Delta Air Lines to suspend a route from RDU, citing higher jet fuel costs
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Delta will suspend Raleigh-Durham to Las Vegas service June 2 until Sept. 8.
- Delta says suspension result of routine summer network planning, noting high fuel costs.
- Delta expects to spend $2 billion more on fuel in April, May and June.
Delta Air Lines has become the first airline to suspend service from Raleigh-Durham International Airport at least in part due to the soaring cost of jet fuel.
Delta will not fly between RDU and Las Vegas from June 2 until Sept. 8.
In a statement, the airline said the suspension was a result of its “routine network planning” for the summer and acknowledged that high fuel costs were a factor.
Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, said earlier this month that Delta expects to spend $2 billion more on fuel in April, May and June because of higher prices caused by the war with Iran. The war has damaged oil facilities in the Middle East and closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.
Bastian said Delta would trim about 3.5% of its flights during that time to cut costs and has since suspended or canceled several routes.
RDU is not aware of airlines suspending or canceling other flights because of high fuel prices, according to an airport spokesperson. Triangle travelers can also fly nonstop to Las Vegas on Frontier and Southwest.
Delta and other airlines have hiked fares and bag fees to try to cover the higher cost of fuel, which spiked after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Jet fuel prices have dropped in the last week but are still about twice as high as a year ago, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Airlines are now factoring in those costs as they review their summer schedules. Air Canada, which flies to three cities from RDU, cited fuel prices when it announced late last week that it was suspending five routes to other airports, including two to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
“Jet fuel prices have doubled since the start of the Iran conflict, affecting some lower profitability routes and flights which now are no longer economically feasible,” the carrier said in a statement. “Schedule adjustments including some frequency reductions are being made in response.”