Delaware may have more thing to worry about with the probable merger of US Airways and American Airlines.
Executives of the two airlines have been making the case that the merger would not affect the hub status of Philadelphia , Charlotte, N.C., and Phoenix.
Then came a report from the General Accounting Office that suggested the situation may not be that rosy. The federal agency noted that American has hubs in New York and Miami that could affect the Carolina and Pennsylvania airports. It did not help the argument by American and US Airways when Delta Airlines recently announced plans to eliminate Memphis as a hub and further cut the number of flights. The same thing happened earlier in Pittsburgh as U.S Airways built up its Philadelphia hub.
The GAO backpedaled somewhat on that one possibility in the report, but the question continues to bubble up in media reports.
Philadelphia has some things going for it that include profitability, but it is possible and perhaps likely that the flight schedule will be pruned when New York service is profitable and the PHL flight is breaking even. That may be why far smaller Frontier is looking at an outlying airport strategy that includes Trenton and New Castle. New Castle service gets under way on Monday. Fewer flights out of Philly might help both destinations.
Another possibility is that the merger has its problems. The two other big players in the industry, Delta and United could take advantage of the situation and add flights out of Philadelphia. Delta is already showing some “outside the box” thinking by buying a refinery near the airport that will give it a cheaper source of jet fuel on the East Coast.
