http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,2440776.story
Delta to cut service from LAX to 13 cities
The service is supplied under contract with the carrier by ExpressJet Airlines.
By Peter Pae, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
2:55 PM PDT, July 3, 2008
In another blow to passengers who use Los Angeles International Airport, Delta Air Lines said today it would discontinue nonstop service to 13 cities from LAX, including flights to Seattle, Portland and Phoenix.
The flights to be halted are operated by ExpressJet Airlines under a contract that Delta said would end Sept. 1. Delta said that it and ExpressJet agreed to terminate the contract because of high fuel costs and declining demand.
The cutback in the regional service, which was operated under the "Delta Connection" name, will come on top of previously announced plans by Delta to slash about 13% of its flights at LAX including nonstop service to Boston; Hartford, Conn.; and Columbus, Ohio.
Together, they would be the deepest cuts so far at LAX, which had managed to escape the brunt of an industrywide move to ground flights as a way to cope with escalating fuel prices.
Delta, with 93 daily departures, is the fourth-largest carrier at LAX. That figure is expected to drop to about 60 by Labor Day.
Passengers can expect higher fares and fewer options as a result of the cutbacks, which could leave at least one city, Eugene, Ore., without nonstop service from LAX.
The service cuts also will bring to an end Delta's ambitious plans to expand at LAX, making the largest airport in Southern California one of its major hubs.
With the end of the ExpressJet service agreement, Delta will no longer fly to smaller cities such as Reno, Tucson and Boise, Idaho, from LAX.
Large carriers often use smaller airlines such as ExpressJet to fly routes that typically don't have the passenger volume to support the use of larger planes. ExpressJet mostly smaller Embraer ERJ-145 twin-engine jets that seat about 50 passengers compared with the jetliners holding 150 to 400 passengers that are operated by major airlines.
Delta said the service contract with ExpressJet also includes flights out of Salt Lake City, but the airline said it will sign another carrier to fly them. Delta said it will provide a refund or rebook customers whose scheduled flights are affected by the changes.
Shares of Atlanta-based Delta rose 5 cents Thursday to $4.95.
peter.pae@latimes.com
