Delta to de-hub Memphis

[cbrown1]

http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2013/jun/4/memphis-losing-delta-hub/

Delta to De-Hub Memphis
By Bill Dries Updated 1:57PM

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Memphis is losing its status as a passenger hub for Delta Air Lines.

Delta executives announced Tuesday, June 4, the Atlanta-based airline will cut service to Memphis International Airport to approximately 60 daily flights starting in September, down from 92.

Leaders of the Atlanta-based global air carrier told airport officials of the latest cuts over the last three years Tuesday morning.

?We will no longer be a Delta hub,? said Jack Sammons, chairman of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority. ?We will rely purely on origination and destination traffic for the Delta passengers.?

But a letter to Memphis Delta employees from Delta senior vice president Gil West and senior vice president Tony Charaf said the new Memphis schedule will ?preserve nearly all the top destinations for Memphis customers,? adding the biggest part of the reduction will be in 50-seat regional air service that Delta and other major air carriers are abandoning.

West and Charaf also wrote employees that the service cuts will mean ?a reduction? of about 230 airport customer service employees in Memphis as well as Delta cargo positions in Memphis. The job losses are also effective Sept. 3, according to the letter.

?We knew there was a risk, but just a month ago I had a meeting with top management there,? Sammons said. ?No need for me to go there. It?s their company and it?s their investment for their stockholders. We have no ability to dictate what they do.?

Memphis International Airport became a hub for Delta following the airline?s merger with Northwest Airlines, which had operated a hub here.

City leaders said the merger brought assurances from Delta executives that Memphis would not only remain a hub but that service would at least remain constant if not increase.

But in time, Delta executives adopted an operating philosophy that Memphis International would serve as an overflow airport for Delta service out of Atlanta. Service cuts followed and already high airfares jumped with the cuts.

Meanwhile, competing airliners were hesitant to exploit the drop in service at Memphis International, fearing Delta would do what Northwest did at Memphis International when Frontier Airlines tried to enter the market. Northwest increased its service and discounted rates until Frontier couldn?t compete.

But as Delta leaders cut service at Memphis International, they emphasized that the cuts here and elsewhere were permanent cuts in capacity that would not be restored even if gas prices dropped lower than expected. The rapid rise in gas prices is blamed by Delta leaders for the shift in philosophy that prompted the series of air service cuts for Memphis.

With the Delta cuts, Sammons and other airport authority board members, along with other civic leaders, have been hopeful that domestic air carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue would fill the void.

Southwest is expected to switch its AirTran flights to full Southwest service in November, two months after the latest Delta cuts take effect.

In April, Delta daily scheduled flights including regional air service under the Delta brand totaled 92.

Last September, Delta?s daily scheduled flights at Memphis International numbered 120.

?I said we are going to be relentless in our effort to obtain frequent and affordable air service for Memphis,? Sammons said. ?I?d be less than candid if I didn?t say this is a significant setback. But it doesn?t change our plan one iota. We move forward with our efforts to secure other carriers. I know that Southwest has indicated that in time they will be the largest provider of service to this region.?

The previous Delta cuts meant that origin and destination traffic at Memphis International Airport has already outpaced connecting traffic, a reflection of the drop in Delta service ? most of which was connecting flights ? not an increase in O&D flights.

Sammons estimated the percentage mix is about 60/40 with O&D traffic being the majority. With the Delta cuts to come in the fall, he said that will probably go to a 90-10 percentage split for Memphis International.

 

[Kharma Police]

Smart to move resources out of MEM to probably beef up ATL in response to Southwest's overall Atlanta shrinking and "de-hubbing" of AirTran's operation.

 

[redflyer65]

Sammon is right in that he can't tell Delta how to run the company, but I thought it was interesting that he was telling the flying public (on the local news station) to fly the new Southwest/Airtran flights that will beginning shortly to show your support.

I thought RA promised no major changes.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Not every DAL pilot shares Jenny's optimism I guess!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Readback
Interesting, a DINO (Delta In Name Only) f/o seeks info, for him or his friend, and before you know it, a DINO mod rolls in to question his motives.
Keep that in mind DINOs, big brother IS watching!
Delta sells EK 777 Sim time to interview pilots in Delta's training center in Atlanta. Delta has been displacing pilots, reducing capacity, giving leaves of absence and paying bonus money to those who seek early retirement.

On the small jet side they move flying around with the expressed purpose of reducing pilot costs by destroying longevity.

It is my frank impression Delta wants pilots to leave. Delta's strategic direction seems to be mostly focused on who it can outsource to. EK is probably the better job simply because EK is growing. EK needs crews for expansion.

Don't get me wrong. I like working for Delta and hope Delta will turn around. The "maybe next year we will have a positive bid" refrain was old after about the third verse of that song. With every displacement bid the question gets passed around our home ... what about Emirates?

