From MSP, Delta says goodbye to Rome and aloha to Honolulu

Delta Air Lines is cutting off Twin Cities passengers from the pasta and prodding them toward poi instead.

The Atlanta-based carrier is dropping its short-lived nonstop service from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Rome, citing weak demand. The route flew for just one summer before Delta on Monday announced plans to ax it.

Delta softened the news by announcing expanded nonstop service to Honolulu from its Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport hub, where the airline dominates more than 70 percent of the market. The Twin Cities and its feeder airports may show lackluster support for a nonstop to Italy, but the market is apparently hot for Hawaii.

Delta will widen this seasonal route, previously scheduled as a winter-only flight, to a nearly year-round service. The nonstop flight, which starts Oct. 29, will be flown until Labor Day — well beyond April, as previously scheduled.

The news comes as Delta has experienced a drop in revenue in recent quarters due in part to a glut of flights, which have been good for consumers' wallets but eaten into airline profits. The airline has been making less money per airplane seat, particularly on transatlantic flights, as an uptick in competition has driven down fares.

Delta executives said earlier this month that they will curtail capacity growth throughout 2017 to just 1 percent in an effort to drive up ticket prices. The company said then that it will cut transatlantic capacity by 3 percent to 4 percent. Capacity is the number of seats, and the distance, an airline flies in total.

On Monday, the airline also announced plans to add round-trip flights to San Jose, Calif., Phoenix and Richmond, Va., boosting it to three, six and two daily flights from MSP respectively.

Delta will begin service from MSP to Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday, replacing an existing route to more-distant Narita International.

Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767