Summary
- Delta Air Lines replaces JetBlue on the Boston-San Antonio route, filling a gap.
- The Airbus A220-100 will be used on the route, offering 109 passengers a comfortable two-class experience.
- JetBlue announces the discontinuation of this route due to poor performance, but Delta’s strong ticket sales are a promising start.
Delta Air Lines will operate a non-stop service between its hub in Boston Logan International Airport And San Antonio in the next few months. The news comes less than two weeks after 
JetBlue announced that the route will no longer be served at the end of October.
The decision to leave SAT was just one of 50 route cuts JetBlue announced last month – the most in its history. Ongoing challenges related to the failed merger attempt with Spirit Airlines and the recent push for profitability have led the airline to abandon 15 markets entirely.
Flight details
According to independent aviation blog Ishrion Aviation, Delta filed for the new route earlier this week. The airline will begin service on November 11 with one daily flight in each direction. DL1289 will depart BOS shortly after 9:00 a.m. and arrive in SAT shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time. The return flight, DL2029, is scheduled to depart SAT at 2:00 p.m. and arrive back in BOS around 7:00 p.m.
|
Flight number |
Origin |
Departure time |
Goal |
Arrival time |
Length of time |
equipment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DL1289 |
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) |
09:15 |
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) |
13:13 |
4 hours, 58 minutes |
Boeing 737-800 |
|
DL2029 |
San Antonio International Airport (SAT) |
14:00 |
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) |
19:05 |
4 hours, 5 minutes |
Delta will operate its Airbus A220-100 on this route. The aircraft can accommodate a total of 109 passengers in a two-class format. First Class features 12 spacious lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration, while the main cabin offers the remaining 97 seats in a 2-3 arrangement. Fifteen seats in the front of the main cabin are Delta Comfort+ seats with approximately two to four inches of extra legroom.
San Antonio is the second-largest city in Texas. A Delta spokesperson confirmed the new route in a statement to Simple Flying on Saturday.
“…We are excited to connect Alamo City with Boston starting in November. Flight sales began this weekend.”
Termination of a route with constant demand?
JetBlue’s decision to leave SAT has caused a stir among executives. Simple Flying reported last month that the airline’s president, Marty St. George, said that every route “must earn his way” is integrated into the airline’s network and that its aim of making profits “reduced” of the wearer “Be patient on poorly performing routes.” Despite these comments, Jesus Saenz, the director of airports for the San Antonio Aviation Department, said earlier this month that JetBlue’s decision “has nothing to do with it” Performance and the “Their planes are full.”
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Simple Flying
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Saenz’s comments appear to have some basis. According to Delta’s website, the main cabin, including Delta Comfort+ seats, are sold out on flights in each direction through at least Nov. 14. The only bookable ticket is a first-class ticket, which costs about $2,800 round-trip. Delta has a total of 38 flights scheduled on the route in November – 19 in each direction – according to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium. With the A220-100, the airline will offer 2,071 seats in each direction, for a total of 4,142 seats.
Catching up
JetBlue’s capacity on this route is slightly larger, as it will use the A220-300, which can accommodate 140 passengers. This month, the airline will offer a total of 8,680 seats on 62 flights. In September, the airline will also use the A320 on this route, which has 162 seats. However, the number of frequencies will be drastically reduced to a total of 38 flights – 19 in each direction. JetBlue will return to daily flights in October before discontinuing the route on October 26. The A320 will only be used on this route, offering a total of 8,424 seats.
Photo: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock
The switch to Delta represents a loss of just over 2,000 seats per month, but demand is likely to be high as the airline launches the route just before the busy holiday season. While flights will operate daily in November, there will be no daily frequencies the following month. There are no flights scheduled on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, making this route a total of 56 flights – 28 in each direction. This is likely due to lower demand, as the busiest travel days fall on the days surrounding the Christmas and New Year’s holidays themselves.
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