 

[BILL LUMBERG]

Sammon is right in that he can't tell Delta how to run the company, but I thought it was interesting that he was telling the flying public (on the local news station) to fly the new Southwest/Airtran flights that will beginning shortly to show your support.

I thought RA promised no major changes.

You can have it Red.....

 

[General Lee]

Not every DAL pilot shares Jenny's optimism I guess!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Readback
Interesting, a DINO (Delta In Name Only) f/o seeks info, for him or his friend, and before you know it, a DINO mod rolls in to question his motives.
Keep that in mind DINOs, big brother IS watching!
Delta sells EK 777 Sim time to interview pilots in Delta's training center in Atlanta. Delta has been displacing pilots, reducing capacity, giving leaves of absence and paying bonus money to those who seek early retirement.

On the small jet side they move flying around with the expressed purpose of reducing pilot costs by destroying longevity.

It is my frank impression Delta wants pilots to leave. Delta's strategic direction seems to be mostly focused on who it can outsource to. EK is probably the better job simply because EK is growing. EK needs crews for expansion.

Don't get me wrong. I like working for Delta and hope Delta will turn around. The "maybe next year we will have a positive bid" refrain was old after about the third verse of that song. With every displacement bid the question gets passed around our home ... what about Emirates?

Ummmmm, giving leaves of absence? I haven't see that. Outsourcing via Joint Ventures has been the latest talk, with the AF/KL/AZ JV being the one contested right now with DL being short on the mandatory percentage, by about 9 flights per day. That needs to be fixed, and has to be by 2015. The Virgin Atlantic JV actually gives DL and VA enough flights total to fight the larger presence of AA/BA between NYC and LHR. Other than that, the JV hasn't really been worked out, and in fact DL recently bought 2 slots at LHR from AZ to maybe start LHR to SEA (rumor). There would have to be a set percentage with severe monatary penalties for noncompliance this time, not allowing Dalpa to give a 1 year waiver to DL to eventually comply like the other JV.

The last bid was a surprise, but the displaced pilots, 100 junior 767ER FOs, really haven't been flying much, and they know it. The bid did have 77 new narrowbody Captain bids, which will create movement, but not as much as widebody Captains. I think everyone is waiting for that to happen.

The mass movement coming up here will absolutely involve TONS to retirements, which will start within the next few years. When that does happen, people will skyrocket upward. Some junior guys may want to go to the Sandpit (I suggest going there first, to enjoy the weather and interesting PDA laws), and see if it is for them. IF they do go, great, but they will be replaced quickly, and upward movement at EK and DL will both be great eventually. We just have to get to THAT particular time, and it is an eventuality.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Northern Lights]

No big surprise about Memphis, considering how close ATL is. Also, Delta hasn't done any remodeling of the dated terminal, which looks the same as it did back in the NWA glory days. Look at how much has been done to JFK/LGA, and even the G concourse at MSP. MEM has seen none of the improvements, which was a big sign to me that it has been on the chopping block for a long time. I will miss picking up lunch at Interstate BBQ on turns through there!

 

[dalad]

Ummmmm, giving leaves of absence? I haven't see that. Outsourcing via Joint Ventures has been the latest talk, with the AF/KL/AZ JV being the one contested right now with DL being short on the mandatory percentage, by about 9 flights per day. That needs to be fixed, and has to be by 2015. The Virgin Atlantic JV actually gives DL and VA enough flights total to fight the larger presence of AA/BA between NYC and LHR. Other than that, the JV hasn't really been worked out, and in fact DL recently bought 2 slots at LHR from AZ to maybe start LHR to SEA (rumor). There would have to be a set percentage with severe monatary penalties for noncompliance this time, not allowing Dalpa to give a 1 year waiver to DL to eventually comply like the other JV.

The last bid was a surprise, but the displaced pilots, 100 junior 767ER FOs, really haven't been flying much, and they know it. The bid did have 77 new narrowbody Captain bids, which will create movement, but not as much as widebody Captains. I think everyone is waiting for that to happen.

The mass movement coming up here will absolutely involve TONS to retirements, which will start within the next few years. When that does happen, people will skyrocket upward. Some junior guys may want to go to the Sandpit (I suggest going there first, to enjoy the weather and interesting PDA laws), and see if it is for them. IF they do go, great, but they will be replaced quickly, and upward movement at EK and DL will both be great eventually. We just have to get to THAT particular time, and it is an eventuality.


Bye Bye---General Lee

Go to the bottom right of the Crew Resources page. KLOA's closed yesterday. Known leaves of absence. Fewer than 50, but I didn't count. The July update from Crew Resources wasn't very encouraging with regards to hiring.I don't think we will hire til at the earliest, mid to late 2014. But I hope I'm wrong. We are still overstaffed, and still have over 400 pilots on furlough bypass and MLOA.

 

[n757st]

Memphis now, CVG, CLE, PHX in the future.

 

[tailhookah]

According to MEC, still plan on recalls late this year or early next year. As of yesterday. I know this can all change... we'll see.

'tail