This spring, Delta Air Traces will launch a brand new nonstop flight to Kansas Metropolis Worldwide Airport (MCI) in Missouri with a route that will not contact any of its main hub cities like Atlanta, Detroit or Salt Lake Metropolis.
Starting in Could, the Atlanta-based service will serve MCI every day with a Delta Connection regional jet from Raleigh-Durham Worldwide Airport (RDU) in North Carolina.
By itself, the brand new service — which is able to transport simply over 70 passengers between the cities — would possibly hardly sound newsworthy. However in a whole lot of methods, this point-to-point route is an indication of Delta’s rising point-to-point community out of RDU, as first reported by Ishrion Aviation.
Delta’s new RDU-MCI route
Beginning Could 7, Delta’s RDU-MCI service — operated by wholly owned regional subsidiary Endeavor Air — will run each day with a morning westbound flight and a night return to the East Coast.
This is how the itinerary shakes out:
- RDU-MCI: Departs 7:55 a.m. Japanese time; arrives 9:41 a.m. Central time
- MCI-RDU: Departs 6:55 p.m. Central time; arrives 10:19 p.m. Japanese time
Rising its North Carolina footprint
This new route is the newest proof of Delta’s progress aspirations on the central North Carolina airport.
Associated: One of the best bank card welcome bonuses proper now
Whereas not a hub for any of the “Large Three” community U.S. carriers — American Airways, Delta Air Traces and United Airways — RDU was as soon as a “focus metropolis” for Delta, although the service does not use that time period anymore.
Every day Publication
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
Through the first half of this yr, the service’s seats from RDU will likely be up practically 5% over final yr and can come near the presence Delta had on the airport earlier than the coronavirus pandemic in 2019.
Level-to-point progress
A notable a part of Delta’s present footprint on the airport is a rising listing of flights to locations apart from Delta hubs.
At RDU, Delta competes with United on flights to that service’s Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) hub. It does the identical with American Airways to Miami Worldwide Airport (MIA).
And, the service has RDU service to a slew of airports that are not its personal hubs, together with Nashville Worldwide Airport (BNA), Harry Reid Worldwide Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Worldwide Airport (CVG), Tampa Worldwide Airport (TPA) and Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport (DCA) close to Washington, D.C. — to not point out Austin-Bergstrom Worldwide Airport (AUS), an airport the place the service has equally expanded its footprint over the previous yr.
The importance of that is that when you’re flying Delta out of RDU, there is a good probability you won’t have to attach in Atlanta or elsewhere, as proven on the beneath map from aviation analytics agency Cirium.
Associated: Extra passengers are paying for first-class seats. That is hurting your improve probabilities
That progress is poised to proceed in 2025 with this route and, maybe, extra to come back.
Regional subsidiary to launch RDU crew base
Endeavor Air this month stated it might launch a crew and upkeep base on the airport throughout the second quarter of 2025, owing to its bevy of Delta Connection flights to nonhub cities.
“Endeavor’s present community contains appreciable RDU-to-outstation exercise,” Brian Darsow, Endeavor Air’s chief working officer, famous in a assertion saying the information.
May that foreshadow extra future service?
Time will inform.
We must always word: American Airways final yr remained RDU’s prime service by way of seats — owed, partially, to its nonstop flight to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) on a Boeing 777-200ER that is quite a bit bigger than any jet Delta flies out of the North Carolina airport.
In the meantime, each RDU and MCI will certainly have a good time this new route together with vital progress general.
MCI marked its busiest yr ever in 2024, with greater than 12 million passengers served.
RDU noticed a record-breaking 15.5 million vacationers final yr, helped, partially, by a fast-growing listing of worldwide locations.
Is there a Delta Sky Membership at RDU?
When you’re taking one among Delta’s nonstop flights out of RDU, chances are you’ll need to get to the airport a bit of early. RDU is dwelling to one among its Sky Membership airport lounges. Simply keep in mind, when you get entry through an American Specific bank card, there’s now an annual restrict on what number of instances you may go to in a calendar yr.
American and United every function lounges on the airport as nicely.
Associated studying:
