Delta Air Lines and its transatlantic partner Virgin Atlantic have announced they will serve flights to Gatwick from Boston Logan International and New York JFK airports from summer 2020.
The new service will add to the partnership’s existing flights to Heathrow and will bring Delta and Virgin Atlantic’s combined offering to up to 18 daily departures to the UK from both Boston and JFK.
Both routes are currently served by Norwegian, while British Airways operates flights between Gatwick and JFK.
US carrier Jetblue is also reportedly considering launching flights between New York and London, including the possibility of choosing Gatwick as its first UK airport.
Gatwick was the first transatlantic destination for Delta more than 40 years ago, when the airline started offering flights from Atlanta.
Virgin Atlantic currently offers flights to the Caribbean and Florida from Gatwick.
Delta says full schedule details will be released later this year.
In addition, starting this week, Delta’s existing flights between Boston and Heathrow will be operated by an Airbus A330-200, which already serves its JFK-Heathrow route. Then, from November 2019, the carrier will introduce its refurbished Boeing 767-400s on both routes, featuring all four branded seat products – Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin.
Delta is preparing to grow its footprint at Boston Logan by assuming operations at all of Terminal A’s gates. The airline plans to expand its Delta Sky Club near gate A18, including new showers, extra seating and a redesigned food and beverage area.
Commenting on the announcement of the new Gatwick flights, Delta’s vice president – transatlantic Roberto Ioriatti said: “Delta once again shows that we are able to connect Boston and New York to the world through an unmatched global network paired with our award-winning service, industry-leading reliability and an enhanced customer experience both in the air and on the ground.”
Juha Jarvinen, executive vice president – commercial for Virgin Atlantic added: “Virgin Atlantic is pleased to announce that we’re expanding at London Gatwick, with the addition of new routes to New York-JFK and Boston operated in partnership with Delta.”
delta.com; virginatlantic.com