Delta''s Cincinnati Network To Shrink | AVIATION WEEK


Delta Air Lines is cutting more routes at Cincinnati, once a large hub for the carrier.

A scheduling update loaded by the carrier on May 22 and subsequently confirmed by Delta, shows Cincinnati service ending Sept. 7 to Albany and Buffalo, N.Y.; Charleston, W.Va.; Des Moines, Iowa, and Little Rock, Ark. Delta operates daily service on the routes.

Airlineroute.net, which reports airline scheduling changes, says Delta is replacing its Charleston and Little Rock services with a corresponding increase in daily service from Detroit. Delta says all the Cincinnati markets being cut will be served by its other hubs.

Delta has downgraded Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to small-hub status following its merger with Northwest Airlines. Delta now offers fewer than 200 flights a day there, down from a peak of more than 600.

Delta said earlier this year that its focus in Cincinnati will be to expand and maintain service to the top markets, and especially the top business markets, with plans to maintain 160 to 170 daily flights at the city this year (DAILY, Feb. 23). That's the level of service Delta is operating there now and even with the fall route cuts, Delta says May 24 that it remains committed to operating 160 to 175 daily flights in Cincinnati.

"The numbers may vary slightly after the summer peak, but considering the seasonal markets we serve, we'll remain in that range for the fall schedule," a Delta spokeswoman says. She says the route cuts "are related to the ongoing development of the fall schedule, which has not yet been finalized."