Delta Connection

Delta Connection is a brand name under which Delta Air Lines has air service agreements with domestic regional air carriers that feed traffic to their network by serving passengers primarily in small and medium-sized cities in the domestic market, allowing a better match of capacity with demand in these markets. These include Delta's wholly owned subsidiary Endeavor Air and its third-party contractors Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines.

These agreements are primarily capacity purchase arrangements, where Delta controls scheduling, pricing, reservations, ticketing, and seat inventories for the flights. Delta is entitled to all ticket, cargo, mail, in-flight, and ancillary revenues from these flights, while paying the regional airlines a defined amount based on their operating costs and market rates. These capacity purchase agreements are typically long-term, often lasting at least ten years with an option to extend. Some agreements grant Delta the right to terminate or remove certain aircraft for convenience at specific future dates. Additionally, SkyWest Airlines operates some flights under a revenue proration agreement, which divides the revenue for connecting flight itineraries based on a fixed dollar or percentage division.[1]

A scope clause agreement between Delta Air Lines and its mainline pilots union, the Air Line Pilots Association, limits the number and size of aircraft that may be flown by Delta Connection. The current agreement allows up to 125 airplanes with 50 seats or fewer, 102 airplanes with between 51 and 70 seats, and 223 airplanes with up to 76 seats.

History

Delta Connection was founded in 1984[4] as a means of expanding the Delta network to smaller markets via partnerships with regional airlines.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) began Delta Connection service on March 1, 1984, from their hub at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and soon had a substantial presence at Delta's hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. ASA was a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines under the Delta Connection, Inc., holding company from May 11, 1999, to September 7, 2005, when it was purchased by SkyWest, Inc., the parent company of SkyWest Airlines.

Ransome Airlines operated Delta Connection flights in the northeast from March 1, 1984, to June 1, 1986, when it was purchased by Pan Am.

Comair began Delta Connection service on September 1, 1984. Comair primarily operated from Delta's hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport which was established the same year. Comair also began operating Delta Connection service from Delta's hub at Orlando International Airport in 1987.[5] In January 2000, Comair became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.[4]

Rio Airways operated Delta Connection flights from their hub in Dallas/Fort Worth from June 1, 1984, to December 14, 1986, when the airline declared bankruptcy. ASA subsequently became the main Delta Connection carrier at the Dallas/Fort Worth hub.[6]

Business Express Airlines operated Delta Connection flights in the northeastern US and Canada from June 1, 1986, to March 15, 2000. The company was purchased by AMR Corporation in 1999 and integrated into the American Eagle Airlines system in 2000.

Following the acquisition of Western Airlines by Delta Air Lines, SkyWest Airlines, which had been operating codeshare service flying as Western Express for Western, became a Delta Connection carrier on April 1, 1987, primarily operating from their hub at Salt Lake City International Airport, which Delta inherited from Western.[7]

Trans States Airlines operated Delta Connection flights from March 1998 to March 31, 2000, mainly from their focus cities in Boston and New York.

In 2002, Chautauqua Airlines became a Delta Connection carrier and replaced Comair as the main provider of regional flights at the Orlando hub.[8]

On November 2, 2004, Atlantic Coast Airlines ended service as a Delta Connection Carrier. Atlantic Coast Airlines reinvented itself as a low fare carrier called Independence Air, based at Washington Dulles International Airport. Atlantic Coast Airlines operated over 30 Dornier 328JET aircraft as part of its Delta Connection service from 2000 until 2005.

On December 22, 2004, Delta Air Lines announced that Republic Airways would order and operate 16 Embraer 170 aircraft under the Delta Connection banner. Since then, it has been announced that the Republic Airways subsidiary Shuttle America would operate the flights. The initial flight took place on September 1, 2005. On May 4, 2005, Delta Air Lines announced that Mesa Air Group subsidiary Freedom Airlines would operate up to 30 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft under the Delta Connection banner beginning in October 2005. Shortly after the announcement, the decision was made for Freedom Airlines to operate the Embraer ERJ 145 for Delta Connection instead of the CRJ. After a legal battle with Mesa Air Group, Delta and Freedom Airlines terminated their contract, ending all flights on August 31, 2010.[9] On December 21, 2006, Delta announced that Big Sky Airlines would become a Delta Connection carrier, using eight Beechcraft 1900D turboprops out of Boston Logan International Airport.[10]

On March 1, 2007, it was announced that ExpressJet would operate 10 Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft under the Delta Connection banner beginning in June 2007 on flights from Los Angeles International Airport. It was later announced that ExpressJet would operate an additional eight aircraft as Delta Connection. On July 3, 2008, Delta and ExpressJet announced that they had terminated their agreement and that ExpressJet operations as Delta Connection would end by September 1, 2008.[11] On April 30, 2007, it was announced that Pinnacle Airlines would operate 16 Bombardier CRJ900 under the Delta Connection banner starting in December 2007.

