Delta Moving Into Former Us Turf

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Mar 3, 2004
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Press Release Source: Delta Connection


Delta to Connect More Regions of Tar Heel State to the World
Thursday December 9, 11:39 am ET
New jet service planned between Atlanta and Hickory, Atlanta and Kinston; Raleigh-Durham to gain new non-stop flights to New Orleans, Tampa Bay


ATLANTA, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Delta (NYSE: DAL - News) customers soon will find it easier to travel to most any region of the Tar Heel state thanks to new Delta Connection jet service planned for three North Carolina communities.
Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) will introduce the only non-stop jet service between Atlanta and Kinston, N.C., and between Atlanta and Hickory, N.C., effective April 1 and May 1, respectively. Customers in both communities will enjoy three daily flights to Atlanta - the world's largest single-airline hub - where they will have access to more than 1,000 daily Delta and Delta Connection flights to nearly 200 worldwide destinations.

Additionally, beginning March 2, Delta Connection carrier Chautauqua Airlines will introduce two daily non-stop flights between Raleigh-Durham and New Orleans, while increasing to three the number of daily roundtrip flights between Raleigh-Durham and Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater. The new flights between Raleigh-Durham and New Orleans will be the only non-stop service offered by any airline between the two cities and join a long list of non-stop destinations already available to Raleigh-Durham customers, including Delta and Delta Connection service to Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, New York (LaGuardia and JFK) and Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater.

With the new service, Delta and Delta Connection carriers will offer North Carolina customers a total of 130 daily departures from eight hometown airports - Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro/Winston Salem/High Point, Hickory, Kinston, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington.

"Delta Connection customers tell us they want to go where business takes them," said Fred Buttrell, president and CEO, Delta Connection, Inc. "We are pleased to again respond to North Carolina customers' requests for more flights and more options with new service at Hickory and Kinston and with expanded flight choices at Raleigh-Durham."

Delta Connection's new service at Hickory will connect customers directly to the furniture retail and manufacturing capital of the world and to leisure activities in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Hickory also is a significant manufacturing center for the fiber optic cable industry; several major internationally owned automotive supply facilities; and an emerging center for specialty plastics manufacturing. Kinston, N.C., is located in the heart of Eastern North Carolina's industrial, textile and agricultural region and offers a central location for Delta customers who are doing business in Greenville, Goldsboro, Jacksonville and New Bern, N.C.

"Delta's announcement represents a great opportunity for regions of North Carolina that have been without commercial air service for some time," said Bill Williams, director of aviation - North Carolina Department of Transportation. "Good, steady airline service is a great tool for showcasing and developing North Carolina's communities. We are very pleased that Delta continues to be a large partner in the development of our state."

To celebrate the new service, Delta is offering special introductory fares for customers traveling to or from Hickory or Kinston, and between Raleigh- Durham and New Orleans. Sample fares are oneway based on a roundtrip purchase (roundtrip purchase required). Fares require a 14-day advance purchase. See below for details and other important restrictions.

SAMPLE ONE-WAY SALE FARES*(BASED ON A ROUNDTRIP PURCHASE)

Between Hickory and... Sale Fare
Atlanta $69
Boston $79
New York City $89
Fort Lauderdale $94
Los Angeles $124
San Francisco $134

Between Kinston and... Sale Fare
Atlanta $64
New Orleans $64
New York City $84
Cincinnati $89
Las Vegas $89
Seattle $124

Between Raleigh-Durham and... Sale Fare
New Orleans $54

*Additional taxes/fees/restrictions apply



Delta Connection carrier ASA's new schedule between Atlanta and Hickory, effective May 1, 2005:

Flight Departs Arrives
4711 Hickory at 6:30 a.m. Atlanta at 7:30 a.m.
4757 Hickory at 11:25 a.m. Atlanta at 12:25 p.m.
4758 Hickory at 3:30 p.m. Atlanta at 4:30 p.m.
4757 Atlanta at 9:50 a.m. Hickory at 10:55 a.m.
4758 Atlanta at 2:00 p.m. Hickory at 3:00 p.m.
4788* Atlanta at 8:45 p.m. Hickory at 9:47 p.m.

*Effective April 30, 2005



Delta Connection carrier ASA's new schedule between Atlanta and Kinston, effective April 1, 2005:

Flight Departs Arrives
4412 Kinston at 6:30 a.m. Atlanta at 8:00 a.m.
4296 Kinston at 11:00 a.m. Atlanta at 12:30 p.m.
4806 Kinston at 5:40 p.m. Atlanta at 7:10 p.m.
4296 Atlanta at 9:00 a.m. Kinston at 10:28 a.m.
4806 Atlanta at 3:45 p.m. Kinston at 5:07 p.m.
4440* Atlanta at 8:15 p.m. Kinston at 9:39 p.m.

