Delta Air Lines Inc. sharpened the jockeying for the highest-paying passengers in New York, the biggest U.S. aviation market, as it opened a $1.4 billion terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
A venture with Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., in which Delta is taking a 49 percent stake, will include seven daily JFK flights to London's Heathrow airport once the purchase is completed this year, President Ed Bastian said in an interview before today's inauguration of the international facility.
"JFK is going to be a big driver for us in getting international seats, a big driver in the Virgin transaction, a big driver for us in New York with banks and financial service providers," he said Wednesday at Bloomberg's New York headquarters. "Today since we're a relatively small player in that market, we don't have a frequency pattern that appeals to the business traveler."