Delta cutting seven more routes from Memphis

Delta Air Lines is cutting the number of peak day departures out of Memphis from 164 to 149 and destinations from 65 to 58, effective Jan. 4, the airline confirmed Monday.

Direct service will be discontinued to Baltimore; Panama City, Fla.; Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Wichita, Kan.; Mobile, Ala.; and Seattle.

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said the cuts are part of an overall reduction announced earlier this year.

"Delta has been reducing its capacity in Memphis, nationwide and internationally due primarily to ongoing volatility in jet fuel prices, which have added an estimated $3 billion in annual costs," B anstetter said.

Small turboprop and 50-seat jets have also been targeted for reduction as they are "our least fuel-efficient aircraft," B anstetter said.

The airline also will reduce the number of flights from Memphis to Cleveland ; Newark, N.J.; Huntsville, Ala.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Philadelphia ; and Shreveport, La.

Of the 149 remaining flights from Memphis, three destinations - Hattiesburg, Tupelo and Greenville, Miss. - will also be cut if Delta gets its way. The airline is awaiting federal permission to end service to those cities, which are supported by the Essential Air Service program.

Delta announced in March that it would cut 25 percent of its flights, 8-10 percent of its Memphis capacity, by year's end. Last month, Delta said it would trim capacity system-wide by another 2-3 percent, but it didn't indicate at the time which markets would be affected. The most recent rounds of cuts were first reported by Airliners.net , an industry website.

Memphis International Airport president and CEO Larry Cox said he was not aware of anything the airline was doing beyond what it announced in March.

"There's always a reduction in the number of flights in the winter," Cox said.

Peak travel times are in the spring, summer and fall, Cox said, so the airlines cut flights to keep fares high. This allows the airlines to cover the prices of rising fuels, he said, and to make a profit.

Atlanta-based Delta took over the Northwest Airlines passenger hub when the two airlines merged in October 2008. At the time, the airlines offered a combined 238 daily flights from Memphis.

Airline Weekly managing director Seth Kaplan said the entire industry is being very cautious about capacity . But, as far as Delta is concerned, it's becoming clear that Memphis is more vulnerable to cuts like these than Delta's other hub in Atlanta, as the two carry some of the same traffic, he said.

"But they're clearly trying to make it work (in Memphis)," Kaplan said. "If the intention was to dismantle the hub, it would have happened a long time ago."

Kaplan said the hub here would become a bigger target if Delta's whole company shrank or if a low-cost carrier like Southwest Airlines decided to establish a large presence here.

- Toby Sells: (901) 529-2742

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"If the intention was to dismantle the hub, it would have happened a long time ago."

Seth Kaplan

Airline Weekly managing director

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