Delta Air Lines to Launch Five New Cities and 14 Flights at Raleigh-Durham International Airport

RDU Airport, NC – Delta Air Lines today announced a significant enhancement of its service at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The airline is adding new non-stop service between RDU and five new cities on Nov. 1, 2010 and will add a total of 14 daily flights.

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-200 aircraft.
New service to Columbus (CMH) once a day served by a CRJ-200 aircraft.
New service to Orlando (MCO) three times a day using a CRJ-200 aircraft.
New service to St. Louis (STL) on a CRJ-200 aircraft twice daily.
New service to Tampa (TPA) two times per day served by a CRJ-200 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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