More cuts are coming to Delta‘s service at Memphis, a hub for Northwest Airlines prior to the merger of the two companies in 2008. Twenty-one flights will be cut as of January 2013, bringing the total number of daily operations below 100. Prior to the merger the two carriers operated a combined 238 average daily flights. The most recent cuts will include terminating service to Jacksonville, Florida and Birmingham, Alabama. Service to Amsterdam, the last long-haul service Delta currently operates from the hub, will also be ending per an announcement last month.
The status of Memphis as a hub for the Atlanta-based carrier is in doubt more now than ever. Delta’s PR staff is still noting the value of the operation to the overall operation, noting that there are still 47 destinations which will be served from Memphis. Still, as the service frequencies are cut and the focus shifts from connecting passengers to local traffic it seems likely that further cuts will happen; there isn’t sufficient local demand to support many of the routes.
The Memphis airport on the whole is seeing reduced service, down to fewer than 200 daily frequencies. The airport authority is working to attract Southwest to the airport, hoping that they will increase their service from the levels currently available via their AirTran subsidiary.
Related Posts:
- Delta continues to trim hubs; Memphis on the chopping block this summer
- Delta/Northwest merger announced
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