a dominant hub carrier that controls 80% + of the air service at one airport. On one hand the Air Service is great; You have a lot of flights to a lot of destinations. The downfall is the price; Your community is usually paying a lot more than other communities due to the lack of competition.

In Northeast Ohio we are fortunate that the Continental Hub is tempered by the likes of AirTran, Frontier, America West and Southwest Airlines who bring you the low fares that Continental then matches. If you don’t believe me, check the cost of the routes that Continental Airlines flies from Cleveland Hopkins where they have no competition.$$$

Getting back to CAK, regardless of our exact ranking, we’re pumped to be recognized nationally by the Post-Gazette; they just became one of our favorite newspapers!