Low demand for flights from Thunder Bay to Minneapolis-St. Paul has forced an American-based airline out from the city’s airport.
Delta Air Lines plans to stop its two flights from Thunder Bay International Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Oct. 10. Airline officials made the announcement Wednesday. Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter said those flights did not perform well and throughout the year the planes on average were only filling about 50 per cent of its seats.
"The demand just wasn’t there for it," Banstetter said. "Unfortunately, we just have to reallocate our assets to markets that better support the service. The fact is the numbers are what they are and we’ve seen quite a reduction in demand for this route."
Banstetter said the company wouldn’t be looking to replace the Delta flights from Thunder Bay and added that the company is leaving the Thunder Bay market entirely. Delta will offer refunds and alternate flight arrangements for passengers.
Scott McFadden, CEO of Thunder Bay International Airport Authority, said he wasn’t surprised to hear Delta wanted out when he first heard the announcement on Wednesday. McFadden said the number of flights from U.S. passengers coming into Thunder Bay wasn’t as frequent as it once was.
"The economy south of the boarder has certainly played a part in this," McFadden said. "If you want to fly to Minneapolis you’re going to have to fly through Toronto or potentially Winnipeg. All of our transporter services will now be through Toronto."
McFadden said the airport intends to look for a replacement airline, but with a small market like Thunder Bay McFadden admits that the operators are limited.
