How is MSP - TOL doing?
 

Realizing the TOL is fading fast in favor of the massively superior DTW, but still kind of rooting for it....How are the loads, service experiences, UG's, etc?

Thanks

That MSP-TOL might be the wrong question if you're from the Bay Area. MSP-SFO/SJC might be a better one. I go to FAR from SFO a couple times a year. This is the first time I couldn't come back on NW/DL. DL got rid of the 9:30PM-ish MSP-SFO flight that had been in the legacy NW schedule for the last 9 years I had been traveling that route. That meant that 3PM was the latest I could leave FAR and get back to SFO...too early. The solution for me: United through DEN. Even if I try to be a Delta patron, they effectively send me to their competitor. What was the benefit of this unsurpassed network again?

Isn't it always a CRJ-200? So no upgrades, just a beverage service. I flew it in November when it started and there were only about 20 people on the 50 seater. Not sure if this is the norm or not. The TOL-DTW flights were awesome, 12-15 mins takeoff to touchdown. Always a fun flight but don't know how it survives since one can drive DTW-TOL in about 40-50 mins and the airport is like 15-20 mins from Toledo. So with any layover you actually lose quite a bit of time (and options) by flying to TOL

Doesn't DL have a 5:30pm FAR-SLC and an 8pm SLC-SFO flight???? Why wouldn't you fly that way? It is a CRJ-700 from FAR-SLC with 9 F seats. Kind of confused because you have a number of options from FAR on DL. I'm pretty sure that they also still have a 9:30pm flight operating MSP-SFO too (unless you travel on Saturday, Mon, or Tues). So a normal business traveler going to FAR would have the late flight options for Wed, Thurs, or Fri departures back west.

It's possible that FAR-SLC was sold out when I bought the ticket. But I still would have chosen UA in this case because 5:30 is too early for what I needed. I didn't check to see if the 9:30 flight from MSP-SFO operates only on certain days. before I posted this I asked DL agents when I was checking in at FAR, and they said that DL got rid of that flight after the summer. I didn't look to see if that was correct. Thanks for the information though.

I think most days Fargo still has the 5:30pm to SLC and they 6:55pm to MSP which connect to that 9pm block to the west coast. Just depends on the day I guess. Typically they fly those flights like Mon, Wed, Th, Fr, Sun. So it is possible you were flying a Tuesday or Saturday and that would be a good reason why you couldn't find the flight you wanted.

My house is only about 15 minutes from TOL and I wish I could use them more but it just isn't feasable anymore. Most times when I fly out I leave from the office which is only about 15 minutes further to DTW than TOL. WHen you factor in things like waiting on the connection, having to walk from concourse C to Concourse A and having to leave your destination city on an earlier flight due to having to make the TOL connection, it was a lot easier to drive.

I haven't flown out of Toledo since Delta eliminated the TOL/ATL route, but back then they only had one security line and they didn't give elites priority access (the line always moved fast though and many times there was no line) and the security staff was great, the one security agent always remembered me and was very nice.

In the premerger days when Delta (ASA/Comair) had routes to ATL and CVG I would use the service a lot. I used to go to ATL a lot anyway and I used to be able to grab the 6 something PM comair flight and make connections in CVG to cities I wanted to go to on weekend trips.

I have looked at using TOL again for trips to LAX and LAS and going the times are good but returning I would have to leave LAS or LAX a lot earlier than flying to DTW just due to having to make a connection in MSP.

It DIDN'T survive. They eliminated that route and now do TOL/MSP instead. I am surprised it lasted so many years, but NW had competition a while back, they had Delta going to CVG and ATL, American to Chicago and CO to CLE and USAIR going to PITT and airtran going to ATL.

Right now one DL gate in the C concourse of DTW probably does more flights by 9 a.m. than what TOL does ALL day. Delta has two flights a day with MSP service and American has three a day for ORD service and alligent and one other airline have a few flights a week to florida and they may still do vegas as well.

Personally I think the port authority here should just eliminate the passenger service at TOL and use it for cargo/freight only (airport seems to do great as a cargo airport) and provide hourly bus service to DTW.

Or -- high speed rail! Or some sort of rail.

I'm very well aware that the DTW-TOL flight is gone. That is why I got to fly MSP-TOL at the beginning of November when they switched the service over from DTW to MSP and Saabs to CRJs. I meant that I could not believe that the flight from DTW-TOL survived so long when it was so short and actually you lost time by taking it. It was much like the MSP-STC flights that got slashed. The only time STC made sense in my opinion was when the flight was operated MSP-STC-GPZ-STC-MSP. I remember flying from GPZ back in 2003 (I think) and the flight would stop in STC. Everytime I was on the flight there would be like 15-20 people originating in GPZ and then we would pick up like 10 people in STC. Definitely miss the service since the past few years I had to fly to HIB, DLH or BJI to see my folks. Fortunately now I am back in MN and can drive. I will miss the Saabs though once they phase them completely out. They are newer aircraft too and essential for the smaller communities in the Midwest but obviously they must not be making money for DL. I'm just curious to see what happens the next 3 years to air service in TVF, BJI, BRD, HIB, INL, JMS, DVL, ABR, PIR and ATY. Since there will be no more turboprops I assume TVF, ATY, DVL and JMS will lose service. BJI, BRD, HIB, INL, ABR and maybe PIR could all see 1-2 daily CRJ and in peak seasons 2-3 daily CRJ. I'm just curious if they will fly the CRJs non-stop to these cities or have them do what the turboprops did and fly routes like INL-HIB-MSP or DVL-BRD-MSP, etc.

??? My family lives in Toledo. I live in San Jose.

James, you are right on target. I've often thought the same thing....close it, and use the $$$ to get people to DTW. There used to be shuttles from various points in Toledo (like the Sheraton on Secor Road, and downtown).

After all, DTW is a vastly superior airport in every way. However, I'd like to see rail service, but bus prob. makes more immediate sense. I know there's Amtrak from Toledo to Detroit so the rails probably exist....

It seems like the small airports would have to be hurting. As a passenger I am at a huge advantage being so close to DTW but the closness to DTW is a huge disadvantage for TOL airport.

I am really surprised that DAY has as many flights as they do. Dayton isn't the much further from CVG or CMH than Toledo is from DTW.

So back to my original question: How is the route doing for Delta?

Do they have a time committment? Subsidy from TOL?

Living out west makes MSP- TOL a great option b/c I connect in MSP for DTW service often (SJC doesn't have nonstops to DTW, unfortunately).

I also bemoan the loss of DTW - TOL just because of the novelty of the flight. The connection (often 4+ hours!) however was a dealbreaker.

I looked into adding TOL/FNT to my MR's, and the 500 miles would have been nice, yet the extra segment added (sometimes) almost 4 hours. Not like you're off, on, and off again. And after a TATL flight, sometimes you just want to get back home.

And toss in MQMs on the bus route, dropping off pax at the terminal parking lot. That would be funny!

This is Detroit we're talking about... :)