- Delta Air Lines is dropping another ten routes in back-to-back network adjustments.
- The carrier explained the routes have been removed from its schedule as it evaluates restart dates.
- A majority of the axed routes are service to regional cities, like Freeland, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin.
Regional markets are becoming a regular casualty of airline network adjustments, with Delta axing a handful of routes in back-to-back weeks.
Delta revealed on December 13 it was dropping three cities from its network indefinitely, with seven routes overall getting cut. Now, the carrier confirmed to Insider another 10 routes have been removed from its current schedule while it re-evaluates later start dates for them. The news was first reported by The Points Guy.
"We continue to evaluate our network and make changes in line with customer demand, as we have throughout the pandemic," a Delta spokesperson told Insider.
Demand to Bermuda, in particular, remains low due to its strict COVID-19 entry requirements, Delta explained.
Most of the axed routes have not operated since the start of the pandemic, with the exception of three, including Salt Lake City to Cleveland, Ohio, Atlanta to Rochester, Minnesota, and Salt Lake City to Des Moines, Iowa. Flights between Salt Lake City and Cleveland are only operating over the Christmas holiday, while the other two were restarted, but have now been suspended and consolidated to the nearest hub of Minneapolis.
Take a closer look at Delta's 10 dropped routes:
- Between Atlanta and Rochester, Minnesota: Delta will still serve Rochester from Minneapolis. Meanwhile, American offers flights from Chicago, and Sun Country will serve the city from Fort Myers, Florida, and Phoenix beginning in February.
- Between Boston and Bermuda: Delta will still serve Bermuda from Atlanta and New York City. Several other airlines also fly to the island, like British Airways, American Airlines, and JetBlue Airways.
- Between Minneapolis and Lansing, Michigan: Delta will still serve Lansing from Detroit. The city is also served by American from Washington DC and Chicago, and United from Chicago. However, United's service ends in January.
- Between Minneapolis and Freeland, Michigan: Delta will still serve Freeland from Detroit. Meanwhile, United also serves the city from Chicago.
- Between Minneapolis and Tulsa, Oklahoma: Delta will still serve Tulsa from Atlanta and Salt Lake City. The city is also served by a number of carriers, including American Airlines, Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Breeze Airways.
- Between Salt Lake City and Cleveland, Ohio: Delta will still serve Cleveland from Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and New York City. The city is also served by several other airlines, like Air Canada, JetBlue, and Southwest.
- Between Salt Lake City and Columbus, Ohio: Delta will still serve Columbus from Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and New York City. The city is also served by several other carriers, like Allegiant, Frontier, and Spirit.
- Between Salt Lake City and Des Moines, Iowa: Delta will still serve Des Moines from Atlanta, Minneapolis, and New York City. The city is also served by several other airlines, including Allegiant, American, Frontier, Southwest, and United.
- Between Salt Lake City and Madison, Wisconsin: Delta will still serve Madison from Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York City, and Washington DC. The city is also served by a number of other carriers, including American, Frontier, Sun Country, and United.
- Between Salt Lake City and Pittsburgh: Delta will still serve Pittsburgh from Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and New York City. The city is also served by a number of other airlines, like American, Breeze, and Spirit.
A majority of the 10 cut routes were operated by Delta's regional affiliates, including Endeavor Air and SkyWest. Over the past couple of months, airlines have been pulling out of small markets due to low demand and profitability, with United dropping 11 cities from its route map indefinitely in November.
In a Senate hearing last Wednesday, United's CEO Scott Kirby revealed part of the reason its small markets are being dropped is because the company has about 100 regional planes grounded over the pilot shortage.
Meanwhile, American also announced last month that it was dropping routes to some of its regional cities, like Philadelphia to Charleston, West Virginia.
Fortunately, none of the small markets in Delta's latest network adjustment are losing the carrier completely. So, while travelers will have fewer route options, connectivity to the airline's larger network is still available.
Despite dropping service, Delta told Insider it has also added a handful of summer routes out of LaGuardia Airport in New York, including flights to Asheville and Wilmington in North Carolina, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, and Traverse City, Michigan.