Minneapolis is Delta's second-largest hub. In the week starting June 21st, it has 4,236 take-offs and landings, according to the latest OAG data. There are between 551 and 629 movements each day. Still, the SkyTeam carrier's Minneapolis flights are at just 72% of what they were in the same period in 2019.

Note that Delta has just 12 additional flights from Minneapolis than it does from Detroit, its third-largest hub, so few as to be effectively matched. They differ slightly more by seats for sale (Minneapolis has 540,722 against 509,995), even then by only 6%.

Delta has 112 Minneapolis routes

Some 112 routes comprise Delta's Minneapolis network in the week of June 21st. Of these, 102 are domestic, including Burlington, which launched on June 7th, and Asheville four days later. Asheville is served on Saturdays, while Burlington is 3x weekly.

Ten are international: Amsterdam, Calgary, Cancún, Keflavik, London Heathrow, Mexico City, Paris CDG, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

Given Minneapolis' geographic position, it is perhaps not too surprising that Delta's average sector length from the airport is 874 miles (1,407km). That's higher than its other core airports except for Seattle and Boston.

Nonetheless, 36% of its Minneapolis routes are under 500 miles (805km) and 58% are under 1,000 miles (1,609km). The 76-mile (122km) intra-state hop to Rochester is its shortest route, with CDG its longest.

Delta's Minneapolis US and Canada routes
Delta's US/Canada network from Minneapolis in the week starting June 21st, 2022. Image: OAG.

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Regional jets have half of flights

Everyone knows how crucial regional jets usually are at US airline hubs. They ensure more spokes are served and higher frequencies. It typically means more competitiveness, dominance, and a higher chance of timings suiting a passenger's (and ideally a business traveler's) needs. Delta's average number of flights from Minneapolis to US/Canada destinations is about 3x daily this week.

RJs are deployed on about one in every two domestic and Canada flights (47%) from Delta's Minnesota hub. As you'd expect, that is much higher than Atlanta (14%). It is also slightly more than Detroit (44%) but less than Salt Lake (49%). Duluth, on Lake Superior in Minnesota bordering Wisconsin, has the most RJs from Minneapolis,

Delta's Minneapolis hub
This shows how Delta structures its Minneapolis arrivals (blue) and departures (green) on an example day in the analyzed week. Image: OAG.

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Atlanta has the most flights, but...

Delta serves 45 US states from Minneapolis between June 21st and 27th. Beating California to the top spot is Wisconsin, which has the most services with up to 22 daily flights to seven cities – more airports are served in Wisconsin than any other state. These include Milwaukee, a core market, as I show below.

Atlanta has more flights than any other route. It is normally the case that services to a carrier's other hubs feature heavily, and Minneapolis is no exception. The following shows Delta's routes with 35 or more weekly flights:

  • Atlanta: up to 9x daily flights between June 21st and 27th, 2022, using the A321, B757-200, and B737-900ER
  • Los Angeles: up to 8x daily; A321, B757-200, B737-900ER, B757-300 (once: DL2163 on the 27th)
  • Las Vegas: up to 7x daily; A321, B737-900ER
  • Denver: up to 6x daily; A321
  • Milwaukee: up to 6x daily; CRJ-900, B717
  • Phoenix: up to 6x daily; A321
  • Seattle: up to 6x daily; A321, B757-300, B757-200
  • Washington National: 5x daily; A320, A321
  • Detroit: 5x daily; B737-900ER, B717
  • Orlando: 5x daily; A321
  • Salt Lake City: 5x daily; A321, A320, B737-900ER

I've flown through Minneapolis a few times, although not recently. Will you be this year? Let us know in the comments.