Delta Air Lines today said it added capacity on Northeast shuttle routes by deploying MD-88 aircraft between Boston Logan International, New York LaGuardia and Washington Reagan National airports. The airline also said that Delta Connection carrier Comair is operating additional flights between New York JFK and Boston, competing against recently announced service by JetBlue Airways.
Delta's MD-88s on shuttle routes currently are configured with 142 seats in two classes. They "promptly" will be reconfigured with 134 seats in one class. Previous Delta Shuttle service used Boeing 737 aircraft with 120 seats. Delta said it now operates "more seats than any other shuttle product in popular Northeast business markets."
Meanwhile, Comair now operates multiple daily service between New York JFK and Boston. It will compete directly with JetBlue, which this weekend will start service on the route. By Dec. 20, JetBlue plans to operate 10 daily flights, some of which will use new 100-seat Embraer 190 aircraft
(BTNonline, Oct. 11).
Other operators in the Northeast Corridor include US Airways' hourly shuttle, American Airlines, Continental Airlines and intercity Amtrak rail service.