Atlanta, GA
Delta To American: Back Off, Atlanta Will Bump Dallas As World’s Top Hub
Delta Air Lines says its Atlanta hub will reclaim the status it lost to American’s Dallas hub in the disarranged world of post-pandemic flying.
“With nearly 75 additional daily departures compared to summer 2024, this growth reaffirms its place as the world’s largest airline hub,” the carrier said Friday in a press release entitled “Delta at ATL: Bigger and bolder at the world’s largest airline hub in summer 2025.”
The Atlanta hub summer schedule will include 968 daily departures, service to 215 destinations and 1.1 million weekly seats, Delta said.
Before the pandemic, Delta routinely operated around 1,000 daily departures from Atlanta, which was easily the world’s largest single airline hub.
But that equation was upended as American pursued a strategy of Sunbelt growth, restoring flying early in the summer of 2020 and consistently pouring capacity into Charlotte and Dallas.
By this summer, American operated the world’s largest single airline hub at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where it has 925 daily departures. At Atlanta this summer, Delta operates 830 daily departures. The third largest single airline hub is Charlotte, where American has 690 daily departures.
Part of American’s strategy has been to surround Atlanta with Charlotte to the east and Dallas to the west.
Delta has apparently had enough of American’s challenge to Atlanta and Sunbelt flex. American did not respond to emails questioning its summer 2025 DFW schedule.
“For Delta, Atlanta is more than a hub—it’s home,” Delta said. “That’s why in summer 2025, Delta will introduce its largest-ever schedule from Atlanta, offering customers even more destinations, increased frequencies and enhanced premium experiences that highlight the airline’s commitment to supporting the city’s growth.
Delta said its international footprint from Atlanta also continues to grow, with 66 international destinations.
Transatlantic destinations with new or increased service include Athens, Barcelona, Brussels; Catania, Sicily; Dublin, Milan Naples, Rome and Zurich. Delta plans its largest-ever transatlantic summer schedule.
Domestically from Atlanta, Delta plans its largest-ever schedule in Georgia with 20% more intra-state seats to Savannah, Augusta, Albany, Brunswick, Columbus and Valdosta, “reinforcing Delta’s commitment to improving regional connectivity across the Peach State,” the carrier said.
The airline industry’s move to premium seating, which has been led by Delta, is also reflected in the carrier’s 2025 plans for Atlanta. The Atlanta hub will offer 41,000 daily premium seats—including Delta One, First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta Comfort. Premium capacity will increase by 9% over summer 2024.
Also, Delta said 87% of ATL departures will be operated on mainline aircraft—an increase from 79% in 2019.
At all three of the key Sunbelt airports, the size of the mainline aircraft is generally larger than pre-pandemic, as the Airbus A321 and newer Boeing 737s have replaced smaller models, so passenger count has generally increased. Also, the Charlotte and Dallas hubs have higher percentages of regional jets than Atlanta does.
Atlanta remains the world’s largest airport by passengers, with 102 million in 2023, compared to 78 million at Dallas. Delta carried about 70% of all Atlanta passengers in 2023. Delta said it has “contributed significantly” to the airport’s $10.8 billion redevelopment program, which during the past decade has included expanding Concourse D.
“Atlanta travelers also enjoy Delta’s highly convenient schedules,” Delta said. “With 56 markets featuring eight or more daily flights, Delta offers the frequency that both business travelers and families need for easy planning.”
A recent report by OAG ranks airports by combining two components: the number of available connections and the number of destinations. According to the report, Atlanta is the 11th most connected hub in the world. Also, Atlanta is the second most connected domestic hub in the U.S., behind Chicago (which has hubs for both American and United), but ahead of number three Dallas and number four Charlotte.
Atlanta, GA
Assaults On Transgender People Leads To Arrest In Atlanta
ATLANTA, GA — Police on Monday arrested a 28-year-old man accused of assaulting multiple transgender people in Atlanta, authorities said.
Michael Boykin was taken into custody after police received a tip that he was in the area of 160 Ponce De Leon Ave. Northeast. According to police, Boykin was wanted because of his connection to a series of assaults targeting transgender people.
Authorities said they believe Boykin had a gun and was considered armed and dangerous at the time of his arrest.
Police arrested Boykin on outstanding warrants for aggravated assault, criminal trespassing, battery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also charged with possession of drug-related objects.
No additional information was immediately available.
Atlanta, GA
A’s Reportedly Sign Former Atlanta Braves Third Baseman
All offseason, the question looming over the Athletics has been who will man the hot corner for them in their first season in West Sacramento, and on Thursday night we received a bit of clarity. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the A’s are in agreement with former Atlanta Braves third baseman Gio Urshela, with Martín Gallegos of MLB.com saying that it’s a one-year deal. The agreement has not been announced by the A’s, as the deal is pending a physical.
Last season the A’s struggled to find consistency at third base, initially giving the job to J.D. Davis, whom they signed during Spring Training, but when he went down with an injury early in the season, Abraham Toro took over and provided a bit of a spark across 56 games at the position. In 28 games in May, Toro hit .315 with a .351 OBP. From that point on, he topped out at batting .200 in eight games in July, and was designated for assignment in late August.
The A’s also deployed Tyler Nevin, Brett Harris, Armando Alvarez, and Darell Hernaiz at third this past season, with the six players combining for a 79 wRC+ (100 is league average), with nobody possessing a league average bat in the bunch, and accumulating -0.9 fWAR. The Athletics ranked No. 28 in fWAR at the position.
GM David Forst has said that the A’s were looking to add a veteran to the mix headed into 2025, with an emphasis on defense. This will be Urshela’s tenth season in the big leagues, and at the very least he has consistently put up WAR totals greater than zero, which will be an improvement.
The 33-year-old signed on with the Detroit Tigers last offseason, but they released him in late August. The Braves picked him up a couple of days later, and he finished out the season with Atlanta. Between both stops, he played 128 games, 110 of those coming at third base, with some time also spent across the diamond at first.
He hit .250 with a .286 OBP, nine homers, 52 RBI, and ended up with an 81 wRC+. With the glove, he racked up 0 Defensive Runs Saved and +3 Outs Above Average, using a couple of different metrics. His defense at the position has seemingly improved in recent years, and he has gone from well below league average to at, or above.
While adding a veteran upgrade was certainly on Forst’s bingo card, Urshela doesn’t figure to be a full-time addition to the roster. Instead, he’s likely to have the large side of the platoon, though who his partner will be is up for debate.
Last season against left-handers he went 17-for-96 (.177), while batting .271 in a much larger sample size against righties. While we missed on which player the A’s could end up signing, A’s on SI seemed to be on the right track with the thinking of the front office. Urshela’s 97 wRC+ against right-handers (vs. 29 against lefties) in 2024 should lead to him playing the majority of the time, but perhaps not every day.
Instead, the likely option against southpaws, at least in this point in the offseason, is Darell Hernaiz. Both players have upside with the glove, and Hernaiz went 12-for-43 (.279) against lefties, good for a 90 wRC+. While the A’s still don’t have a ton of pop at the position, they have the makings of a conglomerate league average option.
This is also an interesting path for the team to take, since Urshela’s deal is only for the 2025 campaign. That would seem to suggest that the A’s believe in former top first round pick Max Muncy being able to make the transition from shortstop to third base in the early part of the season, and potentialy make his debut at some point in the second half of ’25.
Adding Urshela buys the A’s a little time to figure out who will ultimately take over at third base, and it also potentially buys Hernaiz another look in the big leagues, and a chace to earn the job himself.
Atlanta, GA
Atlanta Hawks Guard Listed as Good Trade Target for Sixers
Since they’re only one-and-a-half games out of a playoff spot, the Philadelphia 76ers should remain a buyer as trade season gets underway in the NBA. Armed with decent sized contracts and draft capital, Daryl Morey has the assets to bolster the supporting cast around the team’s star trio.
As the rumor mill starts to heat up, the staff at The Athletic compiled a big board of players who could be on the move before the February 6th deadline. Among those mentioned was Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic. When listing best fits for the veteran, the Sixers were among the handful of teams cited.
Given that he’s a 38.4 percent career 3-point shooter, it’s exceptionally difficult to imagine he won’t get back to that level at some point as he gets his rhythm back. But he doesn’t totally fit the Hawks’ new age timeline, and a number of teams would love to get a player like Bogdanović, who has a proven big-game track record on the international stage.
With the Hawks going in a different direction, Bogdanovic could garner a lot interest around the league. For the Sixers, the 32-year-old provides multiple needed skills. Bogdanovic could serve as a sixth man/spot starter, along with providing secondary playmaking and shot creation on the offensive end. Most importantly, he is another above-average three-point shooter to put around Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George.
Bogdanovic’s dip in production shouldn’t be alarming, as the Hawks’ roster shakeup has likely played a part in that. In 12 games this season, he is averaging 11.8 PPG and 2.0 APG while shooting 34.6% from deep on moderate volume. With an increased shot quality playing alongside three All-Star’s, Bogdanoivc’s numbers would surely revert back to his career average if traded to the Sixers.
The Sixers would have to combine multiple contracts to acquire Bogdanovic ($17.2 million salary), but he’d be a long-term investment at a rather team-friendly price. He is signed through this season and next with a club option for 2027.
With the Sixers’ high-end talent locked in, the focus is on building a strong supporting cast. As an experienced guard with a complementary skill set, Bogdanovic is someone who could help Philly achieve their goals this season and beyond.
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