Delta: “we aspire to grow our operations in this list of cities we’re focusing on.”
FlyerTalk: “those cities can’t be focus cities - they don’t have much service yet!”



This list makes total sense all around. Particularly SJC, which gives Delta some fresh real estate to grow in the Bay Area outside of the multiple constraints of SFO. But overall, this list of focus cities can also be viewed as just a list of growing cities - BNA, RDU, AUS are all growing really rapidly.

Through that lens, the odd one out is actually CVG, but that can be explained by the legacy of the former hub. And I do think there’s space there for Delta to continue to be the leading carrier in town and maybe even grow back a bit - it’s certainly fared better than STL/MEM/PIT post dehubbing, and there’s enough local business traffic to keep a modest sized operation heathy.

Of course there are other cities with tons of service, including leisure destinations like LAS and MCO. But all Delta is telling us here is that they believe service in those cities is already about right and that they don’t think more resources are required for growth there.