Delta and Durham Bulls Become Partners

[SRQRoadWarrior]

Hmmm...Delta starts sports partnerships in RDU.....

Delta Launches Exclusive Partnership with Durham Bulls
Delta to become official airline of one of the most recognized minor league teams

Apr 1, 2011

ATLANTA, April 1, 2011 – Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and the Durham Bulls today announced a partnership that makes Delta the team’s official airline for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.



“Delta and the Raleigh-Durham community have a history that dates back more than 40 years, and we’re honored to continue that strong relationship by partnering with the Durham Bulls, a team with a rich history both in baseball and the community,” said Jeff Robertson, Delta’s vice president - SkyMiles. “Our new partnership with this great organization demonstrates Delta’s ongoing commitment to Raleigh-Durham.”



“The Durham Bulls players and executives are delighted to be partnering with Delta this season for trips within the International League as well as to the Triple-A All-Star Game in Salt Lake City, the Triple-A National Championship Game in Albuquerque and the Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas,” said Jon Bishop, Durham Bulls assistant general manager. “We always have a wonderful experience flying with Delta and look forward to this partnership with our official airline.”



As the team’s official airline, Delta will be featured on signs and scoreboards at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park during home games and will highlight its partnership with the team and fans on “Delta Day,” during the July 28 game against the Gwinnett Braves.



Delta also is bringing the excitement of the Durham Bulls to Raleigh-Durham International Airport, where employees will be sporting Bulls caps and logos as they serve customers.



Delta’s sponsorship of the Durham Bulls complements other relationships Delta has established in the Triangle, including Duke University Athletics, University of North Carolina Athletics and the 2011 SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary.



Delta began service at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in 1970, and today is the largest airline serving the market. Delta has continuously operated flights there longer than any other airline.



Today, Delta offers 57 peak-day flights at Raleigh-Durham in its summer schedule, with service to 19 cities, including non-stop domestic service to Albany, N.Y.; Atlanta; Boston; Cancun; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Hartford, Conn.; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Memphis; Miami; Minneapolis/St. Paul; New York-JFK; New York-LaGuardia; Orlando; Providence; St. Louis; and Tampa.



A portion of travel for some itineraries may be on the Delta Connection carriers: Chautauqua, Comair, Compass Airlines, Mesaba and Pinnacle Airlines.



Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 347 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline’s service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world’s largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $2 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com

 

[WorldTraveler]

Delta began service at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in 1970, and today is the largest airline serving the market. Delta has continuously operated flights there longer than any other airline.



Today, Delta offers 57 peak-day flights at Raleigh-Durham in its summer schedule, with service to 19 cities, including non-stop domestic service to Albany, N.Y.; Atlanta; Boston; Cancun; Cincinnati; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Hartford, Conn.; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Memphis; Miami; Minneapolis/St. Paul; New York-JFK; New York-LaGuardia; Orlando; Providence; St. Louis; and Tampa.

excerpts above from the press release provide some insight into the RDU market....
Even though DL began service in 1970, the fact that it is the longest serving airline shows how much change has happened in the market.
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I believe Eastern and Piedmont historically were dominant in the Carolinas and I presume that also applies to RDU.
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RDU is the 2nd largest air travel market in the Carolinas, slightly smaller than CLT. Of course in CLT, US has almost 60% of the market.
Although US has tried to maintain its presence in RDU and many of the other cities in the Carolinas, is now smaller than DL in RDU and outside of CLT, very similarly sized to DL.
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The power of the NW merger can be seen in creating a network that makes DL the largest airline in alot of these medium and small markets. From RDU, DL flies not only to many of the top markets in the US nonstop on either its own or its DCI partners and it also connects RDU with all of the primary int'l markets with a single connection in one of DL's hubs. There are a whole lot of cities like RDU where DL is biulding on its domestic strength as a result of the merger to be the "one stop shop" for customers.
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It is also noteworthy that UA is not the dominant carrier in many of the key markets around its hub at ORD (and there are dozens of medium sized markets in the midwest) and CO was very weak outside of its hubs. So, the combination of UA and CO doesn't increase UA's presence in many of the key medium and small sized markets which combined generate far more revenue than any uncontested carrier's hubs. While being the number one carrier in contested and divided large markets like NYC and LAX is critical, being the top revenue airline will come from being dominant in a majority of medium sized and smaller markets.
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Those who argue that mergers aren't necessary would do well to look at the example of RDU and how over the course of its history, its airline revenue has changed hands so many times and how it serves as a source of revenue for DL not only in large markets but also in medium and smaller markets.