Delta to offer daily New York flights in 2013

MONDAY, MAY 21: Delta Airlines announced today it would be offering daily service from New York starting on April 8, 2013.

The daily flights will leave LaGuardia at 9:55am and arrive in Bermuda at 1:05pm. The flights will leave Bermuda at 2:05pm and arrive in New York at 3:40pm.

The announcement was part of Delta’s expansion where it is adding more than 100 new flights from New York.

In a press release, Gail Grimmett, Delta’s senior vice president, New York, said: "We're excited to be announcing new and expanded service to these popular leisure destinations at the same time we're building our new domestic hub at LaGuardia Airport.

"It's another step toward achieving our goal of becoming the preferred airline in New York." In conjunction with its expansion at LaGuardia, Delta is investing $160 million to modernize two terminals at the airport and construct a new walkway connecting the facilities.

In March, United (formerly Continental) announced it was adding two flights out of its Newark hub. Besides its daily flight, it was adding options for Thursday and Sunday.

The new flights will depart Newark at 7:40am and arrive in Bermuda at 10:50am. The return flight departs Bermuda at noon and lands in Newark at 2:16pm.

The daily schedule will see the flight leave Bermuda at 3:55pm and land in Newark at 5:30pm. The return flight from Newark departs at 11:54am and lands in Bermuda at 3:04pm

In addition, Bermuda is also serviced by JetBlue and American Airlines from New York.

TUESDAY, MAY 22: I am happy to confirm that Delta Airlines shall introduce daily, non-stop service to Bermuda from New York’s La Guardia Airport, beginning April 7th, 2013.

This comes on the heels of ongoing discussions between Delta and our Airport General Manager, Mr. Aaron Adderley to secure additional airlift from the New York metropolitan area, our largest gateway market. 

The hotel industry and others in the Tourism sector had suggested that in order to accommodate growth in air arrivals, they would prefer that the Department of Airport Operations acquire an additional flight out of New York specifically, where awareness of Bermuda is at its highest.

The introduction of the La Guardia service means that Bermuda will have four daily, non-stop flights from the New York area during the 2013 peak season, up from the three that we have at present, thereby increasing the number of daily available seats from 450 to approximately 600.

This new flight adds to what has been an aggressive introduction of new airline services over the past two years, with both Westjet and AirTran entering the Bermuda market in 2010 and 2011 respectively, underscoring the fact that Bermuda continues to be well served with diverse and competitive air services. 

For Delta, the new Bermuda service represents their commitment to expanding their presence in the very competitive New York market by offering its customer base a broader selection of leisure destinations from which to chose.

Concerning the details of the new flight, the service commences April 7, 2013 using a 160-seat Boeing 737 aircraft.  It departs LaGuardia at 9:55am arrives in Bermuda at 1:05pm; then departs Bermuda at 2:05pm and arrives back in LaGuardia at 3:40pm.

The Department of Airport Operations and Delta wanted to ensure that the schedule would facilitate as many connections to our secondary markets as possible including upstate New York and New England.  In total, passengers can connect to almost 50 destinations.

Similar to many of the new flights we have introduced over the past couple of years, there is no revenue guarantee agreement in place for the LaGuardia service.

However, the Department of Tourism will look at ways to identify the most effective marketing support to ensure the success of the flight.

Travelers will recall Delta offered a LaGuardia to Bermuda service very briefly in 2009.  However, they have committed to return in 2013 with the goal of having a year-round service should demand warrant.

I am excited by yet another new flight and am proud of the efforts of our team at the Department of Airport Operations to ensure Bermuda is the most connected little island in the world.