Summary
- Delta Air Lines is pulling out of the New York - London Gatwick route, with the last flight departing on October 27.
- Despite cutting the Gatwick flights, Delta is adding more flights from Detroit to London Heathrow, with an increase of 4,683 seats in November.
- London remains an important destination for Delta, with 253 flights scheduled to various hubs in January.
Four months after announcing the return of its New York - London Gatwick route, Delta Air Lines is pulling out of the market. The last flight departing New York for the London Airport will be on October 27.
Bye-bye New York - Gatwick
In April, Delta Air Lines announced it was returning to London Gatwick Airport after a 15-year absence. The relaunch of the service from John F. Kennedy International Airport coincided with the 45th anniversary of the launch of Delta’s operations at Gatwick. Every week, Cirium releases a schedule change report for airlines worldwide, and today’s update shows that Delta is pulling out of the JFK-LGW route in October. The last scheduled flight from New York will depart on the 27, and the final return from London will be on the 28.
When the route was launched, the Atlanta-based carrier connected the city daily, with flights scheduled to drop to five times weekly in January 2024. As of last week. Delta planned to fly the route five times weekly until March 7, when it would return to daily service. Now, the flights cut in late October before resuming on March 30 on what appears to be a daily frequency, but nothing is scheduled for April, so that is not certain.
There are several reasons why Delta could have decided to pull the route, and Simple Flying has contacted the airline for a statement, which has not been received at the time of publication. If Simple Flying receives a reply, this article will be updated.
Cutting Gatwick from JFK but adding more Heathrow flights from Detroit
Though Delta is pulling the JFK-LGW route, there has been an increase on its route from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to London Heathrow Airport. Last week, Delta had one daily flight scheduled from Detroit to Heathrow in November, and this week, there are five extra weekly flights. In November, the 21 extra flights equate to an increase of 4,683 seats on the route. The five additional weekly frequencies continue in December and add 4,906 seats to the route.
The five additional frequencies are on Delta’s schedule until January 12, the second week of the month. Delta then continues with its previously scheduled daily flights through March 11, when five weekly flights are added to its network.
Additional London routes in January
Despite the shifts, London continues to be an essential destination for Delta, with 253 flights scheduled to London in January from seven of its hubs. In January, Delta is using its Boeing 767-400ERs on twice-daily flights to London Heathrow from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airline also uses its older Airbus A330ceo (A330-200 and -300) on daily flights from Boston Logan International Airport, Detroit, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport.
Delta will fly from Seattle Tacoma International Airport three times weekly to London in January using the Airbus A330neos (A330-900), offering 3,934 seats. And finally, Delta has four weekly flights to Heathrow from Salt Lake City International Airport, using the Airbus A330-300s.
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