The route-map adjustments continue to hit small cities the hardest.The latest move comes from Delta Air Lines, which is cutting 10 routes across its network, most of which were operated by its regional affiliates on short domestic hops.For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.The cuts were first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed to TPG by a carrier spokesperson. A full table of the routes getting axed is below.OriginDestinationOperated byAtlanta (ATL)Rochester, Minnesota (RST)Endeavor Air CRJ900Boston (BOS)Bermuda (BDA)Delta A319Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)Lansing, Michigan (LAN)Endeavor Air CRJ200Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)Freeland, Michigan (MBS)Endeavor Air CRJ200Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)Tulsa (TUL)SkyWest E175Salt Lake City (SLC)Cleveland (CLE)Delta Airbus A319/A320 mixSalt Lake City (SLC)Columbus (CMH)Delta Airbus A319/A320 mixSalt Lake City (SLC)Des Moines (DSM)SkyWest E175Salt Lake City (SLC)Madison, Wisconsin (MSN)SkyWest E175Salt Lake City (SLC)Pittsburgh (PIT)Delta Airbus A319The cuts hit the airline’s Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Salt Lake City (SLC) hubs the hardest, with 70% of the affected services touching one of these airports.Interestingly, this marks back-to-back weeks of big network cuts for Delta — both of which are focused on regional connectivity primarily from the MSP and SLC hubs. Last week, the Atlanta-based carrier dropped three U.S. cities from its network and slashed seven routes (six of which were from MSP and SLC).In confirming the latest pulldown to TPG, a carrier spokesperson shared that “we continue to evaluate our network and make changes in line with customer demand, as we have throughout the pandemic.” It’s anyone’s guess if, or when, any of these routes make a comeback for Delta.Delta’s latest route cuts (Map courtesy of Cirium)As airlines look to rebuild their network, small U.S. cities continue to bear the brunt of the changes. Many regional airports don’t have the demand to warrant service right now, especially with the staffing shortages that airlines are facing.Last month, United filed plans to pull out of 11 markets, nearly all of which were operated by regional partners. The Chicago-based airline cited a lack of demand and staffing shortages as the reasons for the route-map shake-up.Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.In a recent interview with TPG, United CEO Scott Kirby commented on the future of 50-seat regional jets. His perspective was that there may not be a future for serving some small markets due to unfavorable economics compounded by pilot shortages.“We’re still debating what the long-term future of 50 seaters really is,” Kirby said. “The challenge is, do you want to serve places like Erie, Pennsylvania, at all, or Cody, Wyoming, or do those places just get cut off of the connectivity to the world?”While Delta may be paring back some of its regional connectivity, it’s boosting service in another area of the country: the hotly contested New York market.This week, the airline filed plans to bring back five seasonal summer routes from its New York/LaGuardia (LGA) hub, including flights operated by its Delta Connection regional affiliates to the following destinations.DestinationOperated byAsheville, North Carolina (AVL)Republic Airways Embraer 175Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM)Endeavor Air CRJ900Nantucket (ACK)Endeavor Air CRJ900Traverse City, Michigan (TVC)Endeavor Air CRJ900Martha’s Vineyard (MVY)Republic Airways Embraer 175The move comes on the heels of a big New York-focused expansion from American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, who’ve partnered together through the Northeast Alliance to become a formidable competitor against Delta and United in the Northeast.