*Effective March 31, 2005



Delta Connection carrier Chautauqua's new schedule between Raleigh-Durham and New Orleans, effective March 2, 2005:

Flight Departs Arrives
6451 Raleigh-Durham at 7:15 a.m. New Orleans at 8:25 a.m.
6453 Raleigh-Durham at 5:00 p.m. New Orleans at 6:10 p.m.
6451 New Orleans at 9:00 a.m. Raleigh-Durham at 12:00 p.m.
6453 New Orleans at 6:35 p.m. Raleigh-Durham at 9:35 p.m.


Delta Connection carriers include Delta's wholly owned subsidiaries Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair, regional carriers Chautauqua Airlines and SkyWest Airlines, and codeshare partner American Eagle (in California). Delta Connection carriers operate more than 400 regional jets throughout North America.

Delta Air Lines is proud to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2004. Delta is the world's second largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 496 destinations in 88 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem frequent flier miles on more than 14,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. For more information, please visit delta.com.

Terms and Conditions

A portion of travel will be provided by the Delta Connection carriers: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Chautauqua, Comair, SkyWest, codeshare partner American Eagle, or Song, Delta's low fare service.

Restrictions: Tickets are non-transferable. Seats are limited and fares may not be available on all flights. Tickets: Fares shown are one way. Roundtrip purchase required. Tickets must be purchased on or before Dec. 23, 2004. Ticketing must be completed by midnight one day after the reservations are confirmed or at least 14 days prior departure whichever occurs first, but no later than Dec. 23, 2004. See delta.com for online ticket purchase requirements and restrictions. Travel Period (Hickory): Travel may begin on or after May 1, 2005 and must be completed by Aug. 1, 2005. Travel Period (Kinston): Travel may begin on or after April 1, 2005 and must be completed by June 30, 2005. Travel Period (Raleigh-Durham): Travel may begin on or after March 2, 2005 and must be completed by April 30, 2005. Blackout Dates (Hickory): Travel is not permitted May 27/30 and July 1/4, 2005. Blackout Dates (Kinston): Travel is not permitted April 3/14/15/16/17/23/24 and May 27/30, 2005. Blackout Dates (Raleigh-Durham): Travel is not permitted March 24/25/26/27 and April 3/14/15/16/17/23/24, 2005. Fare Validity: Fares are valid in the Economy (Coach) cabin. Fare Validity (Raleigh-Durham): Fares are valid in the Economy (Coach) cabin only on non-stop service provided by Chautauqua Airlines between New Orleans and Raleigh-Durham. Minimum Stay: None. Maximum Stay (Hickory): Through Aug. 1, 2005. Maximum Stay (Kinston): Through June 30, 2005. Maximum Stay (Raleigh-Durham): Through April 30, 2005. Cancellations/Refunds/Changes: Fares are nonrefundable. Delta may permit you to apply a portion of the fare value to future travel upon payment of applicable fees and fare difference, otherwise the ticket will have no value. Contact a Delta agent or visit delta.com for details. Taxes/Fees: Fares do not include a $3.10 Federal Excise Tax which will be imposed on each flight segment in the passenger's ticketed itinerary. A flight segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing. Fares do not include Passenger Facility Charge(s) of up to $18.00, depending on itinerary or September 11th Security Fee of up to $10 per round-trip. Miscellaneous: Fares and rules are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply.
 
This is great news! I remember when US pulled out of HKY a few years ago, leaving the airport with no commercial service at all.

One time I saw an old newspaper article with a picture of a Delta Connection jet at AHN. AHN is currently served only by US (operated by Air Midwest). I wonder if Delta will re-establish service there.
 
JS said:
This is great news! I remember when US pulled out of HKY a few years ago, leaving the airport with no commercial service at all.

One time I saw an old newspaper article with a picture of a Delta Connection jet at AHN. AHN is currently served only by US (operated by Air Midwest). I wonder if Delta will re-establish service there.
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AHN is probably a little too close to ATL....just like HKY was too close to CLT for US.

It'll be interesting to see if an RJ can make it in these small markets....particularly ISO. Last time I was in ISO, it was a pretty depressed area economically and I don't think the population was all that wealthy (but I may be wrong).

