Delta Air Lines is quickly moving to capture some of the territory that JetBlue Airways just retreated from.
The Atlanta-based carrier files plans over the weekend to launch two interesting new routes, one from Boston and another from New York, as first seen in Cirium Diio schedules.
To start, Delta will add new daily flights between Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and San Antonio International Airport (SAT) beginning on Nov. 11. This route will operate year-round and provide the only nonstop connection between Boston and San Antonio.
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Delta will deploy a 109-seat Airbus A220-100 on this route, which features 12 first-class recliners, 15 Comfort+ extra-legroom seats and 82 standard economy seats. The A220 is a joy to fly with its oversized windows, expanded overhead bins and comfortable 2-3 configuration.
The flight will depart Boston at 9:15 a.m. and land in San Antonio at 1:13 p.m., all times local. It’ll depart SAT at 2 p.m. and land back in Boston at 7:05 p.m.
In a statement, Delta shared that “the addition of Boston-San Antonio to the Delta network will provide the only nonstop access for consumers between these two cities starting in November. Moreover, this service will increase Delta’s coverage of top 50 markets from our Boston hub and will help build upon Delta’s #1 position there.”
Separately, the airline will also launch service between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) on Dec. 21. This once-weekly service will operate on Saturdays, and it will be operated by the larger Airbus A220-300 aircraft. This jet features 130 seats, split between 12 first-class recliners, 30 Comfort+ extra-legroom seats and 88 standard economy seats.
It shares many of the flyer-friendly features that you’ll find on the smaller -100 variant of the A220, including the window in the lavatory.
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Delta currently plans to operate the JFK-to-PSP route seasonally through May 3, 2025, but it’s possible that if the route is successful, the airline could expand the season and/or increase frequencies during the week.
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These new flights will depart at 8:45 a.m. from New York and land in Palm Springs at 10:50 a.m., all times local. The return service will depart at 12:50 p.m. and land in New York at 8:35 p.m.
While these two routes are new to Delta’s network, they share something interesting in common; JetBlue Airways — one of Delta’s biggest domestic rivals in Boston and New York — just pulled out of both markets a few weeks ago.
As part of JetBlue’s path to profitability, the New York hometown carrier has been shrinking its network to reduce capacity. The airline just announced that it would exit seven more cities, two of which are Palm Springs and San Antonio.
JetBlue’s BOS-to-SAT route ends on Oct. 26, while the airline’s JFK-to-PSP service won’t resume as winter-seasonal service.
Delta and JetBlue have fought neck-in-neck for years for dominance in two of the biggest markets in the Northeast, and it seems that Delta is quickly picking up the slack left by JetBlue’s retreat.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with these routes, especially the Palm Springs service, which JetBlue used to operate daily during the peak winter period. Delta’s once-weekly service will certainly appeal to a subset of warm-weather seekers, but it won’t work for those who want to travel on days other than Saturday.
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