"Delta to cut service from LAX to 13 cities"

Friday, July 4, 2008

Delta Air Lines making more cuts in service at LAX
The flights between 13 cities are currently flown under contract by
ExpressJet, the carrier's regional partner.
By Peter Pae
The Los Angeles (CA) Times


In another blow to passengers who use Los Angeles International Airport,
Delta Air Lines said Thursday that it would discontinue nonstop service
between 13 cities and LAX, including flights to Seattle, Portland and
Phoenix.

The flights to be halted are operated by ExpressJet Airlines under a
contract that Delta said would end Sept. 1.

Delta and ExpressJet agreed to terminate the contract because of high fuel
costs and declining demand, according to Delta.

The agreement does not affect ExpressJet's service at Ontario Airport, where
the carrier operates under its own name.

The cutback in the regional service, which was operated under the "Delta
Connection" name, will come on top of previously announced plans by Delta to
slash about 13% of its flights at LAX including nonstop service to Boston;
Hartford, Conn.; and Columbus, Ohio. 

Together, they will be the deepest cuts so far at LAX, which has managed to
escape the brunt of an industrywide move to ground flights as a way to cope
with the fast-rising cost of fuel.

Delta, with 93 daily departures, is the fourth-largest carrier at LAX. That
figure is expected to drop to about 60 by Labor Day.

Passengers can expect higher fares and fewer options as a result of the
cutbacks, which could leave at least one city, Eugene, Ore., without nonstop
service from Los Angeles International.

The service cuts also will bring to an end Delta's ambitious plans to expand
at Los Angeles International Airport, turning the largest airport in
Southern California into one of its major hubs.

With the end of the ExpressJet service agreement, Delta will no longer fly
to such cities as Reno, Tucson and Boise, Idaho, from LAX.

Large carriers often use regional airlines such as ExpressJet to fly routes
that typically lack the passenger volume to support the use of larger
planes.

ExpressJet mostly operates smaller Embraer ERJ-145 twin-engine jets that
hold about 50 passengers compared with the 150- to 400-seat planes that are
flown by major airlines. 

Delta said the service contract with ExpressJet also includes flights out of
Salt Lake City, but the airline said it would sign a contract with another
carrier to fly them.

Delta said it would provide a refund or re-book customers whose flights are
affected by the changes.

Shares of Atlanta-based Delta rose 5 cents Thursday to $4.95.

ExpressJet Holdings Inc. of Houston fell a penny to 49 cents.

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