Delta Air Lines is back again with a slew of interesting new routes.
This time around, though, the Atlanta-based carrier is boosting point-to-point connectivity, rather than adding megaphones to its major airports.
Specifically, the carrier is adding the following five routes later this year, airline spokesperson Drake Castaneda confirmed.
- Austin – Las Vegas.
- Austin – Orlando.
- Las Vegas – Sacramento.
- Las Vegas – San Diego.
- New York – Nassau, Bahamas.
All of the aforementioned routes will begin Oct. 9, except for the new LaGuardia service, which will kick off Dec. 16 — just in time for the busy winter holiday season.
Delta will fly between Las Vegas and San Diego twice a day, and other new flights will operate once a day. These new flights will load into Delta’s schedule over the weekend and will be bookable no later than Monday, July 10.
As you can see, the airline’s additions from Austin and Las Vegas don’t touch a hub. Instead, these point-to-point flights connect busy origin and destination (O&D) markets that boast plenty of ongoing demand. (It’s also why Delta will face a lot of competition on these routes from competitors ranging from American Airlines to Spirit Airlines to Southwest Airlines, and even some other airlines.)
Interestingly, Austin has been one of the hottest aviation markets in recent years. During the pandemic, the Texas capital has seen an increase in service from a slew of airlines. Perhaps most notable is that America added multiple segments of new roads as its presence in the city grew.
Before the pandemic, Delta considered Austin among the five cities to focus on — those cities are Austin, Cincinnati, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham and San Jose, California — a list that has since been whittled down to just two major airports: Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. (RDU).
As such, with Austin still a focus city for the airline, Delta’s growth there shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. The last flight between Austin and Orlando in January 2015 shows Cirium schedules, while the route to Las Vegas is a new route for the carrier.
Being one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, Austin has seen a steady stream of businesses relocate to the area. Additionally, with the city’s vibrant arts and entertainment scene, it is a popular destination for leisure travelers.
Together with the American Delta, AlaskaAllegiant Air, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest have revealed new routes to Austin recently.
As for Vegas, the city also sees millions of leisure and business travelers each year, and the new Delta routes there should help boost its presence in Sin City and along the West Coast. (It should be noted that the route from Vegas to San Diego is technically a resume from April 2020, Cirium schedules show.)
Finally, there is an interesting new seasonal daily flight from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Nassau that will launch on December 16th and will run through April 7th, 2024.
You don’t often see new international services to and from the LGA, since the airport doesn’t offer a federal inspection station for customs and immigration procedures. Therefore, the only international flights that can be operated into LaGuardia are those arriving from previously abandoned destinations that present to US Customs and Immigration prior to departure.
One such airport is Nassau, so when you arrive in LaGuardia, you’ll be treated basically as if you were landing on a domestic flight.
The addition of this new service from New York will compete with JetBlue’s existing flight in this market. LaGuardia is the airport of choice for many New Yorkers, so Delta should have no problem marketing this new service to those looking for some fun in the sun this winter.
Delta last flew between the two cities in January 2017, and the airline’s existing service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Nassau is not changing as part of this update.
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