Richmond, Va., Gains Delta Flights to Kennedy Airport

By Chip Jones, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

Mar. 8–Delta Air Lines will go wing to wing with JetBlue Airways for the lucrative Richmond-New York market this year.

The airport will get two daily round-trip Delta flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sept. 5 as part of the fiscally troubled carrier’s attempts to bolster its international business.

That could put some pressure on JetBlue, which will start service here to JFK on March 31.

Richmond is one of 17 cities getting new connections to JFK as part of a strategy to “build on already strong markets where we’re the leading carrier,” said Jim Whitehurst,

Delta’s chief operating officer.

Delta, which carries about 30 percent of all passengers from Richmond, became the top airline here last year, overtaking US Airways.

The new service is meant to boost Delta’s international service from New York — a more profitable market than the domestic routes that have been pressured by low-fare carriers such as JetBlue and AirTran Airways.

Delta has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since September. Creating an international hub at JFK — similar to its major hub in Atlanta — marks a “key decision” for its future, Whitehurst said.

News of Delta’s expansion comes three weeks before low-fare rival JetBlue Airways Corp. starts flying four times a day from Richmond to JFK.

No fare information or flight times were available late yesterday on Delta’s Web site or from airline officials.

JetBlue’s introductory fares to JFK are $59 one-way, not including fees and taxes.

Delta’s announcement caught local airport officials by surprise. It also raised a number of questions about local air service to New York, the top destination from Richmond International.

Airport officials and industry experts wondered how passengers will react to Delta’s plan to use 37-seat propeller driven airplanes here.

JetBlue, by contrast, is rolling out 100-seat jets with leather seats and satellite TV and radio.

“Given the choice between the two aircraft that will serve JFK, I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out what people will like,” said Jon Mathiasen, Richmond’s airport’s president and chief executive officer.

George Hoffer, an economics professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who tracks the airline industry, said the Dash-8 turboprop is very dependable. “It nonetheless is a noisy prop jet.”

Given JetBlue’s plans, he said, Delta “will have a very tough row to hoe.”

In a teleconference with reporters, Whitehurst defended Delta’s decision to use the 37-seat airplanes flown by commuter carrier, Freedom Airlines.

While conceding the Dash-8 “certainly is not the same experience as a 100-seat jet,” he said flights from Richmond would last an hour or less. And unlike JetBlue, which is strictly a domestic carrier, Delta will offer connecting flights to 31 international destinations, he said.

“If you want Istanbul, Kiev, Moscow, or anything international, JetBlue doesn’t service your option,” the Delta executive said.

Yesterday’s announcement marks a turnabout for Richmond, which lost direct flights to JFK more than five years ago. JetBlue’s entrance, coupled with Delta’s expansion, promises to heat up competition for Big Apple-bound travelers.

New York City — which is served by three airports — is the top market for Richmond travelers, with about 200,000 passengers a year. Atlanta is a distant No. 2.

The key for Delta will be meshing its schedule to its international flights, Mathiasen said.

“If they are timed to make international connections on Delta, I think there will be a market for that,” he said. “But if they compete head-to-head with JetBlue from Richmond to New York only, I just don’t see the competitiveness of that.”

Nonetheless, Mathiasen said, “we welcome all new service.”

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