In its latest update, Delta Air Lines has reduced its scheduled operations in the New York City and Washington DC areas in late summer. This comes after the Federal Aviation Administration told airlines it would issue waivers for slots the airlines voluntarily wished to give up.

UPDATE: 2023/05/09 09:58 EST BY LUKAS SOUZA

Statement from Delta Air Lines

“Delta has reduced our originally planned summer schedule beginning in June to improve overall reliability in our operations. These adjustments were made in domestic markets where our customers have plenty of options available so they can be easily re-accommodated. This decision reinforces our unwavering commitment to provide the best possible travel experience for our customers.”

Reducing flights in NYC and DC

According to Cirium schedule data, Delta Air Lines became the latest carrier to reduce its operations from New York City and Washington DC airports. In August, the carrier reduced its schedule by 2,006 flights, equating to 183,901 seats and just a 5.6% reduction over what it had planned last week. Flights between New York City's LaGuardia Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport are the most affected, with a decrease of about 37%.

Cirium schedule data updates every week, and according to last week's data, Delta planned to fly between DCA and LGA 313 times in December. This week, that number was reduced to 197 flights, a 37.1% reduction in flights and a 38.4% reduction in seats. In the opposite direction, Delta reduced 112 flights, a 36.2% and 37.6% reduction in flights and seats, respectively. Delta's flight and seat offerings on the route are about 30% less than in 2022.

Next on the "reduction" block are flights between LaGuardia and Boston Logan International Airport, with 77 flights cut in each direction during August. While this route has a smaller percentage cut than DCA-LGA, it remains greater than Delta's 2022 operations on the route. By flight numbers, 2023 will be about 4% higher than 2022, while seats will increase by about 2.8%.

Though Delta offers many flights between DCA and LGA, it also flies from DCA to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. As of last week, the Atlanta-based carrier had five daily flights scheduled between DCA and JFK, but that has now been reduced to three. Endeavor Air and Republic Airline operate the route for Delta, using Bombardier CRJ900 and Embraer E175, 76-seat aircraft.

Other routes being reduced are:

• LaGuardia to Hartford (BDL), Atlanta (ATL), Bangor (BGR), Denver (DEN), Charleston (CHS), Tampa (TPA), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Miami (MIA), West Palm Beach (PBI), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
• Atlanta (ATL) to Newark (EWR), Baltimore (BWI)
• Detroit (DTW) to Baltimore (BWI)
• JFK to Boston (BOS), Charleston (CHS), Charlotte (CLT), Washington Dulles (IAD), Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP), Norfolk (ORF), Portland (PWM), Syracuse (SYR), Atlanta (ATL), San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN), Portland - Oregon (PDX), Santo Domingo (SDQ), and Seattle (SEA)

Not all bad news

Delta did not just reduce frequencies on routes, but a few also will increase. Delta is increasing its flights to Newark, Salt Lake City, and Washington Dulles in August from its hubs at LaGuardia, Seattle Tacoma International Airport, and Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City will connect to Newark twice daily in August on Delta's Airbus A321 aircraft, doubling what the airline flew last year. Flights from Seattle to Washington will also increase to twice daily on the Airbus A220-300s, double the carrier's offering in 2022.

According to origin and destination data from the United States Department of Transportation, Delta flights between LaGuardia and Salt Lake City will resume for the first time in ten years. Delta currently has four flights scheduled between the two cities in August, all operated by the Airbus A220-100.