General Lee
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Delta cutting fall flights
By Alexander Coolidge • [email protected] • July 9, 2008
Delta Air Lines says it will cut almost 23 percent of flights this fall out of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as it battles sky-high fuel prices.
Roughly 314 flights will depart the Hebron airport on peak days with the most traffic, compared with about 407 flights last fall and about 370 this month.
Part of those cuts are part of the normal reduced schedule for the slower fall flying season, but Delta officials say fuel prices have also forced the airline to reduce service at CVG and elsewhere. Delta didn’t release details on which specific cities and flights are being trimmed.
“Everybody knows what’s happening with fuel – it’s hitting us hard,” said Robert Cortelyou, senior vice president of network planning, in an interview today. The spot price of a gallon of jet fuel today was $3.95, roughly double the cost a year ago.
Cortelyou said Cincinnati isn’t being singled out for cuts, noting Delta’s other hubs are also seeing dozens of flights eliminated. He noted other airlines have similarly curtailed flights out of hubs in Cleveland and Chicago.
Other airports seeing significant Delta cuts are its other hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City as well as Boston, Orlando. Delta’s operation at New York’s JFK Airport is actually expanding as the carrier ramps up international flights at the same time it reduces domestic flying.
“Even Atlanta – our biggest hub and the biggest airport in the world – is taking a haircut,” Cortelyou said.
Cortelyou stressed Delta remains committed to maintaining its hub at CVG and said the airline is targeting cuts at flights to smaller markets with mostly connecting passengers. Cutting service will protect Delta’s profitability, which keeps the hub strong, he said.
“There’s not a plug being pulled – CVG is still one of the largest hubs in the country,” said Cortelyou, noting the airport would remain the third biggest in the Midwest behind Chicago and Detroit.
The airline is also trying to minimize the elimination of direct service to destinations by instead trimming the number of flights to various cities. Nonetheless, Delta will offer direct service to about 99 destinations versus 112 a year ago.
Late last year, Delta announced it would cut flights to combat the soaring cost of fuel – since then it has twice deepened the target for reduced flying. As of last month, Delta said it will reduce available seating capacity this year by 13 percent.
Earlier this year, Delta announced it would solicit thousands of its employees for buyouts. The company said last month it would give severance to all 4,000 employees who volunteered – twice the number initially targeted.
Atlanta-based Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees as of the end of last year, including 2,700 based at the airport in Hebron.
Bye Bye--General Lee
By Alexander Coolidge • [email protected] • July 9, 2008
Delta Air Lines says it will cut almost 23 percent of flights this fall out of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as it battles sky-high fuel prices.
Roughly 314 flights will depart the Hebron airport on peak days with the most traffic, compared with about 407 flights last fall and about 370 this month.
Part of those cuts are part of the normal reduced schedule for the slower fall flying season, but Delta officials say fuel prices have also forced the airline to reduce service at CVG and elsewhere. Delta didn’t release details on which specific cities and flights are being trimmed.
“Everybody knows what’s happening with fuel – it’s hitting us hard,” said Robert Cortelyou, senior vice president of network planning, in an interview today. The spot price of a gallon of jet fuel today was $3.95, roughly double the cost a year ago.
Cortelyou said Cincinnati isn’t being singled out for cuts, noting Delta’s other hubs are also seeing dozens of flights eliminated. He noted other airlines have similarly curtailed flights out of hubs in Cleveland and Chicago.
Other airports seeing significant Delta cuts are its other hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City as well as Boston, Orlando. Delta’s operation at New York’s JFK Airport is actually expanding as the carrier ramps up international flights at the same time it reduces domestic flying.
“Even Atlanta – our biggest hub and the biggest airport in the world – is taking a haircut,” Cortelyou said.
Cortelyou stressed Delta remains committed to maintaining its hub at CVG and said the airline is targeting cuts at flights to smaller markets with mostly connecting passengers. Cutting service will protect Delta’s profitability, which keeps the hub strong, he said.
“There’s not a plug being pulled – CVG is still one of the largest hubs in the country,” said Cortelyou, noting the airport would remain the third biggest in the Midwest behind Chicago and Detroit.
The airline is also trying to minimize the elimination of direct service to destinations by instead trimming the number of flights to various cities. Nonetheless, Delta will offer direct service to about 99 destinations versus 112 a year ago.
Late last year, Delta announced it would cut flights to combat the soaring cost of fuel – since then it has twice deepened the target for reduced flying. As of last month, Delta said it will reduce available seating capacity this year by 13 percent.
Earlier this year, Delta announced it would solicit thousands of its employees for buyouts. The company said last month it would give severance to all 4,000 employees who volunteered – twice the number initially targeted.
Atlanta-based Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees as of the end of last year, including 2,700 based at the airport in Hebron.
Bye Bye--General Lee
Great minds think alike. Tanker Clown just...doesn't think.
