Effective after Labor Day. Not a surprise really as Delta flights from Memphis have been on the decline for the past several years. Four points:
1. This is more proof that one just shouldn’t believe what airlines say when trying to sell a merger. Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines back in 2008 when they were merging assured anyone that would listen that the hub was safe.
2. It can take several years for the impact of a merger on an airline’s route network to full work itself through.
3. The latest cuts will reduce Delta flights from Memphis from 98 to about 60. Specific route cuts haven’t been announced yet. Delta currently has three flights a day from Charlotte to Memphis on 50-seat regional jets. Doubt those are still around come early September. CLT-MEM draws about 90 passengers a day each way with Delta having about a 30 percent market share — there just isn’t enough. (US Airways also flies Charlotte-Memphis seven times a day on larger aircraft and gets about a 60 percent market share on the route.)
4. Delta’s Cincinnati hub remains at risk. The airline offers three flights to Cincy on 50-seat regional jets from Charlotte. US Airways also flies the route.
