AUSTIN (KXAN) — Delta Air Lines has announced three new nonstop routes from Austin, as the airline prepares to open a new flight attendant base in the city in October.
The permanent flight attendant base strengthens Delta’s “operational presence and long-term commitment to Central Texas,” the airline said in a press release. A spokesperson told KXAN that 125 flight attendants will be staffed at the base as part of a “strategic move” driven by increasing customer demand, evolving flight schedules and Delta’s long-term vision for the area.
The crew base will allow Delta to position crews where they’re most needed to enhance efficiency and reliability of operations, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, twice-daily nonstop flights to Denver are set to launch Nov. 9. Flights to Columbus and Kansas City will begin June 7 next year — Columbus once a day and Kansas City twice a day. All three routes will be operated through Delta Connection partner SkyWest, each using Embraer 175 aircraft.
Rival Southwest Airlines currently operates on the AUS-Columbus and AUS-Kansas City routes, while AUS-DEN is served by Southwest, as well as United Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
Delta will also expand service on two other routes. Flights to San Francisco will increase from once a day to twice daily beginning April 13, while the Austin-Indianapolis route will go from once daily to three times daily on June 7.
“With these new routes and expanded service, Delta is building on a strong foundation in Austin and creating more ways for our customers to get where they want to go,” Paul Baldoni, Delta’s senior vice president of network planning, said.
Delta already launched seven new nonstop routes from Austin earlier this year, with three other seasonal routes set to begin in the coming months. Service to Palm Springs will begin Nov. 8, while flights to Cancun and San Jose del Cabo are set to begin Dec. 20 — bringing a return to international service from AUS for the airline. Delta previously operated the Austin-Cancun route in 2011 but has had no international service since then.
In May, Delta overtook American Airlines as the second-largest airline operating at AUS in terms of passenger traffic, behind only Southwest. As of June, Delta has flown more than 1.7 million passengers in and out of Austin, accounting for about 16.8% of all traffic. Southwest has flown more than 4.2 million passengers, or 41.4% of the total.
Both airlines are jockeying for an increased presence at Austin-Bergstrom, which plans to build an additional terminal set to open in 2030, almost doubling capacity at the airport.
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