This spring, Delta Air Strains 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 Might, 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 quite a 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 Might 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.
Here 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 development aspirations on the central North Carolina airport.
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Whereas not a hub for any of the “Large Three” community U.S. carriers — American Airways, Delta Air Strains and United Airways — RDU was as soon as a “focus metropolis” for Delta, although the service would not use that time period anymore.
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In the course of the first half of this 12 months, the service’s seats from RDU will likely be up almost 5% over final 12 months and can come near the presence Delta had on the airport earlier than the coronavirus pandemic in 2019.
Level-to-point development
A notable a part of Delta’s present footprint on the airport is a rising checklist of flights to locations aside 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 12 months.
The importance of that is that should you’re flying Delta out of RDU, there is a good likelihood you won’t have to attach in Atlanta or elsewhere, as proven on the beneath map from aviation analytics agency Cirium.
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That development is poised to proceed in 2025 with this route and, maybe, extra to return.
Regional subsidiary to launch RDU crew base
Endeavor Air this month stated it might launch a crew and upkeep base on the airport through 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 asserting the information.
May that foreshadow extra future service?
Time will inform.
We should always be aware: American Airways final 12 months remained RDU’s high service when it comes to seats — owed, partially, to its nonstop flight to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) on a Boeing 777-200ER that is rather a lot bigger than any jet Delta flies out of the North Carolina airport.
In the meantime, each RDU and MCI will certainly have fun this new route at the side of vital development total.
MCI marked its busiest 12 months ever in 2024, with greater than 12 million passengers served.
RDU noticed a record-breaking 15.5 million vacationers final 12 months, helped, partially, by a fast-growing checklist of worldwide locations.
Is there a Delta Sky Membership at RDU?
For those who’re taking one in all Delta’s nonstop flights out of RDU, you might need to get to the airport a little bit early. RDU is dwelling to one in all its Sky Membership airport lounges. Simply keep in mind, should you get entry by way of an American Specific bank card, there’s now an annual restrict on what number of occasions you possibly can go to in a calendar 12 months.
American and United every function lounges on the airport as properly.
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