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Editorial March 10th 2010 from Editorial Director Betsy Cooke. Delta Airlines receives more than 1.4 million dollars per year in direct subsidies for its air service to Escanaba and Iron Mountain. Its contract is up for renewal soon. Its fares to Detroit, Minneapolis and, especially, Lansing are seriously out of line. We believe Delta should bring these fares more in line with its fares to other cities if its contract is to be extended. If it does not, our local airports should consider whether other carriers can provide safe, reliable, convenient and comfortable service to those cities at lower cost whilemaintaining competitive fares elsewhere. A Tuesday to Thursday trip to Lansing is typically more than $1,300 if purchased less than two weeks in advance. Even if purchased 30 days in advance, it is still over $1,000. In contrast, Delta charges just over $700 for some flights to Honolulu. Traveling to Detroit is far more expensive than traveling through Detroit to another city. Advance-purchase tickets for weekday flights to and from Detroit are over $500. We found flights that continue on from Detroit to more than a dozen other cities which are cheaper. Those cities include New York, Miami and Dallas. The savings range from $110 to more than $250. Weekday flights from Escanaba to Minneapolis are typically just under $400 but you can fly on to Denver, Las Vegas, Seattle or San Francisco for less money. We invited Delta to explain these fares. It declined. These fares put Escanaba businesses at a competitive disadvantage if they must travel regularly to Detroit, Lansing or Minneapolis. Because we are so far away from Michigan’s government and commercial centers, fairly priced air service to those centers would benefit local bushiness.Delta’s high fares also hurt leisure travelers to these three cities. If you want to see the Lions, Vikings, Spartans or Wolverines play this fall, flights to more distant away games will often cost less than flights to see them play at home. Our preference would be for Delta to commit to bringing its fares to Detroit, Minneapolis and, especially, Lansing more in line with its fares to other cities. If it is unwilling to do so, we urge the local airports to consider seeking other options for safe, reliable, convenient and comfortable service to those cities at lower cost while maintaining competitive fares elsewhere. We invite your comments on this and all of our editorials. Our web site, www.mywdbc.com includes the text of this editorial and an e-mail link for comments. Or you may call us at (906) 786 - 6144 and ask for the editorial response line. |