My only concern that all these new market RJ flights will further clog up ATL. The new schedule in Feb calls for over 1,050 Delta/Delta Connection flights. Even with a depeaked schedule, I'm not sure if this schedule will work without massive congestion.
 
I agree, the number of RJ flights is getting ridiculous. However, we're only talking about 6 flights a day in total for the two new markets.
 
I wonder if Delta has considered serving AHN from CVG.

DL's moves seem to send a message to North Carolinians that DL is ready to take up any slack that US leaves or will leave.
 
6 takeoofs and 6 landings means there will be 12 times through the course of the day with 1 more plane on the ground in ATL. Not a big difference considering there is already well over 1,000 movements a day at ATL. Just my thoughts.......
 
You may find it interesting that DL has agreed as part of its financing arrangement with GE for GE Capital Corp to be able to assign leases for up to 12 CRJ-200 aircraft currently being operated by unnamed airlines to DL before Nov 2005.

See DL’s 8K filed on Dec 6 for more information.
 
WorldTraveler said:
I wonder if Delta has considered serving AHN from CVG.

...

That makes no sense. With the exception of SAV, every single DL airport in the state of Georgia (MCN, BQK, AGS, CSG, VLD and ABY) have flights only to ATL. AHN is not big enough to support flights to two hubs.
 
I didn't say anything about serving AHN from ATL. AHN-ATL, like Macon-ATL, would obviously be 100% connecting traffic which is costly. If DL serves AHN, if would make more sense to fly someplace that is actually a destination. Granted, CVG is a small local market but there may be some chance of carrying some local passengers. Yes, that is overshadowed by the much larger connecting flow ATL offers.

I doubt if DL will add service to AHN unless someone else gives indication they will. Since DL pretty well has Georgia wrapped up, it would only make sense to serve AHN to keep someone else from doing so. I believe U Ga teams bus to ATL and fly from there.
 
WorldTraveler said:
I didn't say anything about serving AHN from ATL. AHN-ATL, like Macon-ATL, would obviously be 100% connecting traffic which is costly.

What do mean it's "costly"? Yes, it costs money to operate a hub and spoke system. So what?

If DL serves AHN, if would make more sense to fly someplace that is actually a destination. Granted, CVG is a small local market but there may be some chance of carrying some local passengers. Yes, that is overshadowed by the much larger connecting flow ATL offers.

There are very few city pairs that are large enough (such as TPA-LGA) to support service outside the hub and spoke system. Delta flies from MCN, BQK, AGS, CSG, VLD and ABY only to ATL. Why is AHN so different?

I doubt if DL will add service to AHN unless someone else gives indication they will. Since DL pretty well has Georgia wrapped up, it would only make sense to serve AHN to keep someone else from doing so. I believe U Ga teams bus to ATL and fly from there.

Quite the opposite -- people going to or from Athens who fly out of ATL might fly an airline other than Delta.

When USAirways dropped HKY, they assumed everyone would drive to CLT and fly on US. I'm sure many did, but not everyone, and now that Delta is serving HKY, US will have even fewer customers.
 
First, US is only flying about 40 seats a day in/out of AHN so the discussion is fairly academic. AHN is obviously a pretty small air market although I will bet it has the potential to be a lot larger.

Tell me where the traffic is going to go as long as AHN has no or little air service? DL has more share of service at every airport in the SE than any other carrier and thus gains all of the traffic that could otherwise fly out of AHN but does not.

Most of the traffic from AHN or any other airport that is not served travels to the cities around it that do have service. There is no reason why DL would want to add service to a city if they are going to get most of the traffic anyway. Yes, it costs money to carry connecting passengers and no rational airline is going to add more stations which increase costs without bringing in an increase in traffic. Most cities have far more airports that could be used for commercial air transportation than actually have it. It makes no sense to add service to a bunch of small airports if passengers will be forced to drive to one of the large airports where there is already service. Airlines are adding new cities where they have the possibility of bringing in new revenue, not simply of increasing the number of new stations. All of this also changes if subsidies or revenue guarantees are used to attract service to smaller airports or if another airline adds service to a city within a carrier's "home turf". This is exactly the battle that continues to be played out between AA and WN at Love Field.

Of all the network carriers, Delta has probably added the most new cities to its network by using its regional jets but those new cities are very predominantly in USAirways backyard.

The intent of this post is to show that DL is using its regional jets to siphon traffic away from regions of the country where other carriers have traditionally been strong. Unless you can show me some other evidence, it is apparently a strategy that DL is effectively using.