Delta: Cutting Further Capacity this Fall

Delta announced this morning that they will cut capacity by10% this fall vs. the same time last year due to the effects of the recession and rising oil prices. Of note, they will also reduce international capacity by a further 5% for an overall reduction in international flying of 15% year over year.

Several international routes of note are on the chopping block for the fall. First up is Atlanta-Shanghai nonstop service. This is a route that Delta fought bitterly for against other US carriers and only started flying in March of 2008.

Also on the block are nonstops from Cincinnati (CVG) to Frankfurt (FRA) and London-Gatwick (LGW). Since merging with Northwest, Delta has pulled back significant capacity in CVG in favor of its newer and much larger hub just North of CVG in Detroit. If CVG can no longer support nonstops to London and Frankfurt (routes Delta has flown for more than 10 years) one can only expect further downsizing in CVG.