US carrier Delta says it is adding almost 1,000 flights system-wide in July amid the easing of border restrictions.
The carrier’s July schedule will be approximately 65 per cent smaller than the same time last year, including reductions of about 60 per cent for US domestic travel and nearly 85 per cent for international travel.
US domestic and Canada
Delta says it will continue to add more nonstop connectivity between “top markets” with a focus on hubs like Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City. The carrier is adding capacity to popular leisure markets like Florida and throughout the West Coast, as well as more transcontinental flying for business travellers.
The carrier says it will “look for opportunities to up-size to a larger aircraft type or add more flying on routes with increasing customer demand”, though seating has been capped for social distancing.
With non-essential travel guidelines between the US and Canada extended into July, Delta says it will continue to operate a limited schedule for those with critical travel needs. Minneapolis, Detroit and New York-JFK serve as Delta’s main gateways to destinations like Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg. Delta will also continue service to Vancouver from Seattle.
Delta has also suspended flying to select US cities.
Latin America and Caribbean
Delta says it will add “a significant amount of capacity” back into the Latin region in response to reopened borders and the “increased demand for leisure travel”. Delta will operate approximately 20 percent of its schedule compared to last year, an increase from June’s capacity that was reduced by more than 90 percent due to travel restrictions.
Flight additions include Cancun and markets like Los Cabos, Montego Bay, Nassau, St. Thomas and Punta Cana.
The airline says it also plans to resume previously suspended routes in the Caribbean like Aruba, St. Maarten, St. Lucia and Puerto Rico.
Trans-Atlantic
Delta is adding a four-times weekly service from Boston to Amsterdam and daily service from Seattle to Amsterdam. The carrier says it will also its restart Detroit to Paris-Charles De Gaulle service.
Delta is continuing existing service from Atlanta to London-Heathrow, Atlanta and New York-JFK to Paris, and service from Atlanta, Detroit and JFK to Amsterdam. The carrier says it will also continue existing service from Atlanta to Frankfurt and JFK to Tel Aviv.
Trans-Pacific
The carrier says it continues to operate a significantly reduced schedule to the Asia-Pacific region but will restart weekly service from Los Angeles to Sydney in July. The airline will also add weekly flights from Atlanta to Seoul-Incheon, complementing existing service from Detroit and Seattle.
Delta will continue to operate service to Tokyo-Haneda from Detroit and Seattle.
The airline will also operate flights to Shanghai (via Incheon) from both Detroit and Seattle. Service from each city will operate once a week.
In a statement posted on its website, the airline said the following: “Delta’s schedule remains subject to change due to the evolving nature of Covid-19, customer demand, government travel regulations and federal health guidelines. Specific restart dates in July may vary for previously suspended routes due to travel restrictions and other operational requirements.”
