Delta Air Lines is growing to 29 destinations out of Austin. Delta currently flies to 25 destinations from Austin. Along with their regional partners, they operate 22% of flights and offer 19% of seats out of the airport.
They’re number two behind Southwest, which offers 39% of flights and 41% of seats. The two carriers are duking it out to be anchor tenant for the new airport lease and use agreement as a new concourse gets built. Delta says they see themselves growing to Southwest’s current size in Austin, and naming 150 flights as a target, along with upgauging to larger aircraft.
But Southwest isn’t sitting still. They think they could grow by 50%, according to CEO Bob Jordan, “from 130 to well over 200 [flights a day and] make Austin the largest airport and largest service we have in the whole state of Texas.”
This isn’t actually going to happen, at least not right away. Each airline is jockeying for as many ‘preferential use gates’ at the airport as possible. Then they’ll schedule the minimum number of flights to keep all of their gates. Their overall gate usage will go down.
In other words, the goal is to grab as much real estate as possible as use each piece as little as possible while blocking competition. These agreements are negotiated locally. For instance, New Orleans has required as few as 2 flights a day for an airline to lock up a gate, while Cleveland has required just 3 flights a day out of a gate (8 is reasonable full use, while airlines do push 10 flights a day from a gate when they need to).
The land rush going on right now has to do with:
- The airport’s new 10-year lease and use agreement being negotiated
- Which funds and launches a new midfield concourse, whose final number of gates hasn’t been announced yet.
Delta and Southwest have been jockeying to become anchor tenants. And there’s plenty of additional lounge space coming online.
Here’s what Delta is telling employees – they get 15 preferred use gates (not actually ‘exclusive use’ as shared by an employee below, which is a term of art). They’ll stay on the current concourse with American (and British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa et al) while Southwest and United move to the new concourse.
Delta held a town hall in Austin where they shared plans with employees.
- Along with growth they’re selling connections through Austin. For other airlines like United and American, with nearby connecting hubs at Dallas and Houston, that’s not really a positive thing. It would just mean pulling traffic at lower yields from existing flights (and reducing the connections those passengers support). But for Delta this is a positive since they don’t have nearby hubs, and may mean picking up passengers whose business they wouldn’t otherwise see.
Regarding a transfer station, we have grown 800% in the last four months. This summer we became a true transfer station. On a slow day we have 400 passengers with bags going from one flight to another. We are the largest station in the Central Region. With rough weather, crew, and maintenance our first flight performance was challenged.
- They’re adding 120 – 125 staff, growing by 50%, and have increased manager presence (will also add a dedicated Sky Club manager). By 2031 they would 10x current staff size to 2700 – 2800 with “HR, Delta IT and an Employee center” plus eventually a cargo facility.
- The flight attendant base in Austin opens October 1 (125 – 150 cabin cew) and a pilot base may be in the cards, targeting a late October announcement.
- They’ve investing in infrastructure, “Baggage Claim 2 is almost complete and Claim 3 will be the overflow for Delta Air Lines. There will be a RFID on Claim 2 and Claim 3. This will be installed this week. We are trying to secure a dedicated training room but are still in negotiations.” I haven’t paid attention to shifts at baggage claim – claim 3 has been used exclusively by American Airlines.
- “The current terminal will be Concourse A which will connect to the new terminal Concourse B by underground tunnel. Concourse A – Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and International Airlines Concourse B – Southwest Airlines and United Airlines American Airlines will have 9 gates. Delta Airlines will have 15 exclusive gates with the ability to use common use gates.”
Delta would get gates 7 – 22.
- Delta plans to “occupy the vacated Admiral Club space which is currently 5500 square feet. There will be an expansion of that area to 10200 square foot to create a temporary Sky Club and Flight Attendant lounge. This should be sometime in 2026.”
It seems unlikely to be in 2026 because the new Admirals Club needs to be completed first in the West Gate Expansion area, and then work would need to be done on this space. And given the timing discussed, they wouldn’t be moving in to the United Club space next door, so they’d be pushing out at the back of the club into vacated office space that was once the plan for American’s expansion.
- “The plan for a future permanent Sky Club will be in the area where check point 1 is currently located. This area will be torn down and a brand new 35,000 square feet will be built. It will be just on the concourse level, and if possible, have jet accessible gates. This Sky Club is projected to be open in 2031 or 2032. Delta is hoping to keep the existing Sky Club, perhaps converting it to a D1 lounge.”
- Delta will sponsor Austin FC football. Part of the airline’s playbook for becoming dominant in a market is local sponsorships. That frames them as the hometown airline, which they’ve done successfully in New York.
We hope to see some marketing and events to be hosted at the airport and at the Q2 Center. There are some opportunities to volunteer at the Food Bank and at Habitat for Humanity. The dates and times have been emailed.
As for lounges, the plan at the airport may look something like this:
- The ‘West Gate Expansion’ will feature a new American Airlines Admirals Club along with the addition of three gates that will offset the three gates being lost for a new tunnel to the additional concourse.
- 20,000 sqaure foot ‘West Infill’ has been talked about as a credit card issuer lounge (Amex/Chase/Capital One). Chase has already been in the airport, with the old Terrace (outdoor deck) that’s been returned to common use, potentially giving them an edge.
- The 30,000 square foot ‘Tunnel Interface’ space with outdoor deck. This is being talked about here as the new Delta Sky Club. There have been design discussions about jetbridge boarding from inside the lounge.
- 28,000 square foot ‘Concourse B Airline/Common Use’ lounge. If United moves to the new concourse then this presumably becomes the new United Club.
Delta has talked about keeping the current Sky Club, and it’s indicated here that it could ultimately be a Delta One business class lounge. However the report is that they’re also talking about taking the current American Admiral’s Club space on a temporary basis once American vacates that. (Previous discussion had United taking over the American space adjacent to their own lounge until they build out a new lounge.)
The airport’s new lease and use agreement hasn’t been finalized yet. On August 28, 2025, the Austin City Council authorized the negotiation and execution of the agreement, expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter. That’ll confirm which airlines are going where as the airport expands.
So while much of this has been previously reported (by me), it remains notional, as aviation watchdog JonNYC confirms:
in terms of what's reported there, I'd say things are tracking that way but I would read most of that as "DL would like to see X happen" if everything goes according to the vision for AUS" Some of the reporting might be a little over their skis on some parts, I'd say.
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) September 9, 2025
Southwest Airlines is bigger today than Delta by a significant margin. But Southwest, with its fleet limited to 737s, isn’t able to operate long haul or even Hawaii from Austin.
Delta has joint venture partnerships with Aeromexico and Air France KLM. Today KLM only operates to Amsterdam 3 days a week. There’s been a good bit of speculation about a second Europe flight, and eventually Austin’s first Asia flight from Delta JV partner Korean Air.
Southwest will have a hard time competing with those, along with the 30,000 square foot club lounge Delta plans to build in Austin – complete with boarding directly from the lounge if possible.
What’s outlined here is a plan to dominate Austin. They’ve already become the largest legacy airline, overtaking United and American, and want to grow beyond Southwest too. It would give them a real presence in the Sun Belt, undercutting American’s strategy. And it would give them a hub in Texas like the other large network carriers.
The risk, of course, is that while Austin has grown significantly and continues to grow, that the growth doesn’t support the level of flying that Delta has planned, especially if Southwest grows aggressively as well. They’re positioned to lose money for some time, as they did in establishing a hub in Seattle. So we should be in for the long haul.
Headline should be DL adds another money losing hub to go with LAX/SEA/BOS and now AUS. . .only ATL/ MSP /DTW make significant money and JFK (expensive to operate) and SLC (AUS of the NW) make money but not a lot. DL failed at DFW and just trying to get a foothold in TX. . .well they will have it but it will impact their bottom line and not in a good way.
and yet DL generates the most revenue of any airline in the world and highest profits of any US airline.
