General Lee
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UPDATE - Delta to add New York service, takes on JetBlue
Wednesday January 28, 11:59 am ET
By Meredith Grossman Dubner
(Recasts, adds interview with chief marketing officer, byline, changes dateline from NEW YORK)
CHICAGO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE
AL - News) on Wednesday said it will increase flights and add eight new destinations at New York's John F. Kennedy airport, as it takes on JetBlue Airways Corp. (NasdaqNM:JBLU - News) in its latest battle against a low-cost carrier.
The No. 3 U.S. airline said it will bring 10 parked planes back into service and recall about 200 flight attendants and 100 airport employees for the JFK expansion.
It also plans to invest more than $300 million in improving its JFK terminal over the next six years.
"I fully expect that JetBlue will continue to grow," Delta's chief marketing officer, Vicki Escarra, said in an interview with Reuters. "When you look at the fact that (low-cost carriers) are growing 25 percent faster than mainline carriers and have cost structures that allow them to grow faster ... they are a force to be reckoned with."
JetBlue, based in New York and the biggest carrier at JFK, continues to expand its popular service featuring live TV and leather seats. Last week it said it filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation for 10 slots to begin service from New York's LaGuardia airport this spring.
Delta, which already has a large operation at LaGuardia, has competed aggressively with low-cost carriers, particularly with AirTran Airways (NYSE:AAI - News), which has taken on Delta in its hometown of Atlanta.
Delta, which has some of the highest costs in the industry, launched a low-fare subsidiary, Song, last year to compete with lower-cost rivals. Delta is also in the midst of contract talks with its pilots, its only major union, to reduce costs.
The airline's new chief executive, Gerald Grinstein, has launched a full-scale review of Delta's business, saying the company still faces many challenges in 2004.
Escarra said most of the airline's 9-percent capacity increase this year will be focused on New York and Atlanta.
Delta will start two flights each from JFK to Denver and San Juan, Puerto Rico, in April, to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in June, and to San Diego in July.
Song will start two flights from JFK to Fort Myers, Florida, in May.
Delta will also add one flight on each of three existing routes from JFK to Los Angeles, Seattle and Las Vegas, and two flights on its existing service to San Francisco, by September.
In addition, Delta will start new commuter service to Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia and Greensboro, North Carolina and increase frequencies to some other Midwest cities. The regional flights will be operated by Chautauqua Airlines under the Delta Connection brand.
Delta also said it will improve air conditioning and baggage systems and will add directional signage and more visible Delta branding in JFK terminals No. 2 and No. 3.
Shares of Delta were off 28 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $11.96 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites) on Wednesday.
Well, atleast they are trying to compete, and they might even advertise at JFK!! And how did Jetblue get 11 slots at LGA? We need to hire that guy for LHR slots....? This will get interesting, and atleast we are negotiating with managmenet again for possible paycuts that will allow us to compete better. We shall see......
Bye Bye--General Lee
Wednesday January 28, 11:59 am ET
By Meredith Grossman Dubner
(Recasts, adds interview with chief marketing officer, byline, changes dateline from NEW YORK)
CHICAGO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE
AL - News) on Wednesday said it will increase flights and add eight new destinations at New York's John F. Kennedy airport, as it takes on JetBlue Airways Corp. (NasdaqNM:JBLU - News) in its latest battle against a low-cost carrier.The No. 3 U.S. airline said it will bring 10 parked planes back into service and recall about 200 flight attendants and 100 airport employees for the JFK expansion.
It also plans to invest more than $300 million in improving its JFK terminal over the next six years.
"I fully expect that JetBlue will continue to grow," Delta's chief marketing officer, Vicki Escarra, said in an interview with Reuters. "When you look at the fact that (low-cost carriers) are growing 25 percent faster than mainline carriers and have cost structures that allow them to grow faster ... they are a force to be reckoned with."
JetBlue, based in New York and the biggest carrier at JFK, continues to expand its popular service featuring live TV and leather seats. Last week it said it filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation for 10 slots to begin service from New York's LaGuardia airport this spring.
Delta, which already has a large operation at LaGuardia, has competed aggressively with low-cost carriers, particularly with AirTran Airways (NYSE:AAI - News), which has taken on Delta in its hometown of Atlanta.
Delta, which has some of the highest costs in the industry, launched a low-fare subsidiary, Song, last year to compete with lower-cost rivals. Delta is also in the midst of contract talks with its pilots, its only major union, to reduce costs.
The airline's new chief executive, Gerald Grinstein, has launched a full-scale review of Delta's business, saying the company still faces many challenges in 2004.
Escarra said most of the airline's 9-percent capacity increase this year will be focused on New York and Atlanta.
Delta will start two flights each from JFK to Denver and San Juan, Puerto Rico, in April, to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in June, and to San Diego in July.
Song will start two flights from JFK to Fort Myers, Florida, in May.
Delta will also add one flight on each of three existing routes from JFK to Los Angeles, Seattle and Las Vegas, and two flights on its existing service to San Francisco, by September.
In addition, Delta will start new commuter service to Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia and Greensboro, North Carolina and increase frequencies to some other Midwest cities. The regional flights will be operated by Chautauqua Airlines under the Delta Connection brand.
Delta also said it will improve air conditioning and baggage systems and will add directional signage and more visible Delta branding in JFK terminals No. 2 and No. 3.
Shares of Delta were off 28 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $11.96 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites) on Wednesday.
Well, atleast they are trying to compete, and they might even advertise at JFK!! And how did Jetblue get 11 slots at LGA? We need to hire that guy for LHR slots....? This will get interesting, and atleast we are negotiating with managmenet again for possible paycuts that will allow us to compete better. We shall see......
Bye Bye--General Lee
