Delta to compete with JetBlue on nonstops from Florida to HPN
August 16, 2023 at 10:52 p.m.
JetBlue is getting some competition from Delta in non-stop flights to Florida out of the Westchester County Airport (HPN).
The Points Guy website’s Zach Griff was the first to break the story that Delta was adding service from HPN to both Orlando and West Palm Beach starting Nov. 10, 2023, with an end date of May 6, 2024.
In industry parlance, that’s “snowbird service” aimed at those in this area who head south to both Florida areas to avoid the metro New York weather.
According to Griff, “Delta will operate a 110-seat Boeing 717 on both routes. The airline will base one of these planes at the Westchester airport, as it'll fly from HPN to Orlando in the early morning, return from Orlando to Westchester around midday and then complete the Westchester-to-West Palm Beach turn in the afternoon and evening.”
Delta’s Delfina Mestroni confirmed the Griff story on Aug. 15.
And she had this schedule information:
Westchester County Airport (HPN) – Orlando International Airport (MCO) will operate on a Boeing 717 aircraft as follows:
Depart from HPN at 7:15 a.m.
Depart from MCO at 11:30 a.m.
Westchester County Airport (HPN) – Palm Beach Airport (PBI) will operate on a Boeing 717 aircraft as follows:
Depart from HPN at 3:00 p.m.
Depart from PBI at 7:15 p.m.
The routes are on sale now at the flydelta.com website.
Local air travelers will remember the Boeing 717 as the airplane of choice for its wide body seating when it was flown into HPN by AirTran Airways. When AirTran was purchased by Southwest in 2011, the all Boeing 737 airline abandoned the B-717. That equipment eventually wound up with Delta but was only occasionally used on its HPN-Atlanta run. Now with Delta’s Orlando/Palm Beach service the B-717 is making a major return to HPN.
A new airline with HPN service to Bermuda?
According to the website Flight Radar, “Start-up regional carrier BermudAir has received an air operator certificate from the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority, taking it one step closer to launching operations to the East Coast of the USA.
In a 26 July letter to the US Department of Transportation, BermudAir ‘stresses the urgent need for immediate action” to approve its application for a foreign air carrier permit “given that authority is critical to the start-up of operations.’”
The travel site FightRadar.aero reported that “the airline would fly twice daily, six days a week between Bermuda and White Plains.” Service on the flights would be on 30-seat aircraft.
This comes as news to Westchester County officials, who have yet to hear anything from BermudAir about their plans.
The 30-seat aircraft configuration prompts the question: will BermudAir want to use the main commercial airline terminal?
If they do, they would be subject to the County’s Terminal Use Agreement and its flight slot limitations.
Alternatively, would they put themselves in the category of JSX, whose 30-seat jets are flying out of private terminals at HPN to Miami and Dallas (among other destinations)?
Currently, JSX and the County are in Federal Court waiting for a decision as to whether JSX must be bound by the Terminal Use Agreement.
BermudAir’s proposed service to HPN may depend on the outcome of that lawsuit.
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