Delta has been adding capacity to its Boston operations, and now says it considers the city a hub, one step above ‘focus city.’
The move means it’s pushing back against JetBlue’s status as the dominant carrier in the market. Delta expects its operations to be up by just under 15% this year, compared to 4% nationally. The growth strategy is similar to that followed when it ‘invaded’ Alaska Airlines’ territory in Seattle.
In addition to beefing up domestic routes from Boston, Delta is thinking of it as a secondary gateway for trans-Atlantic flights; its northern location makes it a natural for that. Delta has recently added Boston flights to Edinburgh and Lisbon and is thinking of more as its JFK hub reaches capacity.
