According to Bloomberg Business Week, Delta Air Lines Inc. plans to add more than 100 flights out of LaGuardia and 29 more destinations by mid-2012.
The airline said it will spend more than $100 million at LaGuardia to profitize the 132 slot pairs it gained in a deal with U.S. Airlines. The Department of Transportation approved the agreement to transfer takeoff and landing rights at LaGuardia and Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National airports, between Delta Air Lines and US Airways, in October. The deal was finalized this week. The transfer will make New York a bigger hub for Delta and give US Airway's customers more options.
US Airways acquired from Delta, 42 slot pairs at Reagan National, as well as the rights to operate additional daily service to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. Delta paid US Airways $66.5 million in cash.
Additionally, Delta will begin a $1.2 billion expansion at JFK in an effort to gain more business travelers, according to Bloomberg. Delta will offer more than 400 daily domestic flights from New York’s three major airports.
On December 16 Delta’s stock rose 4.3 in New York trading, according to Bloomberg. In past years the shares had dropped 32 points.