Delta increases capacity at La Guardia, but United still the largest carrier across New York

If anyone was in doubt about who the 900-pound gorilla is in New York City, one of the world's top aviation markets, that doubt was eradicated on 16-Dec-2011 when Delta announced it is making a domestic hub of New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA), improving its USD13 billion economic impact on the area. But Delta will still be in second place. It offers approximately 400,000 weekly domestic and international seats across New York's three airports compared to United-Continental's 651,000.

The move comes a few days after the airline closed its slot swap deal with US Airways, giving Delta 132 new slot pairs at the airport, which the airline described as New York's preferred business airport. Delta may be able to close the gap on United-Continental, but the world's largest airline will still be able to claim that title in New York.