Delta Air Lines plans to eliminate service to 15 small cities to cut costs, and it will seek higher federal subsidies for flying to nine others.
Delta said it has been losing about $14 million annually serving the 24 small markets, which include places like Brainerd, Minn., and Sioux City, Iowa, where flights were only about half full on average. The airline serves them under the federal Essential Air Service program, which provides subsidies to airlines that fly to cities that otherwise might not have air service.
None of the routes to be cut are from Atlanta. The flights are between the small cities and other Delta hubs including Detroit, Salt Lake, Memphis and Minneapolis. Delta inherited many of them in its merger with Northwest Airlines, and the flights are operated by Delta Connection carrier Mesaba Airlines.
The cutbacks dovetail with Delta's moves to retire all of its remaining 34-seat Saab turboprop planes operated by Mesaba. Delta is also retiring many 50-seat regional jets operated by Delta Connection regional carriers.
Delta said domestic flights throughout its system averaged 83 percent full last year, but the flights in the small markets range from 12 percent full in Thief River Falls, Minn., to 65.3 percent full in Butte, Mont. In some markets, flights depart with no passengers on board, the company said.
The "mounting cost pressures" facing airlines means "we can no longer afford to provide this service," Delta said.
Delta and its regional partners are required to continue to serve the communities until the U.S. Department of Transportation can find a replacement carrier and funds it. Delta spokeswoman Kristin Baur said Great Lakes Airlines is interested in taking over some of the markets using 19-seat planes.
Delta subsidiary Regional Elite Airline Services does ground handling for those flights and will continue that work until service us suspended. When that happens, workers will be given offers to relocate to other positions at the company, Baur said. If they don't relocate, they can leave with severance packages.
The cities affected are: Thief River Falls, Minn.; Greenville, Miss.; Devils Lake, N.D.; Watertown, S.D.; Muscle Shoals, Ala.; Fort Dodge, Iowa; Hibbing, Minn.; Alpena, Mich.; Tupelo, Miss.; Jamestown, N.D.; Mason City, Iowa; Pierre, S.D.; Iron Mountain, Mich.; Sioux City, Iowa; International Falls, Minn.; Brainerd, Minn.; Hattiesburg, Miss.; Escanaba, Mich.; Aberdeen, S.D.; Pellston, Mich.; Bemidji, Minn.; Sault Ste Marie, Mich.; Waterloo, Iowa; and Butte, Mont.
Congress is considering limiting the Essential Air Service program and on Friday, House transportation committee chair John Mica (R-Fla.) along with other members introduced legislation similar to a Senate bill passed earlier this year. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution report last year on low ridership on a subsidized Atlanta-Macon route prompted calls for change.
About the Author
