Delta slashes 4 routes, including LA-London, Westchester experiment

05.03.2024 - 01:38 / thepointsguy.com / Sunshine State / Airlines / London

Delta Air Lines is making some notable changes to its route network.

The Atlanta-based carrier filed plans over the weekend to exit a handful of buzzworthy markets. This includes a long-haul route from Los Angeles to London and a Westchester County, New York, to Florida experiment, among others.

These cuts were first seen in Cirium timetables and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

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To start, Delta will slash its daily service between LA and London effective May 5. Delta resumed this route after an eight-year hiatus in March 2023.

The carrier has operated this service consistently since then, but it seems like there's just too much competition in the market to make it work.

American Airlines and British Airways each fly three daily flights in this market; United Airlines offers up to two daily frequencies as well.

Plus, Delta's transatlantic joint venture partner, Virgin Atlantic, offers up to three daily frequencies on this 5,456-mile route. So, the London-based airline can pick up Delta's slack.

Service at London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) is slot-controlled, meaning that airlines receive special takeoff and landing permissions from government authorities to operate there.

Delta owns 10 of these incredibly valuable slot pairs (Heathrow slots can trade for as much as $70 million), so the airline will almost definitely replace the LA flight with another one from a different hub.

It remains to be seen which hub will receive the additional London service.

Domestically, Delta will cut three routes, all of which were recent additions to the network. They seemingly weren't performing well enough to warrant another operating season.

To start, Delta will end service from Westchester County Airport (HPN) in White Plains, New York, to both Orlando and West Palm Beach in Florida on May 6.

These two routes just started in November, and it's somewhat surprising to see the airline scrap them so quickly.

White Plains, Orlando and West Palm Beach aren't Delta hubs, but this point-to-point service definitely appealed to travelers based in the Northeast heading to the Sunshine State.

Florida is an incredibly popular destination (especially during the winter). HPN is the airport of choice for many deep-pocketed travelers who live in the Westchester area just north of New York City, as well as those living nearby in some of Connecticut's wealthiest towns.

Moreover, HPN is a breeze to navigate. Many locals living within a few miles of the airport choose to fly from the airport — and possibly even add a connection to their trip — instead of flying from the larger airports in the region.

JetBlue Airways has long been the market