Jason Williams

jwilliams@enquirer.com

After more than a decade of downsizing, Delta Air Lines is growing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

Atlanta-based Delta on Wednesday announced it's adding more daily nonstop flights to five cities, the largest one-time expansion since the airline started dismantling its once-thriving CVG hub in 2005, according to airport officials. The expansion comes as competitor Southwest Airlines prepares to launch flights from Cincinnati this summer.

Here's a look at Delta's changes at CVG, which the airline still considers a hub:

• New daily nonstop flights to Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Orlando and Toronto, cities Delta already offers service to from Cincinnati.

• Larger jets are being added for nonstop flights to Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul. All flights to the Twin Cities now will offer first-class seating.

• Seasonal nonstop flights will be added to Seattle and Fort Myers, Florida. Seattle flights will be offered in the spring and fall. Fort Myers service will be offered in the summer.

• Morning and evening schedules for flights to Charlotte, Hartford, Newark and Philadelphia will be changed to make the service more convenient for business fliers.

Overall, the expansion will result in a 6 percent increase in seats available for travelers.

Delta's expansion could be in response to growing competition at CVG, where discount carrier Southwest will launch daily nonstop flights to Chicago and Baltimore in June. It also could signal that Delta remains committed to Cincinnati, where the airline has cut more than 600 daily flights the past 12 years.

It's been a big week for CVG. Delta's announcement comes a day after online retailer Amazon said it would establish a worldwide cargo hub at the airport. Also this week, low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines announced it's adding new nonstop flights from CVG to New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul and San Diego.