Travelers flying to LaGuardia from Myrtle Beach will have another option for direct flights come July as Delta expands its presence at the New York airport.
Myrtle Beach International Airport will pick up a daily flight to LaGuardia as part of Delta’s new domestic hub there, which is significantly expanding the carrier’s service with more than 100 new flights and 29 new destinations, Delta announced Friday.
The daily direct flight starts July 11 and is expected to fly year-round, Delta spokeswoman Ashley Black said. Delta has flown to LaGuardia from Myrtle Beach previously, but it’s usually only during the summer and it has never been daily service, said Lauren Morris, spokeswoman for Myrtle Beach International Airport.
The flight, on a CRJ-700 aircraft, will leave LaGuardia at 10 a.m. daily, arriving in Myrtle Beach at noon. It will then leave Myrtle Beach at 12:30 p.m. and arrive in New York at 2:20 p.m. Tickets will be available starting this weekend, Black said.
“We think that this is just a good business decision for Delta and we value that market,” she said.
The direct flight doesn’t open a new connection for Myrtle Beach travelers. Spirit Airlines, which carries about half the passengers at Myrtle Beach International Airport every year, also flies direct to LaGuardia year-round.
Delta’s LaGuardia boost adds routes that target American Airlines and puts it in a better position to compete against United.
Delta says the additions make it the biggest airline between the New York area and cities in the United States. That should help it grab more business travelers.
The list of added cities reads like a map of the hubs of competing airlines. Delta is adding Miami and Dallas, both American Airlines hubs. It will also fly to Houston and Denver, which are both United hubs, and Charlotte, which is a hub for US Airways.
United and Continental’s merger into the world’s largest airline puts Delta in second-place by traffic. Expanding in a key business market like New York will help it compete against the larger United.
“It’s about increasing Delta’s overall appeal and utility to the high-yield business traveler,” said Henry Harteveldt, co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group in San Francisco. “Delta is going for scope of service, rather than always having the largest number of flights to a smaller network of cities.”
Delta said it will spend $100 million to expand LaGuardia’s C and D terminals, to be connected by a 600-foot bridge.
Delta obtained the new flying rights in a deal with US Airways Group Inc. Delta gave up some of its flying rights at Washington’s Reagan airport, which US Airways wanted, in exchange for some of that airline’s rights at LaGuardia, which Delta wanted. The exchange of flying rights happens in two batches, on March 25 and July 11, so the new flights will begin after that.
US Airways said it will announce its plans for expanded Washington flying in January.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson said the new flying at LaGuardia is being countered by its reduced flying in Washington. Delta has said it will cut overall flying by as much as 3 percent next year.
Staff reporter Dawn Bryant contributed to this report.
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