If DL can manage to launch its 3rd hub in 10 years and still do all of that, then its competitors are clearly doing it all wrong.
DL execs would not be releasing these details, let alone hiring people if they weren’t pretty sure that at least major parts of this plan aren’t moving forward.
WN simply has yet to turn around its overall finances; fighting for AUS has to take a back seat to much larger existing hubs like DEN
Woop woop! Tim! It’s happening! Delta’s newest hub is Austin! Keep climbing! 100 more years!
Not quite a hub but seemingly like BOS at bit more than a focus city. Maybe DL can get a really good deal from AA on the 1980s style furniture now in the AUS Admirals Club.
Gary, it looks like you were flying a wrong airline for quite some time.
@ Tim — and yet DL flies around trash can 763s older than you…give it a rest, dude.
Delta surrendered its DFW hub in the mid 90’s so going back, albeit a different airport is not surprising.
As far as hogging gates, the term for preferential gates should be short, like every 30 days. Airlines shouldn’t be scared of remote stands
Sad day for Austin as folks will be ripped off left and right
Extortion Airlines and their sky pesos program
@Gene — I highly doubt Tim’s still in his 20s; technically, Delta’s oldest aircraft is a 757-200, N649DL, delivered 1989. Ironically, American has the least oldest fleet among the ‘big three’ with an average age of 14 years (DL 15.2, UA 15.8). Uh oh, United may have the oldest fleet overall…
DL realized that being a distant #2 to AA at DFW didn’t work; they now carry only a few percentage points less in local traffic and even greater percentage of local revenue but w/o hundreds of planes that were dedicated to connections.
DL used its DFW hub resources to build its presence in NYC and ATL; in NYC, it handedly overtook AA and B6 at JFK – both were larger than DL on 9/11. DL grew ATL so that WN, successor to FL who was successor to Eastern, has been reduced to a pretty small player.
Texas is a huge market and geographically well-suited for southern US flow traffic. DL’s AUS flights are predominantly local which means they have enormous ability to start flowing connections over AUS by retiming flights and adding necessary spokes, including the dozens of cities in TX and surrounding states that DL doesn’t compete well in w/o a south central US hub.
The 767-300ER won’t be flown to AUS. But for those that want to continue to argue about it, DL’s 763s compete with UA’s 757s and domestic 777s from NYC and from ATL which DL dominates so it can do whatever it wants – just as AA does from DFW etc.
DL manages to make the most money of all US airlines so the 767s are clearly no more of a ball and chain than DL’s supposedly money-losing hubs in NYC, BOS, LAX and SEA -and now AUS
Delta hasn’t figured out how to claw back Cars and Stays AMEX credit yet…I doubt they can figure out Texas. That’s right, just book a Cars and Stays and cancel after you get your credit.
I recently flew the much maligned (by Tim Dunn) UA 777 EWR-LAX and it was just fine, could not find fault with the plane or the service.
Everyone seemed to have a whole row to themselves.
@ Tim — Soon enough, DL will realize they are a distant #2 to United.
I have flown the DL 767-3 several times this year. I found them clean a nd efficient. Wonderful crews and good food. Also on time or early
Delta will dominate business travel out of AUS taking significant market share from AA, UA & SW! They are the superior US airline and it’s not even close.
Delta would be better off doing all of this at HOU and going after Southwest while they are on their heels. Houston will always be the MUCH bigger market. Hobby is ripe for growth and it is far more convenient airport for the Houston area since the LUV of Southwest is fading fast with bag fees and their limited offerings.
ATX is a small market, and the airport is horrible for connecting. Security is hell too.
@Joe D – Austin is only terrible for security now with construction taking out a checkpoint, and it’s construction that’ll be done before Delta sees this kind of expansion. The airport really is not horrible for connecting, and remember there’s also taxiway work being done as part of the project. Much better for connecting than most of Delta’s hubs tbh.
