Delta to offer 16 new flights from Logan
By Peter J. Howe, Boston Globe, 12/22/2006
Gearing up for its emergence from bankruptcy, Delta Air Lines Inc. said yesterday it will offer 16 new daily flights from Logan International Airport this spring on 19-seat propeller planes to Northeastern US "business markets."
Delta officials won't reveal any destinations yet. But given the size and range of the planes, which cruise at 300 miles per hour on normally 100- to 600-mile routes, possible routes could include Portland, Maine; Burlington, Vt.; and Albany, N.Y. Alternatively, Delta might also use the smaller planes to supplement or replace some current small jet service to Bangor, and Trenton, N.J.
Currently, Delta offers about 90 daily flights from Boston to 31 destinations. It's just signed a deal with Big Sky Airlines of Montana to provide new Boston service on Beechcraft 1900D turboprops that have cabins big enough for average-height passengers to stand. Out West, Big Sky's niche is serving communities such as Sheridan, Wyo.; Walla Walla, Wash.; and Wolf Point, Mont.
Glen Hauenstein , Delta's executive vice president of network and revenue management, said by spring Delta will have 130 total flights from Boston to over 40 destinations indicating that mainline Delta and its Delta Connection regional jet affiliate envision adding 24 more flights of their own by then, including summer-only flights and code-share flights on European airlines.
That growth could vault Delta well past American Airlines as Logan's biggest by passenger volume. For the first 10 months of this year, AMR Corp.'s American had 17.8 percent of the market and Delta 16.9, followed closely by US Airways Group Inc. at 15.8 percent, according to Massachusetts Port Authority data.
Other destinations now served by small plane affiliates of Continental Airlines Inc. and US Airways from Logan where the Delta-Big Sky venture could compete include Augusta, Bar Harbor, Presque Isle, and Rockland, Maine; Rutland, Vt.; Rochester, Syracuse, and White Plains, N.Y.; and Allentown and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Cape Air spokeswoman Michelle Haynes said she's seen no signs Delta's considering service to Hyannis or the islands.