Delta Airlines adding hourly Chicago <-> New York service

by Scott Carmichael on

Delta airlines just announced the introduction of 22 new daily flights between Chicago and New York. The new flights will be operated as Delta Shuttle flights, and will start June 10th.

The new hourly service out of O’Hare replaces current Delta flights between Chicago Midway and LaGuardia.

Delta obviously means business – because they are also going to offer free coffee and newspapers at the gate, which will be located as close as possible to the terminal 2 security checkpoint.

More flights on this route means cheaper fares for everyone, because the other airlines will clearly be paying attention to this increased capacity. Delta kiosks will be available for same-day ticket purchases.

The route will be operated by an Embraer 175 jet – with 12 seats in first class, and 64 seats in coach. Because this is a narrow body jet, there are no middle seats. The flights will offer Delta’s “enhanced shuttle service” which means meals in first class, and free wine and beer in all cabins.

Odds are, you’ll be on a smaller plane

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Airlines are using the little planes for longer runs, these days. According to the Las Vegas Sun, the average regional airline flight hit 461 miles in 2008, up profoundly from 274 miles in 2009. That’s an increase of 41 percent! This is an industry-wide trend, so shopping around isn’t likely to help you get a larger jet. The major carriers are relying on regional affiliates, so you’ll probably be out of luck. The regionals fly more than half the flights from some pretty hefty airports, including LaGuardia, O’Hare, Milwaukee, Raleigh and Memphis. And, these airlines account for 45% of the traffic at Atlanta’s Hartsfield International, the busiest airport in the United States.

American Airlines and United announced that they were adopting this approach back in September, particularly at airports such as Chicago and Denver. Delta has moved its Washington-to-New York shuttle to one of its regional carriers, as well.

[Via USA Today]

Will Chicago get an airport on the South Side?

by Jamie Rhein on

In May, I’m flying into Chicago. My friends live in Bolingbrook, a suburb to the south about 35 miles from downtown. According to Map Quest, it will take me 54 minutes to get to their house. I’m thinking, if I’m lucky. Traffic through Chicago can be a nightmare. This summer we drove right by downtown at 1:00 in the morning and traffic was still heavy, so heavy that we missed a toll booth lane and had to send our $1.35, or thereabouts, in the mail.

In his column in the New York Times today, Bob Herbert outlines the plan in the works for a new airport in Chicago to be built on the South Side. There are stumbling blocks to such a plan. Politics for one. What interests me is the number of jobs an airport produces, both during construction and afterward. The number is well into the thousands.

From Herbert’s description airports sound like beehives of activity. As he points out, O’Hare has grown to be so massive that it’s unwieldy at times. Although, according to O’Hare’s Web site, it was voted the Global Traveler Award for Best Airport in North America in 2007. Herbert also points out that Midway’s runways are short which poses another problem.

The airport on the South Side makes sense to me. It would sure make getting to Bolingbrook much easier. Possibly it could help lessen traffic through downtown by people who had to head further north in order to fly out of town.