Delta Re-Adjusts EAS Tag Flights, Again

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has once again updated its ever-changing flight schedule for some of the small communities it operates to in the Midwestern U.S. While most of the communities do lose their tag flights and go back to their original nonstop flights, some still do retain them but change where the extra stop will occur. A tag flight is when an aircraft makes a stop in the first city and continues to the next.

It would be worth mentioning all of the communities involved in the tag routes are Essential Air Service, or EAS, communities. The airline that operates the flights to them, in this case, SkyWest, receives federal funding to operate twice daily nonstop flights to a hub. It is unclear whether or not this addition of extra stops has affected the amount of money the airline is receiving from the government.

A Delta Connection CRJ-200 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

Previously, the tag flights were planned to operate only from September 2022 until January 2023 due to pilot shortages and had hoped to get rid of them by the start of the new year. With these tags flights remaining to some degree, it is evident the pilot shortage hasn’t completely 100% resolved, but the number of communities that are receiving the tag flights has gone down, signaling that the pilot shortage is calming down to some degree.

Previously, 10 of these EAS communities were affected by and received tag flights: Minnesota cities Bemidji, Brainerd, International Falls and Hibbing as well as Rhinelander, Wisconsin and Michigan cities Iron Mountain, Escanaba, Pellston, Alpena and Sault Ste. Marie.

The tag flights before Dec.1, 2022. Not pictured: International Falls and Hibbing (Screenshot: GreatCircleMapper)

But with this recent schedule change, only four communities are receiving tag flights, Escanaba, Iron Mountain, Alpena, and Pellston, all of which are in Michigan. Alpena and Pellston aren’t unfamiliar with each other and have been linked together in the past when Mesaba served the route.

The current tag flights (Screenshot: GreatCircleMapper)

Iron Mountain briefly had a tag with nearby Rhinelander, Wis. on the way to Minneapolis, and did go back to nonstop flights for roughly a month, before being switched back to a tag. This time the tag will operate on the eastbound segment, stopping in Escanaba on its way back to Detroit.

For just under a month in September 2022, Pellston was tagged with Escanaba and Alpena was tagged with Sault Ste. Marie, then they all went back to their original nonstop flights for almost a month. Now Alpena and Pellston are being tagged together, while Sault Ste. Marie still retains it’s nonstop service to two different hubs.

The flight between Escanaba and Iron Mountain will become the shortest route in the carriers network at only 50 miles, becoming the shortest in the carriers recent history, even shorter than the previous short lived record holder Iron Mountain to Rhinelander which was 67 miles. The flight between Pellston and Alpena becoming the second shortest route at 69 miles long.

A Delta Connection CRJ-200. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

With these previously mentioned tag flights scheduled to continue until at least April of 2023, it is evident that these smaller communities in the airlines network will be the ones to face the majority of the obvious effects from the current pilot shortage in our industry. While at the same time, if the past four-to-five months have taught us anything, it is that these schedules are always subject to change and flight schedules could be altered at a moments notice with little to no changes felt by anyone except those that live in these communities.

All flights in this article are operated on SkyWest 50-seat CRJ-200’s under the Delta Connection brand, and schedule data was pulled directly from Delta’s booking platform.

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Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes, for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself and the first thing he did with the license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. When he has the time (and money) he likes to take spotting trips to any location worth a visit but has a special interest in Essential Air Service Airports. He got his degree in Aviation Management and Operations from WMU in June of 2022, and is currently working full time for an airline in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

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