Summary
- Delta Air Lines introduces new seasonal route from Orlando to London, providing winter escape to UK with Airbus A330neos.
- Partnership with Virgin Atlantic offers seamless travel options, bringing total flights from Heathrow to 14 US cities to 187 weekly.
- Despite being fifth in market share for US-England flights, Delta still expands route options, aligning with recent Florida expansions.
Delta Air Lines has announced a new route to London. Starting on October 26, Delta will connect Orlando to London four times weekly during the winter.
Hello Sunshine
Flights from the United States to London are in no shortage, with several carriers operating flights. The route from New York to London is one of the busiest in the world and served by several carriers. Delta Air Lines, headquartered in Atlanta, serves London from seven American cities and this winter, it will add an eighth.
Starting on October 26, Delta will launch four weekly flights from Orlando International Airport to Heathrow Airport in London. The route will only operate during the winter, primarily appealing to those looking to escape the UK weather and enjoy the Florida sunshine. The flights will be operated by the Airbus A330neos (A330-900), complementing service from its partner Virgin Atlantic.
Photo: Spyros Vasileiou | Shutterstock
The new route aligns with Delta’s recent expansions from Florida, flying from Orlando to Amsterdam during the winter and the upcoming service from Tampa to Amsterdam. IN its announcement, Delta highlighted that together with Virgin, the two airlines will operate up to 187 weekly flights from Heathrow to 14 American destinations in the winter.
“In partnership with Virgin Atlantic, our new route between Orlando and London seamlessly connects two diverse destinations, offering customers a wealth of experiences on both sides of the Atlantic.” – Matteo Curcio, Senior Vice President for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India
A quick analysis
According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, there are 774 roundtrip flights scheduled from Florida to England this November. Six airlines are scheduled to operate flights, and Delta will become the seventh. Of the seven, Virgin Atlantic has the largest market share with 332 flights. British Airways only has 222 flights but will deploy its Airbus A380s on nearly half of those, making its seat offering just 212 less than Virgin’s.
American Airlines is the only major American carrier to have a hub in Florida, at Miami International Airport. From there, the airline has two daily flights to London this winter, deploying its Boeing 777-300ERs equipped with Flagship First. In November, American has 36,480 seats available.
Photo: Alejandro Gonzalez M | Shutterstock
The remaining carriers connecting Florida and England are Norse Atlantic, TUI, and Aer Lingus. Aer Lingus will fly from Manchester, while TUI will fly from Manchester, Birmingham, and London Gatwick. Norse Atlantic has flights scheduled from London Gatwick to Miami and Orlando. With the current data, which excludes Delta, there are 250,168 seats available between Florida and England.
Analyzing all operations between the United States and England in November shows that Delta has the fifth-highest market share. Despite this, the airline is very far behind other carriers, and has almost 25% of British Airways’ total operations. Virgin Atlantic carriers most of the weight between the two airlines, with 1,192 flights, compared to Delta’s 584.
Despite offering a few more flights in July than in the winter, Delta’s market share still is only the fifth-largest between the two countries. United, which has the fourth-largest, has double the number of Delta’s flights.