Is this the next stage for feeder flying
 

Silver Airways looks golden to Tupelo airport to replace Delta Air Lines - The Washington Post

How can they buy a ticket on Delta.com If they are not going to be flying on a delta or delta connection flight? It looks like this is Delta's way of getting around the all jet service. I have not looked into it here in MSP but it would not surprise me if you can buy a ticket for great lakes on delta.com also. This makes me wonder if there is going to be a third tier of flying. Delta will do the very large cities and long flight the regional will do medium to large cites and the small prop regional will do the EAS flying saying they are not a connection or express but they get the benefit of buying their tickets on a majors website.

As of now, you cannot book a Great Lakes ticket on Delta.com, however I think that is supposed to change! You know you can book a KLM ticket on Delta.com too right? Maybe the Dutch are going to take over flying from DL too? lol

Isn't this how it already works? that there already is a "3rd tier" in many places (EAS)?, lowest bidder and in some cases, your "ticket" on a major buys you a seat on a great lakes (I've done this, well, company paid for the ticket, but basic idea...). What's new here, except another major joining in on the slaughter?

"CodeShare"

I was wondering about this too. What are the incentives for Delta other than feed?

Exacly how it's done, Lakes does codes shares with other airlines, so does the majority of the airlines in the world.

Delta is in a revenue sharing Joint Venture with KLM/AF/Alitalia, & has 50% of the flying(it can drop below that, but that's getting too deep). AF/KLM/Alitalia split the other 50% of the flying. That's why you can be booked on a DL flight & KLM flight on the same record locator.

How can it be a code share if they do not paint their planes in delta colors. I do not know about silver but I am guessing they do not paint their planes in major colors.

I just realized some might take offence to the third tier airline in my original post. I do not mean third tier as in even crappier then other regional's. I meant as another level of flying for the major carrier. This "tier" does not fly as a connection/express carrier. Great lakes for example flies into MSP and brings them to a terminal that you almost guarantee that they will jump on a Delta plane. These were all routes that XJ used to fly and delta pulled out so they could be an all jet fleet. It just seems like this is a way around it. I wonder if Great lakes shares any rev with Delta on these routes?

SkyWest runs Brasilias our of SLC for Delta in silver fuselages with "SkyWest" on the tail. Been doing it for many, many years.

This was the way things worked before Fee for Departure. If you look at pictures of Comair Brasilias and Saabs and ASA Brasilias from the mid 80s to the Mid 90s you will see them in Comair and ASA paint schemes, not Delta.

Really? Us Airways code shares with United, yet they don't paint their planes in United colors. Hundreds of airlines around the world code share with each other every day! It's a form of business, whether they paint the planes or not!

Well, I am sure they do, but even if they don't, Lakes is still bringing in pax that would feed into Delta! So pax flying out of Devils Lakes for instance, will still fly through MSP and continue to give Delta business, instead of possibly driving to Fargo and hopping on United to go out west!

I know, I was merely being sarcastic ;)

Feed with no risk! Delta does not pay Lakes a dime to operate the routes, where as Delta does pay for the CRJs to fly most of their routes! It's a win win for Delta!

Thank you for letting me informing me on this topic. I did not realize all these companies fly for them with their own paint. I know there were some skywest planes in their colors but i thought that was only so they could fly for any major they have a contract for. I did not mean to ruffle any feathers here. To me it was new but it is my mistake.

No Worries...glad we could help!!

Yeah, sorry. I quoted you, but was explaining in general. Bad form on my part. :o

No worries at all! :D

Codeshare is basically a marketing agreement, nothing more. Look at Alaska. They codeshare with practically half the world's airlines. Specifically, walk through MSP and look at the signs at each Delta gate and watch most of them scroll through the codeshare partners for that flight. You'll see AS 99% of the time.

I have just been wondering if this is how majors will start getting around scope. The regionals are no longer "contractors" but instead "codeshare partners" and mainline is simply selling seats on all these small individual airlines.

This is exactly what I was wondering about. What's to stop an airline with 190s in their own colors partnering with a major under a code-share agreement?

I guess this was what i was meaning to get at also not the code share.