Delta reverses course -- it will provide services to Hilton Head for next season

Delta Air Lines will continue serving Hilton Head Island after all, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

Delta announced in July it would end service between Hilton Head and Atlanta in November, but the airline now plans to resume that service on a seasonal basis, starting March 4 and ending in mid-November of next year, spokeswoman Susan Elliott said.

The airline claimed in July that the route between Hilton Head Island Airport and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was not making enough money and cited the slow economy. It also mentioned as a concern the island's 4,300-foot runway, which airport officials believe is the shortest with commercial service in the continental United States.

The decision to reinstate the service comes "in response to direct requests from our customers in Hilton Head and throughout our entire route system. Hilton Head is a desirable area," Elliott said Thursday.

Delta's partner, Mesaba Airlines, will run four flights each way most days using a Saab 340 turboprop plane, she said. "Historically we've had some challenges serving the market, but at this point we have received assurances that (Mesaba) will be able to fulfill our market needs."

The Saab planes can hold 34 passengers, but because of the weight limit required for the island's runway, the airline sells only 21 of those seats.

US Airways, the island's other commercial carrier, offers service from Hilton Head to Charlotte. It faces similar weight restrictions.

Elliott said the route would be evaluated each season. After November 2010, she said, "We will continue to follow the market very closely and monitor the demand, and we'll make adjustments as needed to the schedule."

Delta's service to and from Hilton Head has fluctuated several times since it began in 2007. The airline evaluates dozens of factors when deciding whether to begin, end or alter service to a destination, Elliott said.

Beaufort County airport director Paul Andres said Delta's decision is not surprising because of the volatile nature of the business. He noted both the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport to the south and Charleston International Airport to the north recently lost low-fare carriers.

"That's just part of the industry right now," he said.

Delta's dozen or so local employees will not have jobs after Nov. 2, but Delta will work with them to determine what their options might be, Elliott said.

Local business and civic leaders welcomed Delta's plan to return.

Tourism officials have touted Hilton Head as an easy destination for visitors because it has access to two major hubs.

The announcement's timing was ideal because the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce is hosting a group of meeting planners this week who are checking out the island as a possible location for their events, president and CEO Bill Miles said.

"The ease of air travel is one of the top reasons for choosing a destination," he said.

That's not the only benefit of the island maintaining multiple commercial air service options, however.

"It's not just a tourism issue," Miles said. "It's important for business, it's important for real estate and should also be viewed as a quality of life issue."

Even though Delta's decision is encouraging, the community should not be complacent about its airport, Miles said.

Town and county officials are evaluating the possibility of extending the runway as part of the process to craft a new master plan. They are also working to remove or trim trees that intrude into the runway's flight path.

Delta's decision should not affect those processes, town manager Steve Riley and mayor Tom Peeples said.

"It was a business decision to leave; it's a business decision to come back," Riley said. "It doesn't mean we need to stop having any study or conversation."