Delta is removing more flights

[swamt]

Articles speak for themselves, however, just as in any airline quitting service, it will boost the loads of the rest of the airlines at the specified airports, good for SWA, AA, and UAL.  More coming in the future;
 
Next on the Delta chopping block: Memphis-Chicago flights
 
Delta Airline cut nonstop flights to Chicago on December 31st

 

[robbedagain]

amazin how DL keeps cutting n cutting  and WT still sees it as PROGRESS for that Wiget airline

 

[Kev3188]

It's becoming a place where the living envy the dead...
 
They probably shoulda just ripped the band-aid off years ago, and been done with it. I think most people knew it was coming anyway...

 

[commavia]

It's becoming a place where the living envy the dead...
 
They probably shoulda just ripped the band-aid off years ago, and been done with it. I think most people knew it was coming anyway...

 
Indeed.  Contrary to the diatribes circa 2007, the writing was, indeed, on the wall for MEM all the way back then.  First, all the hubs were allegedly safe - Richard Anderson said so! - because of all the "end-to-end networks" and such.  Then Delta was going to cut MEM, but only to the point where it could cater to local O&D.  And now we reach the actual end-game - which is Delta flying to its "hubs" plus a few random, low-frequency leisure routes.  This was always the end-game - a hub built on 50-seater economics when ATL was only a few hundred miles away never stood a chance.
 
AA will soon have MEM-DFW and MEM-DCA all to itself, and MEM-ORD will be all AA/United.  I would not be surprised to see AA upgauging several or all flights from MEM to ORD and/or DCA to 2-class large RJs in the not-too-distant future.

 

[WorldTraveler]

there are more threads on this thread about MEM flights than perhaps any other city in the world.

These cuts have been discussed multiple times before.

Since someone teed up MEM again and the clear reason is to try to turn into a labor discussion - as everything on this board becomes, perhaps someone can tell us how AA managed to cut MEM completely despite the valiant efforts of the TWU.

btw, DL is adding more capacity than any other US airline.

perhaps the reason why it isn't happening at MEM is because the market isn't there.

 

[swamt]

It's becoming a place where the living envy the dead...
 
They probably shoulda just ripped the band-aid off years ago, and been done with it. I think most people knew it was coming anyway...

Kev, I know the article says pilot shortage, which I do not believe as anyone out here knows that all Delta would have to do is advertise that they are hiring and they would get plenty to apply and then some.  Wondering if it might have more to do with maybe throwing planes elsewhere like Sea Tac.

 

[Kev3188]

True, though in this case, the pilot shortage has more to do with our regional partners than with mainline. I think that's in play, as is the pull down of 50-seat RJ flying, and as you've noted, funding flying elsewhere. 

 

[Kev3188]

Indeed.  Contrary to the diatribes circa 2007, the writing was, indeed, on the wall for MEM all the way back then.  First, all the hubs were allegedly safe - Richard Anderson said so! - because of all the "end-to-end networks" and such.  Then Delta was going to cut MEM, but only to the point where it could cater to local O&D.  And now we reach the actual end-game - which is Delta flying to its "hubs" plus a few random, low-frequency leisure routes.  This was always the end-game - a hub built on 50-seater economics when ATL was only a few hundred miles away never stood a chance.

 
Yep. Shame they didn't just come out and say it at merger time.

I get that for any number of reasons they couldn't/wouldn't, but still...

 

[WorldTraveler]

Indeed.  Contrary to the diatribes circa 2007, the writing was, indeed, on the wall for MEM all the way back then.  First, all the hubs were allegedly safe - Richard Anderson said so! - because of all the "end-to-end networks" and such.  Then Delta was going to cut MEM, but only to the point where it could cater to local O&D.  And now we reach the actual end-game - which is Delta flying to its "hubs" plus a few random, low-frequency leisure routes.  This was always the end-game - a hub built on 50-seater economics when ATL was only a few hundred miles away never stood a chance.
 
AA will soon have MEM-DFW and MEM-DCA all to itself, and MEM-ORD will be all AA/United.  I would not be surprised to see AA upgauging several or all flights from MEM to ORD and/or DCA to 2-class large RJs in the not-too-distant future.

and you also fail to realize that fuel costs increased by close to a $1/gal between the time the DL/NW merger was announced and when the decision to reduce MEM was made.

And you also fail to acknowledge = we will call it diatribes in a few years - that AA will be doing the same type of hub rationalization that DL did.

WN did it.

UA has started it and probably will do more.

AA hasn't even begun to start other than to reduce some int'l flights.

you can bet your bottom peso that it will come.

 

[robbedagain]

may be that's bec D.P. has stated that all of our hubs are doing better   but in the end  if any of the hubs loses flights I do think PHX will see more of a reduction much more so than any other hubs in our system.

 

[WorldTraveler]

except they aren't or AA's RASM would be as strong as DL and WN's.

I suspect the impact on DFW as a result of the Wright Amendments changes is a lot more than AA and a lot of people wanted to acknowledge.

 

[robbedagain]

If theres changes to be made  it may not be on a big scale as you seem to think.   Once they rationalize everything  DFW and CLT will remain 2 of the largest hubs

 

[topDawg]

Kev, I know the article says pilot shortage, which I do not believe as anyone out here knows that all Delta would have to do is advertise that they are hiring and they would get plenty to apply and then some.  Wondering if it might have more to do with maybe throwing planes elsewhere like Sea Tac.

Its not mainline Delta. 
 
Its the RJ operators. Of course Delta has control over one and still doesn't want to pay them. 

 

[jcw]

there are more threads on this thread about MEM flights than perhaps any other city in the world.

These cuts have been discussed multiple times before.

Since someone teed up MEM again and the clear reason is to try to turn into a labor discussion - as everything on this board becomes, perhaps someone can tell us how AA managed to cut MEM completely despite the valiant efforts of the TWU.

btw, DL is adding more capacity than any other US airline.

perhaps the reason why it isn't happening at MEM is because the market isn't there.

 
Wait a minute - you bring up fuel, PRASM, CASM, trapped cash in almost every thread - therefore this is fair game

 

[WorldTraveler]

no one said it wasn't fair.

it's that some people can't grasp that for-profit companies make profit motivated decisions.

MEM lost service because the market is not there.

It is for the same reason that AA decided it wasn't worth keeping its own personnel and outsourced it. apparently they felt the same way about HNL, ABQ, and SAT, IIRC.