I’m just excited for Gary to start flying Delta more often and get the random hot takes of failed customer experience via more touch points on Delta. I’ve certainly had them (and good times on Delta too to be clear but my god their ancient “refurbished” A320s are falling apart. I’ve never seen anything else like it).
Careful what you wish for, Timmy. Your commenting journey defending Delta is about to go into hyperdrive as you experience what it’s like for a popular aviation website owner to frequently “experience” your favorite airline. As far as I’m aware, no other major website author lives in a Delta focus city or “hub” (or in Matt’s case, chooses Delta in LA). I believe both Ben and Gary frequent AA the most often of the US3 (certainly Ben).
Good luck 😉
@Tim Dunn you keep lamenting about how profitable DL is yet you keep omitting the fact that is all because of their AMEX deal. DL loses money on its core operation.
And to be clear, No. I don’t consider TPG “authors” in the same league since they sold out years ago.
I’m not sure how 120 flight a hub makes.
AUS does not become a logical connecting point with so few flights. Feels like DL is spreading itself thin with so many hub-lettes. AUS, LAX, SEA and BOS make lovely regional connecting points, but the value in hubs like ATL, CLT, DFW and ORD is that you can get anywhere from anywhere at least a few times a day.
As a knowledgeable traveler who spends a lot, why would I fly though AUS where such limited connectivity means if I have a problem I’m screwed?
Parker
first,
if DL is saying 150 flights, they need more than 15 gates. They can’t run 10 flights/day out of a gate esp. in a hub operation; they probably will be using some of the remote gates at least on an overflow basis.
Second, DL operates from 2-4 flights/day in many markets even from RDU but the number of flights/day is not really the issue; the issue is how reliable they operate so you don’t get stuck in the first place. DL has run one of the best operations among US airlines for years.
third, as to your comment about DL not making money just on flying, neither does AA or UA or WN. In fact, no US airlines make money just on flying. The difference between the big 4 and AS and the rest of the industry is that the big 5 have enough ancillary revenues to cover their airline operational losses while B6 and the ULCCs do not.
Let’s chalk this whole “DL doesn’t make money on air transportation” as a loser argument from loser UA fankids that can’t admit that DL has perfected the art of diversified revenue while UA has not; UA flies 10% more ASMs than DL but doesn’t even make 2% more passenger revenue and they ALSO lose money on just flying passengers.
Max,
If I were to guess – and I would bet I am right – Gary’s #1 route is AUS to DCA which only WN flies because it is a DCA perimeter exception flight. DL won’t operate that route for a while, if ever. (at least until they buy WN as 1990 believes will happen)
@Tim Dunn – pardon me, I didn’t 150 flights is the threshold for a hub.
You are sorely mistaken if you think offering infrequent flights is going to create a desirable hub. Case in point:
Flew PIT-DTW-FLL on Sunday. PIT-DTW leg delayed due to mechanical issues and re-crewing on a morning flight. Missed connection in DFTW by TWO MINUTES since DL had no interest in holding the plane (which was already delayed) even though they were already on the ground in DTW and those amazing Porsches were no where to be found. Had to sit in DTW for six hours to wait for the next flight to FLL.
So, no more flight through DTW for me if I’m going to get stuck there for hours on end. And, no this was not a one-off. DL has left me high and dry several times this summer so you’ll excuse me when I dismiss your gaslighting about how amazing DL’s performance is.
I would love to see AUS grow into a proper hub, but I don’t see that happening and since most businesses require an economy of scale to be profitable (and 150 flights is not an economy of scale), I would need to see the numbers before I’ll take your word for it.
So many bickering fan boys from every airline on here, geez. But I think Texas makes perfect sense for Delta. It’s been a hole in their network, they’ve known it and are rectifying it.
