Originally Posted by
flatlander
The difference would be that MSP is actually a desirable destination that is not economically wrecked, while the only reason to fly to Detroit is to board another aircraft to get out of the post-industrial economic disaster ASAP.
Do not confuse Detroit the city with Metro Detroit as a whole. Oakland County (northern suburbs) is one of the richest large counties in America, there's a huge amount of high tech R&D both at the University of Michigan and in the region as a whole if you look a little bit, etc. There are reasons beyond physical geography that Delta kept so much hub action there after the merger.