SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines has announced it will resume the pre-COVID route between Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) and Fort Myers (RSW), which appears to be at the expense of three intercity routes from New York JFK Airport (JFK). The airline, at the same time, will axe its services from the Big Apple to Memphis International Airport (MEM), St. Louis (STL) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
It is presumed that the airline will reutilize these slots at the busy New York airport for key international and domestic routes, with LaGuardia Airport (LGA) picking up the slack for regional travel, as Delta already serves these destinations from its other New York airport.
Delta Flights Resume Between Raleigh And Fort Myers
As posted by aviation insider Ishrion Aviation on X, Delta has announced that it will resume flying between Raleigh and Fort Myers this coming November. The airline plans to serve the route with a once-daily flight, operated by the Bombardier CRJ-900 from November 21. Also known as Southwest Florida International Airport, the airport is the second busiest single-runway airport in the country.
Breeze Airways is the only other carrier currently operating the route nonstop, which will see the two airlines go head to head on a popular route for those escaping winter temperatures and heading to the Sunshine State across the colder months. Delta previously served the route; however, this was over six years ago, before the COVID-19 Pandemic.
For Delta, this will mark the airline’s tenth route to Fort Myers, and joins Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), which is also set to debut on the route from November 21, as the airline aggressively expands its presence at Austin.
While schedules are yet to be posted for the route to Fort Myers, nonstop flights will take approximately two hours, five minutes gate-to-gate when traveling southbound, and around two hours for the return, saving nearly 11 hours if traveled by road. The flight will cover a distance of 668 miles (1,076 km).
The new route comes at a time when Fort Myers will welcome several new routes added before the year-end. Avelo Airlines plans to connect Fort Myers to Charlotte/Concord from November 19, and Dallas/McKinney from November 11. Breeze Airways will also add service to Atlantic City from October 22, Dayton from October 23, Madison from October 21, and Trenton from next January 8.
Delta plans to connect Austin to Southwest Florida from November 21, and Southwest Airlines adds a nonstop link from Omaha from next March. JetBlue is the only airline cutting back services to the airport, as it will shelve its seasonal service to Providence from September 9.
They include 10 long-haul and 13 short-haul links. See them all here!
As already mentioned, the new route from Raleigh comes at the same time as Delta will axe three routes from New York JFK. Ishrion Aviation suggests that the Atlanta-based carrier will axe its nonstop services from JFK to Houston, Memphis and St. Louis.
This comes after months of on-again, off-again travel between JFK and St. Louis; however, at least the airline will still serve the cities from LaGuardia Airport. This leaves JetBlue as the only carrier flying to Houston from JFK, while the other two cities will only be served by neighboring airports. Details below:
Simple Flying reached out to Delta for comment on the new route from Raleigh and the reasoning that it decided to cut these three routes from New York JFK; however, an airline spokesperson could not immediately be reached.
Delta Air Lines remains one of the largest airlines in the United States, with close to 1,000 mainline aircraft and operating to more than 325 destinations around the globe. The airline has an extensive network of regional flights across the United States, and its latest move to cut three routes from JFK will be condensed to LaGuardia. Sun seekers in North Carolina will now have an additional option for travel to Southwest Florida.
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