The latest move comes from Delta Air Lines, which is cutting 10 routes across its network, most of which were operated by its regional affiliates on short domestic hops.
The cuts were first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed to TPG by a carrier spokesperson. A full table of the routes getting axed is below.
| Origin | Destination | Operated by |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) | Rochester, Minnesota (RST) | Endeavor Air CRJ900 |
| Boston (BOS) | Bermuda (BDA) | Delta A319 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) | Lansing, Michigan (LAN) | Endeavor Air CRJ200 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) | Freeland, Michigan (MBS) | Endeavor Air CRJ200 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) | Tulsa (TUL) | SkyWest E175 |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | Cleveland (CLE) | Delta Airbus A319/A320 mix |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | Columbus (CMH) | Delta Airbus A319/A320 mix |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | Des Moines (DSM) | SkyWest E175 |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | Madison, Wisconsin (MSN) | SkyWest E175 |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | Pittsburgh (PIT) | Delta Airbus A319 |
The cuts hit the airline's Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Salt Lake City (SLC) hubs the hardest, with 70% of the affected services touching one of these airports.
Interestingly, this marks back-to-back weeks of big network cuts for Delta — both of which are focused on regional connectivity primarily from the MSP and SLC hubs. Last week, the Atlanta-based carrier dropped three U.S. cities from its network and slashed seven routes (six of which were from MSP and SLC).
In confirming the latest pulldown to TPG, a carrier spokesperson shared that "we continue to evaluate our network and make changes in line with customer demand, as we have throughout the pandemic.” It's anyone's guess if, or when, any of these routes make a comeback for Delta.
As airlines look to rebuild their network, small U.S. cities continue to bear the brunt of the changes. Many regional airports don't have the demand to warrant service right now, especially with the staffing shortages that airlines are facing.
Last month, United filed plans to pull out of 11 markets, nearly all of which were operated by regional partners. The Chicago-based airline cited a lack of demand and staffing shortages as the reasons for the route-map shake-up.
In a recent interview with TPG, United CEO Scott Kirby commented on the future of 50-seat regional jets. His perspective was that there may not be a future for serving some small markets due to unfavorable economics compounded by pilot shortages.
“We’re still debating what the long-term future of 50 seaters really is,” Kirby said. “The challenge is, do you want to serve places like Erie, Pennsylvania, at all, or Cody, Wyoming, or do those places just get cut off of the connectivity to the world?”
While Delta may be paring back some of its regional connectivity, it's boosting service in another area of the country: the hotly contested New York market.
This week, the airline filed plans to bring back five seasonal summer routes from its New York/LaGuardia (LGA) hub, including flights operated by its Delta Connection regional affiliates to the following destinations.
| Destination | Operated by |
|---|---|
| Asheville, North Carolina (AVL) | Republic Airways Embraer 175 |
| Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM) | Endeavor Air CRJ900 |
| Nantucket (ACK) | Endeavor Air CRJ900 |
| Traverse City, Michigan (TVC) | Endeavor Air CRJ900 |
| Martha's Vineyard (MVY) | Republic Airways Embraer 175 |
The move comes on the heels of a big New York-focused expansion from American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, who've partnered together through the Northeast Alliance to become a formidable competitor against Delta and United in the Northeast.
