Delta Flight Cuts Affect Local Travel
Erie international airport will be loosing one of its four carriers come September 6th.
Delta Air Lines wont be flying near Tom Ridge Field as theyve announced theyre discontinuing their services to and from Erie. Erie International Airport is in the lowest 5% of Deltas market so officials say its no longer financially feasible to continue their service here.
Delta currently accommodates about 150 passengers in and out of Erie daily, so travelers will be loosing their connection to many destinations, including Deltas twice a day round trip service to one of the worlds busiest hub airports...Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta international.
This loss of Delta flights means Erie travelers will still be able to get to where they want to go, they might just have to make a few extra stops to get there and this has Delta’s frequent travelers concerned.
"The flights are very limited into the Erie airport so its tough I mean I leave from a small airport and go into another small airport theres limited options to get in here at limited times."
"Well we just bought a second home here so I was hoping to come a lot and that’s going to make it even more inconvenient for me not be able to come."
This announcement came as a surprise Erie International CEO Kelly Fredericks and he says it will cause the airport a loss of $5,000 a month.
Fredericks says the length of Eries runway also played a role in Deltas decision.
"I think it speaks volumes again to the competitive disadvantage this airport has by an inferior runway."
Continental and Northwest Airline officials say they plan to put larger planes on their Erie route by fall.
This cut of Deltas flights has made local travel agents very busy with current reservations as they are rebooking clients to either Northwest, Continental or US Airways to get them to their destination. If you want to do a little traveling you can use your Delta Erie ticket out of one of the nearby international airports. As for the 15 local Delta employees, Kelly says they will be offered jobs at other airports.
