Delta Air Lines is making some notable changes to its route network.
The Atlanta-based carrier filed plans over the weekend to exit several notable markets. This includes a long-haul route from Los Angeles to London and testing from Westchester County, New York, to Florida, among others.
These cuts were first seen in Cirium’s schedule and later confirmed by a spokesperson for the network.
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Delta cuts LA to London
To start, Delta will cut daily service between LA and London effective May 5. Delta has resumed the route after a temporary suspension. eight-year hiatus in March 2023.
The carrier has been running the service consistently since then, but it seems like there’s too much competition in the market to make it work.
American Airlines and British Airways each fly three times a day in this market; United Airlines also offers up to two daily frequencies.
Additionally, Delta’s transatlantic joint venture partner, Virgin Atlantic, offering up to three daily frequencies on this 5,456-mile route. So the London-based airline can address Delta’s shortcomings.
Services at Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London are slot controlmeaning airlines receive special takeoff and landing permits from government agencies to operate there.
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Delta owns 10 pairs of these extremely valuable slots (Tradable Heathrow Slot Machines for up to $70 million), so the airline will almost certainly replace the LA flight with another flight from another hub.
It remains to be seen which hubs will receive the additional London service.
Delta cancels 3 domestic routes
Domestically, Delta will cut three routes, all of which were recently added to the network. They don’t seem to be doing well enough to warrant another season of operation.
To start, Delta will end service from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, New York, to both Orlando and West Palm Beach in Florida on May 6.
These two routes just started in Novemberand it was surprising to see the airline remove them so quickly.
White Plains, Orlando and West Palm Beach are not Delta hubs, but this point-to-point service has certainly attracted Northeast travelers heading to the Sunshine State.
Florida is an extremely popular destination (especially in the winter). HPN is the airport of choice for many budget-minded travelers living in the Westchester area, just north of New York City, as well as those living nearby in some of Connecticut’s wealthiest towns.
Furthermore, HPN is easy to navigate. Many locals who live within a few miles of the airport choose to fly from the airport — and maybe even connect their trips — instead of flying from larger airports in the area.
JetBlue Airways has long been the market leader in flights from Westchester to Florida, and Delta’s once-daily service goes head-to-head with JetBlue’s existing flights on both routes.
Perhaps Delta can’t break JetBlue’s dominance in the market or it has found a better use for the Boeing 717 when it flies from Westchester County. We don’t know for sure because Delta declined to provide a statement to TPG.
Meanwhile, the airline is also canceling service between LA and Dallas Love Field (DAL) effective May 6.
Last February, Delta announced a major expansion at DAL, adding two new routes there: New York and LA. New York service is cut before it came outand now twice-daily flights from LA are also being cut (to accommodate more Atlanta flights).
Beyond May, Delta will fly exclusively from DAL to its Atlanta superhub.
The interesting way, Love Airport is the most convenient airport for travelers to or from Dallas, but most carriers have not yet been able to make the station work for them.
Alaska Airlines submitted plans earlier this year to cut service from San Francisco to DALleave there only with direct flights from Seattle.
And now, Delta’s massive expansion is being scaled back to just a single route.
All of these moves are good news for hometown airline Southwest Airlines.
Southwest occupies nearly all of Love Field’s 20 gates, essentially giving the carrier a monopoly on the airport. Other airlines have tried to make inroads into Love Field over the years, but their limited operations appear to have been unsuccessful.
The good news is that the cuts from Love Field do not affect any routes from nearby Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
From there, Delta flies multiple daily services to all nine of its hubs.
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