And in Deltas defense- if there is one thing that Delta does better than just about any airline on Earth, it’s playing the long game. American still isn’t recovering from what Delta got from their predecessor US Airways in New York. Delta went from mid level in LAX to the biggest. Not by a wide margin, but still the biggest. Took the top spot in JFK, blown up in Boston. All profitably? Perhaps not yet, but they are throwing their weight around.
And their financials look pretty dang good for an airline with so many new, growing hubs! They run their business right, pick up planes at great costs, and deliver solid service and timely operations.
So say what you will, but they are growing all over the country, in the biggest markets on both coasts. Will every one work out? No one can say, but Delta’s track record is solid. And underestimating them would be foolhardy.
@Tim Dunn — Whether it’s a Northwest-style merger or a Pan Am-style acquisition of assets, I still think it’s a possibility, and maybe even Elliott’s exit strategy for SWA. If DL plays it right, could be huge for them. Not great for competition… *sigh*
@MaxPower — Well said about TPG selling out; those shills couldn’t handle comments… and their ‘valuations’ are often laughable (‘this card’s SUB is worth $10,000+ according to us…’)
@Norita — Are you referring to United’s 2-4-2 reverse-facing lie-flat on their 772 high-density domestic configuration? If so, you’d not be saying ‘nice’ things; perhaps, you got an upgraded Polaris 1-2-1, and just didn’t realize what some of us were actually disappointed about.
@TWAviator — I’m surprised you didn’t pitch us on turning STL into a major hub… you know, since your moniker invokes the airline which spent its final days retreating to there. I suppose SWA has the most going on in St. Louis these days. (As far as a hub-and-spoke, at least Missouri is centrally located for flights within the Lower 48. Otherwise, not much going on there.)
This whole “US made the biggest mistake ever selling LGA slots” is so ridiculous (off topic but it keeps getting mentioned as some obvious aviation mistake).
US was acting in the interest of US at the time and they made a true and immediately profitable hub at DCA from the slot swap. Delta didn’t announce NYC profitability until years after the LGA after the slot swap yet US has and now AA has had an enormously profitable DCA hub for years. Is Delta relevant in DCA? No. They fly to hubs and maybe 2-3 non-hubs. AA is. Is AA relevant in NYC? Yes. but not to the extent of Delta or UA’s relevance but you can still fly just about any relevant within-perimeter city on AA from LGA. You certainly can’t do that on Delta at DCA.
@MaxPower — But, but… Delta has that DCA-LAX flight on the 75S with lie-flat, 2-2 config… oh lala…
@1990
I remember when TPG still allowed comments. They got laughed at and ridiculed so much for some of their ridiculous reviews that they were clearly paid to write by the airline
Parker
with all due respect, what happened to you at DTW could and DOES happen on other airlines at every other hub.
DL’s operation at DTW is still one of the most on-time operations in the US. That is a fact. Does it happen that you are the exception on some day? Yes. Which is why I hate reading about people’s anecdotes in an industry that serves a billion passengers per day in the US. Statistics are simply much more aligned w/ reality.
and just because another flight MIGHT be an hour from when you need it, it doesn’t mean you will get on it; flights are full – airlines have to keep it that way.
TW Aviator is spot on. DL thinks decades into the future and has succeeded beyond imagination in building hubs esp. in competitive markets. and let’s not forget that, even though LAX is not a new hub, DL is out in front in 2nd largest airport alongside NYC. Tell me when last in the industry a US airline was the largest in both the #1 and #2 largest market in the US.
1990,
this is the year that WN has to prove if they can turn things around. For all of the capacity that DL AND THEN UA (in order) is adding in the domestic marketplace, there is still an enormous amount of pressure on the weaker players of the industry.
DL and WN’s route maps actually compliment each other quite well. I suspect that DL’s strategy is to get enough of a head start in building AUS that people – whether it is Elliott or not – will tap WN execs on the shoulder and tell them to focus their attention elsewhere. BNA is right in DL’s ATL backyard but DL has been very docile in not challenging WN’s growth there while playing hardball in ATL – which DL has now converted to the most dominant US carrier hub.
