Delta To Cut Service To 24 Smaller Airports In US

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In a recent announcement Delta Air Lines stated they are planning to discontinue service to 24 smaller airports in the US. These airports are scattered throughout many rural areas of the country, which are served with either turboprop aircraft or small regional jets. Many of the 24 airports fall under the Essential Air Service program, which provides subsidies to airlines that provide services to airports in areas which have few options for air travel. Delta officials have stated that they simply cannot make enough money, even with the current subsidies, to make it worthwhile to continue serving these areas. Some of these 24 airports are extremely unprofitable, with some daily flights taking off without any passengers on board. Yet there are some airports which are right on the border of almost being profitable for Delta, but these are still going to be cut from service.

Delta says that they would consider continuing service to areas which are right on the edge of profitability, if increased federal subsidies were offered. The current Essential Air Service program which provides these subsidies is only funded through 2013 and after that funding is questionable. Given the current budget crisis being dealt with by the government, subsidy programs such as this are likely to be reduced or eliminated all together. Many taxpayers do not like the fact that their hard earned money is being handed out to big corporations such as Delta. Many advocates for reduced spending simply refer to this as corporate welfare and do not feel this serves a legitimate need. The subsidy program is like any other out there as it provides a great service in some areas, while not having much of an impact in others.

Delta Air Lines is focusing on these unprofitable routes as the airline industry is facing one of the toughest operating environments ever. With fuel costs outpacing labor costs for many airlines, the way they operate needs to change. Delta officials gave an example of how unprofitable some of these airports are by providing data on the amount of seats filled at individual airports. They state that on average they see around 80% of the available seats filled at any given time. Yet, in one airport in Thief River Falls, Minnesota they fill an average of only 12% of the seats available. It is not difficult to see why this airport made the list and is obvious that even with subsidies this would be a difficult market to turn a profit in.

The plan by Delta is to stop service to these airports whenever the current contracts they have expire. Under the Essential Air Service program the US Department of Justice is responsible for finding another airline to fill the void left by Delta. Many people who live near the effected airports are upset that they will have less options to fly locally. However, in most cases the cost to fly out of these smaller airports is so high that people end up driving to larger airports with cheaper fares. This makes you wonder how effective the Essential Air Service program really is and whether or not it will be funded past the current expiration in 2013.