ATLANTA- Aviation route analyst Enilria reported that Delta Air Lines (DL) is reducing its presence in Los Angeles (LAX) by cutting some routes. He further reported that the Atlanta-based carrier is rumored to set up a new hub in Detroit (DTW).
Well, let’s begin with some route shrinkage in Los Angeles and see how it relates to growth in Detroit.
Delta Cuts Los Angeles Routes
Delta Air Lines to discontinue service on the following routes:
- Eagle (EGE) to Los Angeles (LAX)
- Jackson (JAC) to Los Angeles (LAX)
- Jackson (JAC) to Minneapolis (MSP)
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Oakland (OAK), which previously operated three times daily.
Here’s the Market data comparison on routes to be discontinued by Delta:
Jackson (JAC) to Los Angeles (LAX) route details:
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2023: 68 Passengers Daily Each Way (PDEW) with an average round-trip fare of $881.
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2022: 58 PDEW with an average round-trip fare of $798.
- Point of sale mix: 15% from Jackson (JAC) and 85% from Los Angeles (LAX).
- Market share for the year ending September 2023: United Airlines (UA) 46%, American Airlines (AA) 29%, Delta Air Lines (DL) 22%. At Jackson (JAC), Delta Air Lines (DL), and United Airlines (UA) both have 41%, and American Airlines (AA) has 16%. At Los Angeles (LAX), United Airlines (UA) has 50%, American Airlines (AA) has 31%, and Delta Air Lines (DL) has 16%.
- Market share for the year ending September 2022: United Airlines (UA) 37%, Delta Air Lines (DL) 34%, American Airlines (AA) 27%.
- Further Average existing daily flights for April 2024 and July 2024: No flights for April 2024, 2.1 flights for July 2024. The average number of seats available is 2 for April 2024 and 222 for July 2024.
Los Angeles (LAX) to Oakland (OAK) route information:
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2023: 947 Passengers Daily Each Way (PDEW) with an average round-trip fare of $321.
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2022: 846 PDEW with an average round-trip fare of $309.
- Point of sale mix: 40% from Los Angeles (LAX) and 61% from Oakland (OAK).
- Market share for the year ending September 2023: Southwest Airlines (WN) 76%, Spirit Airlines (NK) 14%, Delta Air Lines (DL) 10%. At Los Angeles (LAX), Southwest Airlines (WN) has 74%, Delta Air Lines (DL) has 14%, and Spirit Airlines (NK) has 12%. At Oakland (OAK), Southwest Airlines (WN) has 77%, Spirit Airlines (NK) has 14%, and Delta Air Lines (DL) has 8%.
- Market share for the year ending September 2022: Southwest Airlines (WN) 74%, Spirit Airlines (NK) 15%, Delta Air Lines (DL) 10%.
- Subsequently, the Average existing daily flights for April 2024 and July 2024: 11.6 flights for April 2024, 12.2 flights for July 2024. The average number of seats available is 1675 for April 2024 and 1764 for July 2024.
- Flight details per day for April 2024:
- Delta Air Lines (DL) – Embraer E7W: 2.9 flights
- Spirit Airlines (NK) – Airbus A320-200: 1.6 flights
- Spirit Airlines (NK) – Airbus A320neo: 0.4 flights
- Southwest Airlines (WN) – Boeing 737-700: 2.2 flights
- Southwest Airlines (WN) – Boeing 737-700: 2.6 flights
- Southwest Airlines (WN) – Boeing 737 MAX 8: 2.0 flights
Eagle (EGE) to Los Angeles (LAX) Route
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2023: 18 Passengers Daily Each Way (PDEW) with an average round-trip fare of $1150.
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2022: 14 PDEW with an average round-trip fare of $1136.
- Point of sale mix: 20% from Eagle (EGE) and 88% from Los Angeles (LAX).
- Market share for the year ending September 2023: American Airlines (AA) 55%, United Airlines (UA) 44%, Alaska Airlines (AS) 1%. At Eagle (EGE), United Airlines (UA) has 78%, American Airlines (AA) has 22%, and Southwest Airlines (WN) has 0%. At Los Angeles (LAX), American Airlines (AA) has 64%, United Airlines (UA) has 34%, and Alaska Airlines (AS) has 2%.
- Market share for the year ending September 2022: American Airlines (AA) 52%, United Airlines (UA) 47%, Alaska Airlines (AS) 1%.
- Average existing weekly flights for April 2024 and July 2024: 0 for both months.
Jackson (JAC) to Minneapolis (MSP) Route Update
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2023: 20 Passengers Daily Each Way (PDEW) with an average round-trip fare of $837.
- Passenger traffic for the year ending September 2022: 20 PDEW with an average round-trip fare of $798.
- Point of sale mix: 27% from Jackson (JAC) and 77% from Minneapolis (MSP).
- Market share for the year ending September 2023: Delta Air Lines (DL) 61%, United Airlines (UA) 25%, Sun Country Airlines (SY) 12%. At Jackson (JAC), Delta Air Lines (DL) has 58%, United Airlines (UA) has 32%, and Sun Country Airlines (SY) has 10%. At Minneapolis (MSP), Delta Air Lines (DL) has 59%, United Airlines (UA) has 20%, and Sun Country Airlines (SY) has 19%.
- Market share for the year ending September 2022: Delta Air Lines (DL) 56%, Sun Country Airlines (SY) 24%, United Airlines (UA) 19%.
- Average existing weekly flights for April 2024 and July 2024: 0 for both months.
Detroit Hub Strategy?
Delta Airlines is reinstating service on the Detroit (DTW) to Fort Wayne (FWA) route, which was last operated in 2022. A single roundtrip flight will commence this summer, contrary to the Enilria source’s indication of 2025.
This represents a wider flight relocation from the Los Angeles (LAX) hub to DTW.
In the latest schedule update for this summer, 10 routes are set to receive an additional round trip, including FWA. Generally, Delta has been reallocating resources from its core hubs to support expansion efforts at coastal hubs like LAX. This raises questions about the possibility of temporary gate reductions at LAX, added Enilria.
In 2016, Delta Air Lines announced that it is advancing with initial measures for a $1.9 billion initiative to modernize, enhance, and integrate Terminals 2 and 3 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) within the next seven years (2016-2023).
Each route will see an increase of one round trip:
- Cleveland (CLE) – Detroit (DTW)
- Columbus (CMH) – Detroit (DTW)
- Detroit (DTW) – Grand Rapids (GRR)
- Detroit (DTW) – Greenville (GSP)
- Detroit (DTW) – Indianapolis (IND)
- Detroit (DTW) – Memphis (MEM)
- Detroit (DTW) – Milwaukee (MKE)
- Detroit (DTW) – Portland (PWM)
- Detroit (DTW) – San Francisco (SFO)
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