Great News For Delta Flyers Out of New York

Delta has said for awhile that they want to "win" New York. Of course a big part of that has been boosting both domestic and international service. But the airport experience plays a very big role into that as well, especially when a lot of travelers are arriving a couple of hours before a flight. Simply put, you don't want your customers to have a sour airport experience, because it will negatively affect their satisfaction with their entire trip.

This is important for Delta as they try to differentiate themselves. Plus, their biggest competitor in New York, JetBlue, has a shiny new terminal at JFK to show off. But we saw a couple of announcements this week that should help out Delta's airport situation.

First, the airline is completely re-vamping its concession options at LaGuardia, and has selected the management company OTG to handle the operation. This is the same company that does T5 at JFK for JetBlue, and while I haven't flown through there, I've heard great things. What I really like is how OTG is making a commitment to local food here. For example, Tagliare will serve the same pizza found at the DiFara pizzeria in Brooklyn, while Harry's Deli will use ingredients and recipes from three local delis.

You can read all of the (delicious) details here.

The bigger news, however, seems to be over at JFK, where Delta's plan to get rid of Terminal 3 and move those operations  Terminal 4 has been approved.  Terminal 3 does have plenty of history as the old Pan Am "WorldPort," but it hasn't been renovated for a few years and has taken on the name of "Third WorldPort" among some circles of frequent flyers. There aren't a whole lot of details yet, but the $1.2 billion project involves demolishing Terminal 3, expanding Terminal 4 by nine gates, and connecting it to Terminal 2, where Delta hosts its domestic operation.

Like I said, there aren't a whole lot of details out there, and this is a few years away. But it's great that Delta has now made a commitment to improve its JFK operation.