http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20080826/BIZ01/3082= 60027/-1/ August 26, 2008 Delta shifts flights at CVG By Alexander Coolidge acoolidge@xxxxxxxxxxxx Delta Air Lines said today it will close its operations at Concourse C at t= he Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in January. The shift concentrates Delta=E2=80=99s local departures and arrivals into c= oncourses A and B after years of cuts in the number of flights out of the C= incinnati airport. The airline said it was still committed to maintaining Cincinnati as a hub. While the change is emblematic of Delta=E2=80=99s struggles to contain cost= s as jet fuel remains sky-high, the carrier noted it will end inconvenient = shuttle rides by bus between Concourses B and C. Delta disclosed this summer it would cut CVG=E2=80=99s fall schedule by abo= ut a quarter from fall 2007 to combat fuel prices that have doubled in the = last year. Delta officials said the switch won=E2=80=99t affect local Delta jobs. Coma= ir officials said the change would have minimal impact on its jobs. Don Bornhorst, senior vice president of Delta Connection, which coordinates= its regional feeder carriers including Erlanger-based Comair, said Delta r= emained committed to the local hub. Still, fuel costs have forced the carri= er to eliminate unprofitable flights. =E2=80=9CWe are dedicated to Cincinnati as a hub for Delta Air Lines,=E2=80= =9D he said. =E2=80=9CFuel is the thing that=E2=80=99s haunting the industr= y and putting intense pressure on carriers. We=E2=80=99re happy we=E2=80=99= ve been able to make these changes and preserve the hub.=E2=80=9D Delta officials noted CVG remains the third-largest hub in the Midwest behi= nd Chicago-O=E2=80=99Hare and Detroit. They noted even with the cuts, CVG will have direct service to 80 percent o= f the destinations served by O=E2=80=99Hare, which serves a metropolitan ar= ea more than four times the size of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentuck= y=E2=80=99s roughly 2 million residents. Delta said it will operate 298 flights on peak days this fall out of CVG to= 93 destinations, a 26.6 percent reduction from 406 flights to 115 destinat= ions in the same period last year. While Delta has eliminated a dozen desti= nations getting direct service, the majority of reduced flights are in the = number of flights per day to remaining destinations. While acknowledging the shift is happening as Delta offers fewer local flig= hts, Bornhorst said local customers would get better service. He said the a= menities at Concourses A and B are superior with Crown Rooms for SkyMiles m= embers as well as boarding areas covered by jet loading bridges that protec= t passengers from the elements. To get on planes at Concourse C, passengers walk to an outside boarding are= a. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s a huge win for customers =E2=80=93 they=E2=80=99ll ha= ve access to Crown Rooms and be covered (by a roof overhead) from the time = they hop out of their car until they get to their destination,=E2=80=9D he = said. Bornhorst said Delta will continue to make payments to the airport for acce= ss to the gates on a long-term lease that expires in 2025. Its lease with t= he airport at Concourse C permits other carriers to use the gates. Bornhorst acknowledged competing airlines could use the space but added the= y could use the gates before because Delta didn=E2=80=99t use them around t= he clock. =E2=80=9CThose are common use gates =E2=80=93 we=E2=80=99re not in a positi= on to tell the airport what carriers can come into those gates,=E2=80=9D he= said. Whether new competitors would rush to fill the void is unclear, as most maj= or carriers are cutting back domestic service to combat fuel costs. =0A=0A=0A <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".