Delta to ramp up Boston service, add new international routes

Delta Air Lines Inc. will increase service from Boston, adding two international destinations and boosting capacity about 24% over its previous peak, to better compete against an American Airlines Group Inc.-JetBlue Airways Corp. alliance that unifies the airport’s top two carriers. 

Delta will add nonstop flights to Tel Aviv on May 26 and Athens the next day, adding to existing flights to Amsterdam and Rome, the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement Sunday. 

Flights to six other international cities that existed before the coronavirus pandemic also will return. Delta will operate up to 160 daily departures from Boston Logan International by summer 2022, adding about 3,800 seats a day, up from the previous high of 129 flights in October 2019.

Delta is adding the service as American and JetBlue continue to expand their alliance in the U.S. northeast, including Boston, despite a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department and attorneys general from several states to block the partnership as anti-competitive. American and JetBlue have disputed the claim and said they will continue implementing the venture, which also includes New York. 

JetBlue currently handles about 32% of passenger traffic at Logan, while American is at 19% and Delta, 16%, according U.S. Transportation Department statistics.

Delta’s first commercial flights using new, more fuel-efficient Airbus SE A321neos will be in Boston, and the carrier will double to 20 the number of departures with the smaller Airbus A220, the statement said.