A slowing US economy and increasing financial troubles have prompted Delta Air Lines to undertake major changes to its route network. The schedule changes will take effect from its winter timetable in October, and are designed to match capacity to the lower demand the airline is experiencing in its high-yield business travel markets.
The move comes two weeks after Delta said it would cut capacity by 1.4% with the early retirement of 10 Boeing 727s. Six aircraft will be removed from service on 1 September, followed by another two aircraft on 1 November and two on 1 December. The 727 retirements will reduce annual capacity by 0.3% compared with last year. All 727s will have been retired by mid-2005.
Delta recently warned it will be reporting a net loss of $140 million to $160 million for the second quarter 2001, or twice as much as analysts had expected. The airline blamed a downturn in business travel, higher fuel costs and the lengthy pilots strike at its Comair regional airline for the shortfall.
Routes from Atlanta to Boston, Newark, Philadelphia and San Jose will be cut, says Delta. The airline is also stopping its Delta Shuttle flights between Washington's Reagan National Airport and Boston. The services had been operated by Boeing 727s and 737s, and will be taken over by Atlantic Coast Airlines using 32-seat Fairchild Dornier 328JETs.
As part of the network revamp Delta is adding new mainline services to Akron/Canton, Ohio, and Fort Walton Beach, Florida, using Boeing MD-80s in place of Delta Connection regional jet services. Chicago Midway services are also being restarted, initially with three daily flights but expanding to five from January. Delta Express will add three new routes from its hub at Salt Lake City, to Honolulu; Eugene, Oregon and Santa Barbara, California.
Source: Flight International
