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Times Staff WriterThe route was competitive in the '90s, but AirTran JetConnect has monopolized it since 2002.
Delta Air Lines will begin flying small jets between Tampa International Airport and Tallahassee on June 1, creating the first competition on the route in more than a year. Delta Connection carrier Chautauqua Airlines will make four daily roundtrips using 37-seat Embraer 135 aircraft.
The route was highly competitive in the late 1990s, with Continental and US Airways connection carriers making as many 14 turboprop departures from Tampa to Tallahassee each day.
But the arrival of 50-seat regional jets flown by an AirTran JetConnect carrier in 2001 rapidly drove out the turboprops. Continental left in 2001 and US Airways followed suit in November 2002.
Since then, AirTran AirConnect has had the route to itself, making four daily roundtrips. After this summer, AirTran will take over from contract carrier Air Wisconsin and fly its own full-size jets. The airline will fly the same number of seats but make fewer flights, said spokesman Tad Hutcheson.