Max,
of course the DCA-LGA slot deal was US doing what US needed to do. But, not only did the deal value LGA slots less than DCA slots but DL bet and won on the notion that US would merge w/ AA – they were only two legacies left – and AA/US would end up having to get rid of all of the merged carriers DCA slots from the slot deal as a result.
THAT is why the DL-US slot deal stands out as being such an incredibly smart move on DL’s part while US was taken to the cleaner. And it took 2 years to negotiate and get approved.
and DL is still the 2nd largest slot-holder at DCA so it gave up nothing in relative position there while really breaking out from the crowd in NYC, a far larger market. DL put lots of pieces together from DFW and DCA to make NYC win and they now have 33% more flights than UA; even w/ a chunk of those perimeter restricted at LGA, DL handedly does lead the domestic market in NYC It is DL’s dominance of the NYC based financial sector corporate contracts that are behind DL’s system revenue premiums.
Tim
US was losing money at LGA. Delta lost money at LGA for years post slot swap. Frankly, we don’t really know if they’re making money today. To my knowledge, Delta has not confirmed NYC profitability post covid. (but I could be wrong on that, just don’t recall it) But I will say Delta slot-squatting on LGA-ORH/ALB isn’t really screaming “We’re crazy profitable here at LGA”.
You and your “Delta flies 1/3 more flights than UA in NYC” nonsense. Yes, Delta flies a TON more regionals. United flies more widebodies than Delta in NYC, far more narrow bodies in NYC than Delta but you are correct. Delta has more slots than they know what to do with in NYC and uses a LOT of regionals at LGA and JFK to make up for their inability to compete with United’s gauge at EWR. get some new talking points. The flight differential between the two is ENTIRELY due to Delta’s regional reliance in NYC. Your constant talking points about Delta in NYC are just ignorant. Delta ONLY has more flights in NYC vs UA because of their regionals, not because they want to have more Flights. There’s no doubt Delta would prefer the CASM and RASM of a mainline aircraft in NYC but they can’t fill the planes like UA can in their single hub across the river.
US/AA has been profitable at DCA since day 1 of the slot swap at one of the most important airports in the nation. Quit while you’re ahead. I’m thrilled you keep a copy of the slot swap agreement on your wall (per you), but your history is clumsy and misguided to meet your usual Delta narrative.
And no. Delta and US were not strategically betting on the future of American airlines lol. Delta had unprofitable DCA slots and wanted to grow in NYC. US had unprofitable LGA slots and wanted to consolidate at DCA. It was a win-win for both parties, but profitably so for US then AA and certainly profitable for Delta from a credit card perspective.
The DOJ forced US/AA to divest at LGA at merger post slot swap. Weird since they were already smaller than Delta but that’s history now… This notion in your brain that somehow the US/AA merger would’ve magically made unprofitable US LGA slots profitable…? Perhaps with AA’s JFK portfolio but that JFK portfolio had fallen on hard times years before, adding more unprofitable LGA slots to it likely wasn’t going to change that much especially with the US leadership team that came in unable to manage competitive markets.
You need new talking points. You’re making stuff up to glorify Delta — no surprise by the way.
Max,
your revisionist history is laughable.
DL simply outfoxed US in the slot deal; it’s just that simple. LGA is simply a much more valuable market than DCA and DL is still the 2nd largest slot holder at DCA. AA/US was the only possible remaining legacy combination; there is no way that US could not have negotiated the slot deal w/o knowing that.
Airlines don’t reveal their profitability by hub but it DL has got to be quite profitable in NYC; and the number of slots at LGA has allowed DL to be the largest DOMESTIC airline from NYC, something UA cannot do as long as it focuses so much on international. JFK does have a domestic market but AA hardly plays in it while B6 hardly plays in the LGA market.
you can pretend the slot deal wasn’t a big reason DL grew to the size it is in NYC but reality proves it not only was DL’s watershed moment but also cut AA/US out of NYC for ever. And UA’s overscheduling of EWR including for the planned runway rebuild this spring cut EWR capacity even more and handed DL an even larger share of the NYC market. The fact that Kirby was key to both US when the slot deal was announced and at UA when the EWR capacity cuts were put in place by the FAA is not a coincidence.
and, specific to AUS, it wasn’t that long ago that DL was smaller than UA at AUS but DL has now passed AA and UA; UA is the smallest of the 3 big Texas players behind AA and WN.
