Delta jets to depart from area

Airline no longer will offer service from Augusta Regional Airport; subsidiaries to take over most routes

Web posted May 18, 2000

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By Justin Martin
Staff Writer

Delta Air Lines is pulling its jet service out of Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field.

STAFF

The announcement came Wednesday during a private meeting between Delta executives and a handful of airport officials and community leaders.

The airline's pullout effectively ends a 66-year relationship with the Garden City.

The good news is that Delta's subsidiary airlines - Atlantic Southeast and Comair - will more than fill the void, Delta officials said.

Beginning Dec. 1, Comair will provide direct nonstop service to Cincinnati. The one-hour flights likely will leave Augusta at 10:30 a.m. and at 8 or 9 p.m. Delta officials would not say how much the flights will cost, but a 21-day advance ticket for a regional jet flight from Columbia to Cincinnati is now listed at $292.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which already makes six flights a day from Augusta to Atlanta, will replace Delta's three 140-seat MD-88 passenger jet flights per day with three flights on 50-seat regional jets.

Comair's daily flights to Cincinnati will be on the 50-seat regional jets.

The three MD-88 jets now flown by Delta to Augusta will be reallocated for new routes between New York and the Caribbean, according to the airline.

Delta officials said they do not suspend service to a city without giving great consideration to the effect on communities involved. They said they expect Augusta customers to enjoy seamless service from Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair.

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``This is great news for Augusta travelers, as they now have better access to Delta's worldwide network via nonstop service to Delta's largest hubs - Atlanta and Cincinnati,'' said Mark A.P. Drusch, Delta's senior vice president for network management.

Augusta officials are not nearly as pleased.

Delta's business changes come as Augusta prepares to move forward with a much anticipated $22 million airport terminal expansion.

What effect Delta's pullout will have on that project is not yet known. What is known is that 22 Delta employees will be relocated or laid off and the Delta presence will be absent from Augusta Regional Airport.

``How do you grow air service when you reduce the number of seats?'' Mayor Bob Young asked. ``They gave us a carrot when we needed meat and potatoes.''

The loss of a major airline will hurt the city's marketing efforts, especially when competing with Columbia and Savannah for relocating businesses, according to officials at the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The mayor said he believes the odd flight times, coupled with the reduction in seats and addition of unpopular turbo-prop planes, will mean fewer enplanements at the airport.

Enplanements, or the number of people who board an airplane at an airport, are used by the Federal Aviation Administration to determine federal funding of projects, among other things.

``I realize this is a business decision by Delta, but this is a community that needs and wants air service,'' Mr. Young said.

Julian Miller, chairman of the chamber's Air Service Task Force, said it is terribly damaging to lose the Delta name.

The Air Service Task Force is a committee of business leaders charged with improving air service in and out of Augusta.

``We finally had a lot of people paying attention to improving and upgrading the airport, and now we're losing part of our service,'' said Mr. Miller, who also is general manager of The Augusta Chronicle.

Many involved in increasing air service to Augusta say Delta's withdrawal allows another major airline to come into Augusta.

Last month, David Dorminey, marketing director for Augusta Regional Airport, contacted more than a dozen airlines about service to Augusta. Only two, Midway and US Airways Express, showed interest.

That could change now that Delta's market dominance is gone, some say.

``I would hope this would give the Air Service Task Force another tool to use so a competing airline could come in on equal ground,'' said Ed Skinner, chairman of the Augusta Aviation Commission, which oversees Bush Field.

Mr. Dorminey and Tim Weegar, interim director of Augusta Regional Airport, said the new service to Cincinnati more than makes up for the lost Delta jets.

``We've got more flights and service to another major hub,'' Mr. Weegar said. ``We haven't lost anything. This is great news.''

Jim West, president of the chamber of commerce, said there is good news and bad news. ``The bad news: Losing the Delta name kind of hurts our community's ego,'' he said. ``It will impact our ability to market the community.''

That impact will be felt in economic development, tourism and the ability to hold conventions and sporting events, he said.

``At the same time, it's good news,'' Mr. West said. ``What we'll have is nonstop direct flights to three major hubs: Atlanta, Cincinnati and Charlotte, N.C. US Air will have seven flights a day, Comair will have two, and ASA will have 11. That's a fairly significant number of nonstop flights to airline hubs.

``That's not bad for a community of our size, particularly in today's world.''

Reach Justin Martin at (706) 823-3552.