Outsider Noob Hub Question
 

Any idea/speculation if Delta will be adding new hubs/bases in the near future? If so where?
I am aware that things change overnight lol. Couldn't find any similar threads.

The better question is what pilot base they close next, or what airport gets added to the list of must be covered by base X.

We don't open pilot bases. Only close. There is only one permanent base. AtL. Nothing else matters.

My guess:
HPN or SWF added to nyc
MSP and DTW consolidate

what makes you say MSP and DTW will consolidate? Are you saying both close?

We were starting to take acton on opening up a BOS pilot base but got derailed by Covid. We have more than enough flights to support a Pilot base from there - the problem is they are divided among numerous fleets so it it much harder to justify.

With that said, if we do ever open another Pilot base, who knows if we will, my money would be on BOS.

Scoop

BOS has been rumored for well over a decade. Twice in print in company pubs, yet NOPE. That should tell you the kind of insight we have on bases.

I'm just going off of it being our two "closest" hubs and we don't open pilot bases ever. (I know JFK is technically barely closer than MSP from DTW, but both are midwest, culturally closer together)

When have we ever done things that make sense beyond the next fiscal cycle?

Also, there is some company-union politics that factor in. When you add a new base, it's a new/reactivated council, which adds more seats to the MEC, and think of MEC like the Senate. If you are Party X, you don't want to give statehood to a territory that will usually side with Party Y.

Right now, if something is good for ATL, they have 1/4 the votes in the MEC. Not too hard of an uphill battle.

Lets just say I wouldn't be 100% shocked if their best guess as to who would be the BOS LEC was part of their decision to not open BOS. I also think getting rid of a LEC that was the support base for the MEC Chair was part of the decision to close CVG as a pilot base. What they saved on office space/staff is probably 70% spent on hotels for overnighting crews.

Theres no chance of them consolidating MSP and DTW into a single base. Come on now. Maybe consolidating international in DTW and making MSP a domestic base like SLC with just a few W trips to cover the usual codeshare hubs.

I could see HPN becoming a satellite of LGA. We're doing a lot of flights out of there now. A 717 buddy told me they're even going direct to PBI and MCO now. Does mainline even fly to SWF?

Boston makes sense but it has nothing to do with union politics. Our union is so weak they're no threat to whatever the company wants and they'll always have the votes in ATL. Not opening BOS is because they don't have room. The Taj Mullin is too small and too cramped for what we already have there and Massport is already charging us out the wazoo. My bet is they're waiting to see what happens with JetBlue/Spirit too. Not to mention that a BOS base would make NYC staffing even worse.

Fixed it for you. Making BOS a pilot domicile could be done in the blink of an eye. The company is either stuck on paralysis of analysis or they simply don't want it to be a pilot domicile. Probably the latter.

We don't have a NYC angry puppy category anymore though. I don't think a handful of mainline 717 flights is justification for making HPN a satellite. As for BOS, it could easily be a 320 base tomorrow; simply swap out every 737 flight with a 320. 220 would probably fit as well. But we work for Delta Air Lines where making simple things more complex than they need to be is how we do business.

Getting marketing to agree to keep one plane on a route is like coaxing a cat into bath water. You must have lost your mind! LOL.