BIA eyes fallout from air merger Joining of Delta, Northwest would dominate Bangor market

BANGOR – A merger between Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. not only would create the world’s largest airline, it also would place more than 50 percent of the passenger market share at Bangor International Airport into the hands of one company.

The merger talks have Bangor area travel professionals monitoring ticket costs and desperately hoping for stable service.

“I’m hoping they will keep the Bangor-to-Detroit route,” said Donna Demmons, travel consultant for All About Travel in Bangor. “You always have to be concerned when airlines merge together like that that they might limit the service.”

The merger, which the Delta and Northwest boards approved earlier this week, still requires regulatory approval. Delta now flies from BIA to Boston twice daily, once a day to Atlanta and once daily to Cincinnati. The Cincinnati flights will cease in early June, according to a Delta announcement in March. In June, Delta will begin a daily flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Northwest flies twice daily to Detroit.

Northwest’s Detroit flight is the best option for westbound passengers, Demmons said. If, in an effort to consolidate, Delta cuts that service, as it did the flight to Cincinnati because of fuel costs and the distance, westbound customers face double connections through Boston or flying south before west, she said.

“The intent of the merger is not to reduce hubs or capacity, but rather complement each other’s systems and route structures,” said Rebecca Hupp, BIA director.

Hupp said she does not anticipate BIA operations to change post-merger. Delta and Northwest share marketing strategies at the airport and Comair, the Delta subsidiary, staffs the Northwest ticket counter, Hupp said. She also expects that terminal and storage space rented by the airline will remain unchanged.

After the merger, Delta would hold 51 percent of BIA’s passenger market share (according to February numbers) and only four airlines would serve the city’s airport. Competition keeps prices down, which is why airports with low-cost carriers tend to have lower ticket prices overall, Demmons said.

“Certainly when you have one carrier that dominates a market like that it brings up concerns regarding competition and operation[s],” said Hupp. “Look back in 2001, when Comair went on strike. If something like that happens [again], it could create an issue for the community.”

An immediate rise in ticket prices is unlikely, said Peter Ramsay, destination specialist at Main 1 Travel in Bangor.

“Everybody is watching so carefully right now, I don’t think [Delta] would dare to do that,” Ramsay said. “But conceivably they could at the turn of 2009.”

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