The Atlanta Airport and Delta have a very symbiotic, rewarding and productive relationship. Atlanta has some of the lowest fees per passenger for enplanement and the lowest landing fee (was 46 cents per 1,000 pounds) which gives us an advantage using Atlanta as a hub.
The details of the new deal have not been published (that I've found) but it appears the City negotiated a competitive deal with Delta which lowers some rates, which must have been due to competition from f-NWA bases as well as the general state of the economy. Other vendors also saw reductions, as their business dropped off.
Despite appearances, the City of Atlanta's airport is one of the best run in the Country. Other cities have roots much deeper into the airport to fund pet projects than Atlanta does.
Anyone know who got the gates that ASA leased? Are those SkyWest's, or did Delta get them back? IMHO one of the big risks in the ASA sale was that they leased more space than AirTran and could have been spun off to Southwest, or some other carrier for about what ASA sold for. Delta said they were going to get them back, but it was far from a done deal.
At a Tuesday budget hearing before Atlanta City Council, the two top officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport said its revenues will plunge nearly 10 percent to $355.2 million in fiscal year 2011 in part because of continued weakness in air travel, but also because of revenues no longer collected under the city’s new master lease agreement with its largest tenant, Delta Air Lines Inc.
An accounting change has also caused headaches this year, which airport General Manager Ben DeCosta called the most difficult budget cycle in his career at Hartsfield-Jackson.
Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and top lieutenants crafted the new master lease with Delta after a brouhaha over the price tag of future capital projects threatened to derail construction of the international terminal.
Under its new seven-year lease with the city, revenue from Delta (NYSE: DAL) collected through landing fees and rents will plunge $25.7 million.
Non-airline revenues, those collected from concessions, parking and other sources like rental car fees, will decline $9.9 million largely because of the global recession. Airport traffic counts were down about 2 percent in 2009.
Read more: Fees hikes to come at Hartsfield-Jackson - Atlanta Business Chronicle: