Delta Air Lines will launch new daily nonstops between Ontario International Airport (ONT) and its Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL) hub next April and move to double-dailies in June, further illustrating the growing California airport’s resurgence as a gateway to the Los Angeles area.
The Atlanta-based carrier plans to operate 180-seat Boeing 737-900ERs on the route. Service starts April 22 with morning departures in each direction. On June 9, an evening frequency will be added each way, meaning the eastbound route will be a red-eye.
Delta’s additions continue its build-up in the Los Angeles area. The carrier has increased the number seats it offers out of Los Angeles International (LAX), John Wayne Orange County, and ONT 25% since 2015.
For ONT, the new flights continue a steady build-up since the airport transitioned from part of the Los Angeles World Airports system to local control in 2015. Since then, traffic has soared, and it has picked up flights that target the Los Angeles region as a destination: New York-based JetBlue Airways recently returned after a decade’s absence, Denver-based ultra-LCC Frontier Airlines added flights to Orlando International and China Airlines moved one of its two daily LAX-Taipei nonstops to ONT.
“In just two years since the airport’s transition to local control, we’ve made tremendous strides in improving our facilities, services and amenities and, as a result, airlines and air travelers are bullish on Ontario,” Ontario International Airport Authority president Alan Wapner said…
