Delta Launches Final Phase of LaGuardia Hub

NEW YORK, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today began flights to 11 new cities from LaGuardia Airport, the final phase of the largest route expansion at the iconic New York City gateway in more than 40 years.

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Delta launched a dozen new routes in March as part of the first phase of the expansion, and today operates more than 260 daily flights to 60 cities from LaGuardia, significantly more than any other airline.

New Delta service begins today to Cleveland; Charlotte, N.C.; Charlottesville, Va; Denver; Halifax; Houston; Ottawa; Montreal; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh and Roanoke, Va. Last month, Delta launched new LaGuardia service to Milwaukee; Wilmington, N.C., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.

"An important part of our strategy to become the preferred airline in New York is connecting to key business markets from LaGuardia, the New York business traveler's preferred airport," said Gail Grimmett, Delta's senior vice president – New York. "Now that we have completed the final phase of our expansion, Delta provides service to more than 60 cities, more than any other carrier.  After years of hard work, Delta's LaGuardia hub is up and running."

The new flights are part of Delta's ongoing expansion in New York, one of the world's largest and most competitive aviation markets. The airline has increased service at LaGuardia by 60 percent, with 100 new flights and 26 new destinations.

In March, Delta added new service from LaGuardia to Buffalo, N.Y.; Burlington, Vt.; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Louisville, Ky.; Manchester, N.H.; Miami; Norfolk and Richmond, Va.; Rochester, N.Y. and Syracuse, N.Y and Washington-Dulles.

Delta also is increasing frequency between LaGuardia and many cities that already have service, including Fort Lauderdale; Orlando; Ft. Myers, Fla.; Indianapolis; Chicago; Nashville; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Columbia, S.C.; Portland, Me., and Bangor, Me.

Delta is investing $160 million to modernize and connect two terminals at LaGuardia, with work expected to be completed by the end of 2012. Delta's upgraded and enhanced LaGuardia terminals are a key component of the airline's commitment to New York, which includes new routes, enhanced facilities and more frequencies.

At John F. Kennedy International Airport, Delta also has recently added service, with new destinations that include Austin, Texas; Jacksonville, Fla.; Louisville, Ky.; Charleston, S.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Elmira, N.Y.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Greensboro, N.C.; New Orleans and Kansas City. Customers can use Delta's global hub at JFK to reach nearly 50 international destinations on five continents.

A portion of travel for some itineraries may be on the Delta Connection carriers: Chautauqua Airlines, Comair, Compass Airlines, ExpressJet, Go Jet, Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, Shuttle America and SkyWest.

Delta's three metropolitan area airports carried 20.8 million domestic and international passengers in 2011, and that number is expected to grow to 24.6 million in 2012. Delta has 7,000 New York-based employees.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta was named domestic "Airline of the Year" by the readers of Travel Weekly magazine, was named the "Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline" by PCWorld magazine for its innovation in technology and won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 350 destinations in 65 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $3 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines