Delta and American Airlines Aim to Revitalize Detroit and Philadelphia Hubs After Pandemic Traffic Decline.

The recovery from the pandemic in the airline industry has been uneven across US hubs. Delta’s mid-continent hubs and America’s primary transatlantic hub, as well as California’s two major airports, have been slow to restore service. While average airport traffic recovery across the Fitch Ratings portfolio ended 2022 at 92% of 2019 levels, the recovery of traffic at some secondary hubs, such as Detroit, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia, has been slow. Delta and America are working to rebuild their depleted hubs. Delta’s daily Detroit departures declined from about 418 in 2019 to 131 in 2020 and then rebounded to 318 in June 2021, and it plans to have 297 daily departures in June 2023. Delta’s and American executives have talked about rebuilding their depleted hubs. Philadelphia’s traffic declined 31% between 2019 and 2022, Detroit’s declined 23%, and Minneapolis’s declined 21%. Fitch Ratings reported that the top airport gainers were Myrtle Beach, El Paso, and Boise, while Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, and Denver were the top gainers among major airports. The recovery of the airline industry has been affected by slower returns in demand for international and business travel and reduced rubbing activity.