What is DL's strategy for LGA?
Oct 17, 2010, 7:06 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: DL NWA UA
Posts: 177
What is DL's strategy for LGA?
Recently I flew GRR-PWM via LGA. Mistake. Long delay, etc at LGA
Option 2 would have been GRR-DTW-PWM, but that flight must have been full or something because I picked the LGA routing based on price.
Can anyone figure out why DL seems to be INCREASING connections thru LGA? I picked up that some of my fellow passengers from GRR were connecting to other east coast cities in LGA as well.
I mean, really, why wouldn't they just increase the size of the planes flying out of DTW? It seems like LGA is always delay prone.
Thoughts anyone?
Option 2 would have been GRR-DTW-PWM, but that flight must have been full or something because I picked the LGA routing based on price.
Can anyone figure out why DL seems to be INCREASING connections thru LGA? I picked up that some of my fellow passengers from GRR were connecting to other east coast cities in LGA as well.
I mean, really, why wouldn't they just increase the size of the planes flying out of DTW? It seems like LGA is always delay prone.
Thoughts anyone?
Oct 17, 2010, 7:31 pm
#2
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 229
My $0.02 is that I wonder if your experience may be less an issue of DL's strategy with LGA and more an issue of where GRR currently has non-stop flights. Of course there is always DTW, and you'll notice that most flight options use DTW as your connecting city. There is only one GRR-LGA non-stop flight daily. But even then LGA could act as a connecting city for places like PWM. As for whether DL is increasing connections at LGA, I don't think the GRR-LGA route is new. Not sure if LGA-PWM is new either? LGA CAN be delay-prone and I think that has more to do with the relatively low number of runways for all the traffic it services.
Last edited by cinnamon121; Oct 17, 2010 at 7:51 pm Reason: Edited to correct number of GRR-LGA flights
Oct 17, 2010, 8:17 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2001
Programs: DL 1 million, AA 1 mil, HH lapsed Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 28,190
LGA-PWM exists to enhance Delta's non-stop choices from NYC, the country's largest O+D market. DL would be happy to fill it with high-paying passengers out of LGA (the airport with the highest percentage of O+D traffic of the major U.S. airports). To the extent DL can't fill seats with O+D, they can create connecting opportunities like GRR-DTW-PWM. I might pay more to avoid the LGA connection on the basis of on-time performance at the airport as a whole (especially late in the day, onto the last flight to my destination) but I wouldn't pay a lot more.
The PWM flights were among several moved from JFK. If one is capacity-constrained at JFK, what makes more money: an international widebody redeye, or a commuter jet to PWM?
The PWM flights were among several moved from JFK. If one is capacity-constrained at JFK, what makes more money: an international widebody redeye, or a commuter jet to PWM?
Oct 18, 2010, 10:19 am
#6
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Maine
Programs: AA Plat, FI Silver, DL alumnus
Posts: 1,432
OTOH, it is a relatively small terminal and tight connections are very doable at LGA. Sure, they're doable at DTW too, but only if you're wearing running spikes 
LGA-PWM is fairly new. Like LGA-BGR and a few others, they came about because of capacity reductions at JFK during the runway construction last year. I doubt they'll ever go back...
LGA-PWM is fairly new. Like LGA-BGR and a few others, they came about because of capacity reductions at JFK during the runway construction last year. I doubt they'll ever go back...