Everything is bigger in Texas, and that now includes the Delta Air Lines network.
The airline announced a significant expansion in Austin on Friday, amounting to a capacity increase of as much as 20%, making it Delta’s largest flight ever in the Texas capital.
In total, the airline is adding 11 new flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). Nine of those flights are spread over three new routes for the airline. This includes intra-Texas service to McAllen and Midland-Odessa, which will be operated by Delta Connection partners Endeavor and SkyWest.
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Beginning April 22, 2024, Delta will offer three daily flights on both new routes on dual-class regional jets.
In addition, Delta is adding a new same-day route to Nashville flown three times daily, also operated by the airline’s regional carriers.
Additionally, Delta is expanding service on existing routes from Austin to Cincinnati and Raleigh-Durham with an additional daily flight also beginning April 22.
The expansion comes just weeks after American Airlines made a U-turn in Austin, cutting 21 routes from the city as part of a major cutback.
American has spent much of the pandemic effectively turning Austin into a focus city, adding parts of new routes to take advantage of the city’s growth as major companies move (or expand) there. American wanted to position itself as the carrier of choice for locals, whether traveling for work or pleasure.
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The US Austin routes include a mix of leisure destinations, such as Cozumel, Mexico and Liberia, Costa Rica, as well as more business-oriented flights to places like Cincinnati and Washington, D.C.
Of course, Delta now appears to be strategically adding Austin flights to fill the void left by American, and in some ways that’s probably true.
American just ended flights to Cincinnati and now Delta is adding another daily flight to the market. In fact, Delta will effectively have a monopoly on this route, as Allegiant Air – the only competitor in this market – only operates flights twice a week.
Delta’s new intra-Texas routes may be a bit more of a headache. The airline will be the only one serving McAllen from Austin, and will compete against Southwest Airlines on the Midland-Odessa route, Cirium schedules show.
In fact, these two routes will be Delta’s first intra-Texas flights in 19 years. The airline does not have a hub in the state, nor does the airline’s network typically include point-to-point flights.
As for why the airline is now doubling down on these exciting new routes to Austin, Delta says it’s trying to “Austin [as] a gateway… to further connections within Delta’s global network.”
With 50 peak-day nonstop flights to 15 U.S. airports (including non-hub routes to Las Vegas and Orlando), Delta says it now covers seven of its top 10 markets from Austin.
The airline can also market connections with its global partners for improved connectivity from Austin to Amsterdam with KLM and Mexico City with AeroMexico.
Interestingly, Delta had five focus cities in the county before the pandemic: Austin, Cincinnati, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham and San Jose. Early in the pandemic, the airline downgraded Cincinnati, Nashville and San Jose to “regular” outstations, leaving Austin and Raleigh-Durham as its focus cities.
Delta added two new flights to Las Vegas and Orlando from Austin earlier this year, but hasn’t done much more to expand its network from Austin. (The airline already operates a swanky Sky Club at the airport.)
This may be the airline’s first recent announcement to truly double down on Austin’s focus city status, although Delta did not mention the “focus city” designation in its press release. Asked why, an airline spokesperson said the airline no longer uses the “focus city” moniker to refer to certain non-hub airports.
Either way, Delta clearly sees something different than America. “Austin is growing rapidly, and this 20% capacity increase reflects that growth as we continue to provide our customers with unparalleled convenience in the region,” said Joe Esposito, Delta’s senior vice president of network planning.
Elsewhere in Texas, Delta recently added more flights from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Boston and New York, and a new route from DFW to Seattle will launch on July 8, 2024.
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