Delta Air Lines will begin Saturday nonstop service from Wichita to Orlando for the summer months, the company said Friday.
The flights are part of an expanded summer schedule Delta will operate from late May through early September.
Delta's service will begin in Wichita on May 27 and operate through Sept 2.
The new flight will be operated by Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines on a 50-seat regional jet, Delta said.
"That direct service for the season, we think, will be popular with our customers in Wichita, since the summer season is such a busy family travel season," said Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly.
Orlando is a popular destination for families, especially when children are out of school, Kelly said.
Delta's new service will compete with AirTran Airways, which operates nonstop jet service year-round from Wichita to Orlando on Saturdays.
"Orlando is a popular destination throughout the country," said AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver. It's "not surprising that Delta is mimicking that route," she said.
Besides service in Wichita, Delta also is adding nonstop summer service to Orlando from Bloomington, Ill., Moline, Ill., Rochester, N.Y., and Newport News/Williamsburg, Va. for the summer.
Late last year, Delta began nonstop service to Orlando from Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Kansas City, Kelly said.
Delta is able to offer Saturday-only flights for the summer because Saturdays are typically slower travel days than some other days of the week. That means it's more able to take an airplane from another route and put it into service on Saturdays, Kelly said.
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