Delta to Cease its Jacksonville, Fla., to JFK Service
Delta Air Lines will jettison its nonstop service from Jacksonville to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport later this year because of what the company said was a lack of demand.
Mar. 1 -- Delta Air Lines will jettison its nonstop service from Jacksonville to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport later this year because of what the company said was a lack of demand.
As of May 1, the bankrupt Atlanta-based airline is canceling the 7 a.m. and 1:40 p.m. flights it now offers to Kennedy, the company said, although it will continue providing three non-stop flights a day to LaGuardia Airport, which is closer to downtown Manhattan.
"What we have found is that the typical passenger between Jacksonville and New York City has been the business traveler," said Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin, "and in New York the preferred business airport is LaGuardia."
The Jacksonville Aviation Authority said Tuesday it had not been notified that any flights were being cut, but that a meeting with Delta representatives was scheduled for today.
"It's an economic decision for them," said authority spokesman Michael Stewart. "They have to remove some of the capacity to get the price where they want it. In the business market, the business person is going to pay the additional cost."
By reducing the number of seats sold, airlines are able to increase how much they charge flyers.
Delta will trim flights to Kennedy from across Florida in May, Laughlin said, putting flights from Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Palm Beach on hold. Those cuts are part of a seasonal reduction, however, and should be back on the schedule later in the year, she said.
"May is one of the lowest customer demand periods for Florida service," Laughlin said. "Those reductions don't reflect any permanent change. The Jacksonville story is a little different."
The cuts come in the wake of a report by Wall Street analyst JP Morgan -- based on a schedule it had seen -- that Delta was reducing flights in markets where it competes with JetBlue Airways Corp. On Tuesday, Delta denied the cuts, saying the schedule that had been distributed had errors in it.
To see more of The Florida Times-Union -- including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings -- or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jacksonville.com. Copyright (c) 2006, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.
News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.
