OK, but you are wrong on a key point here. First of all Atlanta is NOT slot restricted as are some other major airports. Given that, there is nothing stopping any airline from competing with them head to head. Also, just because only one airline CHOOSES to operate a certain market does not make it a monopoly.
So, Delta may fly 60% of the flights out of Atlanta, there is still nothing from stopping AirTran (or any other airline for that matter) from also flying the same market.
There is nothing bait and switch on this. Any airline can stop a particular route at any time. If they do so, it's because it's no longer profitable. Routes always have to be re-evaluated on a regular basis. And it doesn't matter what airline in the world you look at, there are always going to be some schedule changes each month or two months including non-stop to connection. The only difference here is that Delta's schedule is more volatile than other airlines (and even from the norm for them) due to the Northwest merger.
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