Delta Air Lines plans to restart key daily nonstop service between Chattanooga and New York after the flights were furloughed as a result of the pandemic in 2020.
The service from Chattanooga Airport to LaGuardia International Airport is to resume starting Oct. 7, according to Lovell Field.
April Cameron, Chattanooga Airport’s president and chief executive, said Friday that New York is the most sought-after market by business travelers each year.
“It’s an open doorway for new business,” Cameron said in an interview. “It offers new opportunities for our region.”
The airport is providing $50,000 to Delta to help market the flights, she said, noting the schedules are accommodating for business travelers who need to fly out and return the same day.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga eyes New York service)
Service to LaGuardia has an early morning departure and an evening arrival in Chattanooga, according to the airport.
Flights will leave Chattanooga at 7 a.m. and arrive in New York at 9:10 a.m. The return flight departs New York at 7:45 p.m. and lands in Chattanooga at 10:15 p.m., the schedule shows. Tickets are to go on sale this weekend.
The daily flight will be operated on a CRJ-900, a 76-seat aircraft, the airport said.
Aaron Miller, who was traveling Friday at the airport, said he has a business in the region. But, he added in an interview, he’s more likely to use the new nonstops as a tourist to New York City.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said restarting nonstops to LaGuardia has been a high priority for his administration due to economic development and the access to amenities in New York.
“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Delta, and thank April Cameron and her team … as well as her board, for all the progress we are making at Lovell Field,” he said in a statement.
Chattanooga Airport Authority Chair Jim Hall cited Delta’s commitment to the city.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga Airport terminal expansion readies for take off)
“We also want to sincerely thank all our passengers that fly out of Chattanooga because we believe their commitment to choose to fly from Chattanooga helped to influence Delta’s decision to provide this new service,” he said in a statement.
Chattanooga Airport officials had hoped the New York flights would return earlier. But that didn’t occur as business traffic nationally was slower to come back from the pandemic than leisure travel, officials said.
(READ MORE: Airport targeting new service, travelers)
Lovell Field is funneling $520,000 of additional money over the next year into wooing new airline service and marketing the airport to travelers.
Incentives to attract new service will surge by $270,000, up 300%, in Lovell Field’s spending plan for the upcoming 12 months, Cameron said earlier.
But she said the money will only be spent if the airport attracts service from an airline new to Chattanooga or an existing carrier adds flights.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.