Merging Delta Connection and Northwest Airlink

The merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines meant that Northwest's regional brand, Northwest Airlink, would be merged into Delta Connection. The new Delta Connection would include the regional airlines from both the original Delta and Northwest. On November 8, 2008, Delta and Mesaba Airlines, a fully owned regional subsidiary of Northwest Airlines that operated flights as Northwest Airlink with turboprop aircraft and also with regional jet aircraft, announced that the seven CRJ900 aircraft previously operated by Freedom as well as eight new-order aircraft would be operated for Delta Connection beginning February 12, 2009.

Citing cost reductions, Delta Air Lines sold former Northwest Airlines regional subsidiary Mesaba Airlines on July 1, 2010, to Pinnacle Airlines Corp. for $62 million. Its headquarters were moved to Pinnacle's in Memphis on December 26, 2011. Mesaba merged its operations into Pinnacle on January 4, 2012.[12][13] The same day, Trans States Holdings

Incidents and accidents

On January 15, 1987, SkyWest Airlines Flight 1834, a Fairchild Metroliner collided with a Mooney M20 transporting an instructor and a student while on a flight between Pocatello to Salt Lake City in the vicinity of Kearns, Utah. All eight people on Flight 1834 and the two occupants of the Mooney were killed. The cause was found to be a navigation error by the Mooney's student pilot.[29]

On April 9, 1990, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254, an Embraer EMB 120 collided with a Civil Air Patrol Cessna 172 shortly after takeoff from Northeast Alabama Regional Airport, after losing the right stabilizer, the Embraer landed safely back at GAD with no fatalities or injuries but the Cessna crashed, killing both occupants.[30]

On February 1, 1991, SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Metroliner, was waiting for takeoff clearance on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport when USAir Flight 1493 collided with it. The ten passengers and two crew members onboard Flight 5569 were killed in addition to the 23 passengers and crew on Flight 1493. The crash was blamed on the air traffic controller, who had permitted the USAir plane to land on the same runway that the SkyWest flight was using.[31][32]

On April 5, 1991, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311, an Embraer EMB 120, crashed on approach to the Glynco Jetport serving Brunswick, GA. Twenty passengers and three crew members were killed. The cause was a combination of an engine malfunction and crew fatigue.[33]

On August 21, 1995, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, an Embraer EMB 120, crashed in Burwell, Georgia. Officials determined that a propeller-blade loss and inability to feather the remaining blades caused the accident, which killed eight of the 28 passengers and crew.[34][35][36][37]

On January 9, 1997, Comair Flight 3272, an Embraer EMB 120, crashed near Monroe, Michigan. The flight, which originated from Cincinnati, Ohio, was on approach to Detroit. All 29 passengers and crew were killed when the plane crashed 18 miles from the airport. The cause was determined as the "FAA's failure to establish adequate aircraft certification standards for flight in icing conditions, the FAA's failure to ensure that an FAA/CTA-approved procedure for the accident airplane's deice system operation was implemented by U.S.-based air carriers, and the FAA's failure to require the establishment of adequate minimum airspeeds for icing conditions."[38]

On August 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191, a Bombardier CRJ100, crashed on takeoff at Lexington, Kentucky's Blue Grass Airport with 47 passengers and three crew members on board. Only the first officer survived. The pilots attempted a takeoff from the wrong runway, which was not long enough for the aircraft.[39]

On July 17, 2012, a suspended SkyWest Airlines pilot, Brian Hedgelin, under investigation by police for the recent fatal stabbing of a woman at his Colorado Springs residence, stole a Bombardier CRJ200 owned by SkyWest Airlines at St. George Regional Airport in Utah. The aircraft was out of service at the time with no other passengers or crew on board.[40] After apparently scaling the airport perimeter fence, Hedgelin started the aircraft and attempted to taxi from the gate but clipped a jet bridge and the terminal building, damaging the left wing and causing a fuel leak; he then taxied the aircraft through a fence and into a parking lot, striking several parked cars in the process. Hedgelin fatally shot himself in the aircraft aisle.[41] The stolen aircraft, Canadair CRJ200ER N865AS, was damaged beyond repair and written off.[42]

On February 17, 2025, Delta Connection Flight 4819, a Bombardier CRJ900 operated by Endeavor Air, which originated from Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, crashed and flipped over on the runway upon landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, injuring 21 people.[43]

airline	Delta Connection
founded	1984
parent	Delta Air Lines
hubs	Atlanta Boston Detroit Los Angeles Minneapolis/St. Paul New York–JFK New York–LaGuardia Salt Lake City Seattle/Tacoma
focus cities	Austin Raleigh/Durham
frequent flyer	SkyMiles
alliance	SkyTeam (affiliate)
website	www.delta.com

Airlines and fleet

History

Merging Delta Connection and Northwest Airlink

Destinations

Academy

Incidents and accidents

References

Historical regional jet fleet

Historical turboprop fleet