Delta Air Lines Profile

The new cities are Hartford, Conn; Columbus, Ohio; Orlando, Fla.; St. Louis, Mo. and Tampa, Fla. The airline also will also launch additional service to Boston, New York-JFK and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

“Raleigh-Durham is an important market for Delta, and we continue to focus on connecting the city to more destinations to meet customer demand for service,” said Jeff Robertson, Delta's vice president – SkyMiles. “Today’s announcement builds on a strong history between Delta and the Raleigh-Durham community that spans forty years.”

“These additions are a significant investment by Delta in our airport and in our community,” said Teresa Damiano, Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority's director of marketing. “All of these markets are important to our region for business and leisure travel. We appreciate Delta's recognition of the economic strength of the Raleigh-Durham region.”

The expanded schedule brings Delta's total daily service at RDU to 54 peak-day flights to 15 non-stop domestic destinations including: Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Hartford, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, St. Louis and Tampa.

Following are details on the cities and service announced today:

• New service to Hartford (BDL) with two flights per day with an Embraer 175 and CRJ-100 aircraft.
• New service to Columbus (CMH) once a day served by a CRJ-100 aircraft.
• New service to Orlando (MCO) three times a day using a CRJ-100 aircraft.
• New service to St. Louis (STL) on a CRJ-100 aircraft twice daily.
• New service to Tampa (TPA) two times per day served by a CRJ-100 aircraft.
• Increased service to Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) from four to five flights daily.
• Increased service to Boston (BOS) from three to five flights daily.
• Increased service to New York-JFK from one to two flights daily.

The news follows months of high passenger demand at RDU. During the last six months, airlines serving RDU have reported that more than 80 percent of the seats on their flights have been full. Load factors, as they are referred to, are an indication of demand for air service.

During the past two years, airlines have reduced capacity at airports across the country in response to high fuel costs and the economic downturn. The result was high demand but fewer seats.

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• Delta expanding international reach from Minneapolis-St. Paul
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