DL has managed to overtake UA in both NYC and LAX. DL has a pretty strong track record of taking out competitors and they aren’t the least bit hindered even by UA who they clearly can outstrategize.
DL didn’t grow from #6 in the industry 50 years ago to #1 in the world in revenue by not taking on some pretty well-established carriers and winning.
You do love to put your words in others’ mouths then claim they’re idiotic for saying them. It’s your calling card…
Of course the slot swap was a big reason Delta grew in NYC… lol. Are you an idiot? Of course it was a reason they grew. the Slot swap was growth for US in DCA and DL in LGA.
“but also cut AA/US out of NYC for ever. ” You should probably let AA know that they don’t have a hub at LGA and JFK, their SEC filings are, apparently, lying to the SEC.
“Airlines don’t reveal their profitability by hub but it DL has got to be quite profitable in NYC;”
As you well know, Delta does reveal profitability by hub. They scream it from the rooftops about their four core hubs in their investor decks. They don’t say the same about their “coastal hubs”. They call them engines of growth. As I’ve said many times. You really should try reading Delta investor decks. You’d learn a lot about your beloved airline.
But you know that and are just putting words in my mouth that I didn’t say to claim a modicum of credibility by arguing against I never said. lol
Enjoy your day.
“outfoxed…”? 🙂 US, now AA, has a true hub, the majority of slots, and a relatively dominant position at one of the two most slot restricted positions in the US, DCA.
Delta has a plurality of slots at LGA, not a majority. AA does claim profitability at DCA. I haven’t seen Delta say that about LGA post covid. It’s notable how you didn’t reply to that 😉
“and, specific to AUS, it wasn’t that long ago that DL was smaller than UA at AUS but DL has now passed AA and UA; UA is the smallest of the 3 big Texas players behind AA and WN.”
Yep. And Delta is in a huge lead for last place in Texas of the Big 4. Find some new talking points.
Your entire life is made up of dogmatic factless statements wasting your day that are your personal opinions. Get a new life.
Max,
you fail to realize (or acknowledge) that AA/US ended up divesting almost the identical number of DCA slots that they gained from DL as part of the slot swap; the number of slots was also about the same size as AA had at DCA pre-merger but it is patently false to say that AA/US gained as a result of the slot swap. THAT is a big reason why it was such a bone-headed move for US.
feel free to let anyone know that AA successfully competes in NYC; they are half the size of DL in NYC and also slightly larger than half of the size of UA.
Just as in Chicago, AA is playing from a position of weakness and everyone except you knows it.
and, no, DL doesn’t talk about the profitability of its hubs in specific numbers. and while it says that most of its profits come from its core 4 hubs, they could really just say that half of their profits come from ATL and the rest all contribute something positive.
YOU, Max, spend all day running around the internet trying to prove me wrong because you can’t stand that someone besides you actually knows what is going on in the airline industry.
DL has outsmarted AA and UA over the past 48 years and building a 3rd hub over the last 10 years is just part of why DL leads the industry while AA and UA follow, no matter how hard it is for you to acknowledge that
… yawn. So many things are just SOOO tough for me to understand. we’re all so lucky to have you in our lives to explain things, Tim 😉
You’re certainly good for a laugh
handing a competitor 1/4 of LGA’s slots for the sum total of $60 million is no laughing matter, Max.
Of course you want to pretend its no big deal.
Yes, DL outsmarted Kirby at US and is doing the same thing at UA even as Kirby tries to pretend he is the smartest guy in the room.