DOn't Call me Crazy are they closing MSP?
Sep 12, 2009, 8:32 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Birmingham, MI
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 39
DOn't Call me Crazy are they closing MSP?
I am a GE with 70000 EQMS this year with current schedule could be close to Diamond Delta.
Everytime I try to book flights to the west from DTW I am NOT getting any connections to MSP. ( Try it yourself DTW to LAS or LAX or PDX or SEA. Before I would have the option of a Non Stop or routed through MSP. Now there may still be the Non Stop but almost ALL of the routings is through ATL or SLC or CVG. The option of MSP rarely comes up. Just checked DTW to ABQ for Xmas half were were MSP the rest good ole ATL That would indicate to me they are going to make MSP a MUCH smaller hub if at all. I am not saying trasnfering through MSP is a blessing but it is more convient that DTW-ATL-XXX. The only advantage of going to DTW-ATL XXX is more EQM.s-MQM's. It works out to 600+ each time I will fly through ATL. Has anybody else seen this pattern..
Do I really care. I guess the greed factor and business convienence factor comes into play. I am only the customer paying the bills.
Everytime I try to book flights to the west from DTW I am NOT getting any connections to MSP. ( Try it yourself DTW to LAS or LAX or PDX or SEA. Before I would have the option of a Non Stop or routed through MSP. Now there may still be the Non Stop but almost ALL of the routings is through ATL or SLC or CVG. The option of MSP rarely comes up. Just checked DTW to ABQ for Xmas half were were MSP the rest good ole ATL That would indicate to me they are going to make MSP a MUCH smaller hub if at all. I am not saying trasnfering through MSP is a blessing but it is more convient that DTW-ATL-XXX. The only advantage of going to DTW-ATL XXX is more EQM.s-MQM's. It works out to 600+ each time I will fly through ATL. Has anybody else seen this pattern..
Do I really care. I guess the greed factor and business convienence factor comes into play. I am only the customer paying the bills.
Sep 12, 2009, 8:58 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: PE on UA, PM on DL, Plat on AA
Posts: 27
Ditto
I too have seen a drop in choosing MSP options. I fly east from PDX and almost always was routed through MSP. Now it's tough to get that connection.
Sep 12, 2009, 9:17 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,679
They can't dehub MSP until they pay off the bond that the Metropolitan Council Currently provides a type of guarantee for. Under that contract NW/DL is required to maintain 400 flight a day out of MSP. It doesn't say where the flights go to. If NW/DL defaults the airport can force NW/DL to repay a $200+M bond. While they have the money, I doubt they really want to spend it, and that outweighs any advantage they may think there is with removing routes.
Be that as it may, I expect more RJs and less mainline out of MSP. It could loose an international route.
Be that as it may, I expect more RJs and less mainline out of MSP. It could loose an international route.
Sep 12, 2009, 11:37 am
#4
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Birmingham, MI
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Posts: 39
What you say sounds very reasonable. At the height of NWA activiry in MSP do you koow the # of flights they had?
Sep 12, 2009, 11:51 am
#5
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Join Date: Dec 2004
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It appears that DL might be doing its best to reduce flight activity by Northwest. Overall traffic was reduced almost 3X as much at NW as at DL:
Another tidbit that's come to light is that employment at NW has been reduced at 4X the rate as employment at DL:
This should come as no surprise given that the Earth's axis runs through Atlanta.
Another tidbit that's come to light is that employment at NW has been reduced at 4X the rate as employment at DL:
This should come as no surprise given that the Earth's axis runs through Atlanta.
Sep 12, 2009, 1:29 pm
#6
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I haven't seen a full analysis of all the flights dropped / added this year but I can say from my experience I am seeing the same thing; it is more difficult to find connections through MSP and in particular flights from MSP to inland NW cities are being dropped. It means more miles but that's not always what I want and it definitely means more regional jet flights. The trend is decidedly not our friend.
Sep 12, 2009, 2:57 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: MKE
Programs: DL Diamond, 2 MM
Posts: 1,009
I am wondering if DL won't eventually drop or severely limit MSP flights because of the brutal winter weather. Sure, MSP has great snow removal equipment but a blizzard is a blizzard. And MSP always has a high amount of snowstorms. I know ATL has its share of ice storms but I think DL will loose a lot having to provide meal and hotel vouchers to stranded travelers, not to mention horrendous flight delays due to inclement weather.
Sep 12, 2009, 3:50 pm
#8
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When I looked to book ORD-PHX back in July I was offered and took a MSP connection. I haven't checked since then though.
Sep 12, 2009, 4:02 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: MCI
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Posts: 215
I haven't noticed reduced connection options via MSP vs. ATL as much as vast fare differences (e.g., $800 more to do MCI-MSP-JFK vs. MCI-ATL-JFK when I can't make the one daily non-stop MCI-JFK flight).
Sep 12, 2009, 4:08 pm
#10
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 2,428
I am located just south of Green Bay, my "home" is Arizona. My daughter is getting married this weekend and I had been watching for fares for my family out of Tucson. There appeared to be less going thru MSP as well. I dont care to fly thru Chicago, if I can help it. I hope this does not continue- would stink to have to fly east to fly west!
Sep 12, 2009, 4:17 pm
#11
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I am wondering if DL won't eventually drop or severely limit MSP flights because of the brutal winter weather. Sure, MSP has great snow removal equipment but a blizzard is a blizzard. And MSP always has a high amount of snowstorms. I know ATL has its share of ice storms but I think DL will loose a lot having to provide meal and hotel vouchers to stranded travelers, not to mention horrendous flight delays due to inclement weather.
Sep 12, 2009, 4:31 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: CLT
Programs: AA EP, AA AC
Posts: 4,268
I've had more weather-related delays hit me at ATL than at MSP. Also, MSP seems to get by better than DTW when both MSP and DTW have the same kind of weather issues. ATL has major delays even when area weather isn't an issue and it's even worse at ATL when weather of whatever sort is an issue.
Slightly O/T GU, you have some private e-mail to check!
Safe Travels.
Sep 12, 2009, 4:42 pm
#13
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The OP didn't mention whether he was searching by schedule or by price. Perhaps it just means that ATL-xxx has a lot of low-fare availability; it certainly has more frequencies than DTW to most large west coast destinations.
Sep 12, 2009, 4:42 pm
#14
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Sep 12, 2009, 5:09 pm
#15
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