Following yesterday’s announcement that the US Department of Transportation (DoT) has approved Delta Air Lines and LATAM Airlines Group’s South American joint venture, the legacy carrier has unveiled plans to increase capacity on its Atlanta-Lima route starting next year.
Peruvian expansion
From February 16, 2023, Delta will replace the current Boeing 767-300ERs operating on the route with the recently added ex-LATAM Airbus A350-900.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport has proven to be a lucrative and popular route for Delta, carrying almost 100,000 passengers in 2021. However, as demand increases post-pandemic, Delta is expanding capacity alongside it.
Nine of the carrier’s flagship A350s are currently configured in LATAM’s two-class configuration, with an added Delta flair, offering 339 seats comprised of 30 Delta One, 63 Comfort+, and 246 standard economy seats. The implementation of the A350 will up capacity on the route by 50%.
DL151 and DL150 will operate daily, with DL151 departing from Atlanta at 22:35 EST to arrive in Lima at 5:30 PET. DL150 will return the same morning at 9:00 PET, arriving back in Atlanta at 15:25 EST.
Atlanta-Lima will be the shortest international flight operated with an Airbus A350 for Delta, covering just 3,177 NM (5,884 kilometers), 800 NM (1,482km) shorter than Delta’s Atlanta-Dublin service.
As passenger traffic between North and South America recovers to 2019 levels, carriers are moving to increase frequencies and open new routes between the continents.
The announcement closely follows American Airlines’ decision to increase capacity on its Miami-Lima service starting in November, after the discontinuation of its Dallas flights. American Airlines will operate three daily services from Miami International Airport utilizing its 196-seat Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Delta’s South American partner, LATAM, is also set to bolster connectivity between Lima and Los Angeles International Airport through the addition of three weekly flights to complement its twice-daily 767-300ER service…
