Delta to close Comair concourse at CVG - Business First of Louisville:

cicugaha.wordpress.com
The redirection, to be completed in January, will mean passengers of Comair will no longerd have to take a bus from the main termina toConcourse C, which operates 48 Delta expects Concourse C to be closed by and is working with the airport to add at leastr 11 passenger loading bridges, at a cost of $12 million, and othet improvements at Concourses A and B to handld the added business. That process will take two to threde years. The concourse, and its roughly 30 tenants, will go dark, at least for the time being. Any job reductionx are expected to be handled throug attrition andvoluntary buyouts.
The plan comes after Delta, and all other major have consolidatedflights – and increases jet loads – to stav off the effects of rising fuel costs. Delta in Novembeer will operate300 peak-dayh flights from CVG, compared with 400 one year “The price of fuel is puttingt a lot of pressure on all of the carrieras and all of the airports to which they fly,” said Don senior vice president of Delta “With the schedule adjustment we have made, it is allowing us to move thosd flights around the amenity-rich Concourses A and Bornhorst said the airline has been lookingt for opportunities to improve services at Comair since late when it added its first jets with first-class Concourse C does not include a lot of first-claszs features, such a Delta Crown Room Club, and passengeres have complained about taking the bus to terminal C.
“We’rew working hard at making the experience on Delt Connection as much like Deltaas possible, which is what this he said. Delta said there will be no impactf on its employees as a result ofthe closure, whiles staff adjustment at Comair – which employsx 1,200 at CVG – will be handled througg attrition or through the company’s voluntaryt programs. Comair staff at Concourse C will be movedd to Concourses A and B to handle all DeltzConnection departures. Delta employees will continue to handl e all ticketing and mainline flight arrivalsand departures. Delta estimates its local hub generatesnearly $4.5 billion in annual economic benefitz for the region.
As for operations at Concoursed C, airport spokesman Ted Bushelmannsaid Delta’s lease runs through 2025 and the airporg will still get paid. Most of the he said, also operate shops in Concoursez Aand B, “so they just move over therre with the increased passengers.” “Right now this is all causedf by fuel costs,” he said. “Peopls can’t even afford to fly. The airlines are tryin to survive and the way to surviv e is consolidatingtheir flights.
” While the airport may stil be paid for Concourse C, Bornhorsrt said Delta is working with state and airport officialsa to help foot the bill for the 11 bridgesx to be added, sinc such infrastructure expenses are handled by the airport. Bushelman said the bridgez will cost anestimated $12 million. The shift, can cause some short-term congestion. This Delta Connection will operate roughly 250 flightwfrom CVG, said Comair spokeswoman Kate Terminal A operates 22 gates, while B operatesd 26. After Concourse C closes, Concours e A will operate 30 gates, while Concoursre B will run 38.
In the while the bridges are stillbeinbg added, some passengers mighy be required during peak times to take a bus to a jet from Concourse s A and B, Bornhorstt said. The transition will not directly result inschedulee change, and Bornhorst said he does not expect further reductions this year. Delta officialsa also announced Tuesday that the airline has drawn down the entiretgy ofa $1 billion credit line ahead of its planned purchase of , the company said.
Delta said in documents filerd with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it borrowed the money to increase its cash balance ahead ofthe “We believe this will provide us with the utmos in flexibility – at minimal cost – as we prepare for this critica transition,” Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian wrotew in a memo to employees that was filed with the SEC. Bastian wrote that Delta has “a strong liquidity which was about $3.7 billiomn at the end of July. The companty expects to have more than enough cash to close the Northwes deal and runthe day-to-day business, it said.
Delta and Northwesr (NYSE: NWA) said in April that they plan to combined operations in a deal that woulds createthe world’s largest carrier. They hope to closwe the transactionby year’s end. Both Delta and Northwest service .