Originally Posted by KC10 FATboy

Delta needs to play hardball with this guy, here's why. A quick quick check online reveals that MSP is currently serviced by the following major carriers: Delta, AirTran, Southwest, US Airways, United, Continental, American, Sun Country, and Frontier. I'm sure I am over looking some smaller regional companies. By having a hub there, DAL services more cities from MSP that would otherwise never be serviced. In other words, there's more options. One only has to look at Cincinnati as an example of what happens to an airport in the terms of choices once it goes from a hub status for a major carrier down to a regular airport with "competition".

How many carriers could a mayor want? If anything, the mayor should be more worried about LCC consolidation. That will have more of an effect on ticket prices than DAL's hub status.

Additional, it amazes me that these cities want more carriers and destinations yet they don't like being a "hub" for a major carrier. Cincinnati's love affair with DAL is over and they're currently trying to bring in other carriers in the hopes of creating more destinations. They have a "blue ribbon panel" trying to do this as I type. I have to tell you, that isn't going to happen. If anything, any new carrier will fly to the same high volume airports that DAL currently operates mainline out of there. The city in the long term would lose available city pairs.

There is a reason why carriers like Southwest, Sun Country, and Frontier don't bring service to smaller markets. They need the high frequency/volume markets. Anyone wishing to have their airport go down to a non hub status is just crazy. If I were Delta, my option to the mayor would be, "Ok, you can make your city more attractive to us by helping us keeping costs and taxes low, helping us increase markets served out of MSP, thereby helping you increase jobs and bringing more money and options to your city. Or you can make it unattractive for our business and we'll get rid of our hub, therefore losing jobs, losing every international destination except for Cancun, and 95% of your flights will go to ORD, MDW, ATL, BWI, DEN, and DTW to make connections." What is your choice?