Sep. 15--SANFORD -- Along with their bigger neighbor in Orlando, smaller Central Florida airports predict that Delta Air Lines' bankruptcy filing Wednesday will not translate into losses for them.
Officials at Melbourne International Airport and Daytona Beach International Airport, where Delta provides the bulk of all daily commercial flights, are cautiously optimistic that those flights will survive because they are moneymakers for the beleaguered airline.
Both airports give Delta handsome incentives, such as waiving landing fees, to provide the regularly scheduled service. What's more, the carrier can afford to charge higher fares than to Orlando International Airport because it has little competition.
"It's of concern to us, but we believe Delta is going to stay in this market because they're making money here," said Steve Cooke, development director at the Daytona airport. "If they weren't making money, they would drop us like a hot potato."
Similarly, Melbourne Airport Executive Director Richard Ennis said he doesn't think the airline would stop its service to Washington, New York and Atlanta from south Brevard County. The Delta flights have been operating at 66 percent to 80 percent of capacity, he said.
Melbourne is not charging the airline landing fees or for space at the airport or ground-handling fees.
"They would be leaving money on the table if they pulled their flights now," Ennis said. "I don't anticipate it will happen."
If the airline were to cut service, however, the effect could be devastating for both airports. Delta and its subsidiary, Comair, account for 86 percent of the domestic air traffic at the Daytona Beach airport. In Melbourne, Delta accounts for virtually all scheduled service.
While no Delta flights operate out of Orlando Sanford International Airport, many of the carrier's future pilots train there at a Delta Connection Academy campus.
Sanford airport President Larry Dale said he had been assured by academy officials that operations at the school would not be affected.
"They tell me they will continue operating," he said. "I'm told it's business as usual."
