When Delta Airlines added a Lincoln flight to Atlanta in the summer of 2009, one of the biggest complaints was that the schedule set up the flight to fail.
The single daily flight left in the afternoon, which made it difficult for travelers to make connections and get to other destinations the same day.
Delta canceled the flight after only two months, because passenger numbers did not come in as high as hoped.
This time around, it appears Delta is setting the flight up for a better chance of success.
Though plans still are being worked out, and Delta has not confirmed the flight yet, Lincoln Airport Executive Director John Wood gave some details to Airport Authority members at Thursday’s monthly meeting.
Wood said Delta plans to start the flight on about June 1 and will use a 65-seat regional jet that will have a small first-class section. Most important, Wood said Delta has told him the flight will have have an early-morning departure, and the return flight will be late at night.
He said Delta officials told him they hoped to have the flight in the company’s reservation system in December.
The airport has received a $750,000 federal Small Community Air Service Development to provide a revenue guarantee to Delta, but officials are hoping they don’t need it.
Wood said a big factor in the success of the flight would be whether business travelers use it. “We hope to get a lot of business support,” he said.
Lincoln Chamber of Commerce President Wendy Birdsall said if Delta does come through with an early-morning departure, there should be a lot of business use of the flight. “Early morning is the best possible scenario,” Birdsall said.
She said a southern route had been a “big missing component” at the airport, and people in the business community were very excited to learn the airport would be getting Atlanta service.
Wood said if the flight is successful, Delta officials have told him they will consider adding a second daily flight.
