JetBlue Airways touts Boston’s margin performance as Delta continues to increase market competition

Delta Air Lines has been opportunistically building its presence in Boston during the past three years, culminating in 103 peak daily departures in Oct-2017. The addition of 10 new markets from the airport in 2017 and 2018 is fuelling Delta's growth during 2017, bringing total destinations served by the airline and its partners from Boston to 46. Boston offers Delta an ability to build its presence in a large non-hub market that has a sizable corporate presence, and to grow demand in long haul markets to feed the hubs of its trans-Atlantic joint venture partners.

Boston's largest airline - jetBlue - seems largely unfazed by Delta's expansion in the market. Boston continues to be the LCC's strongest focus city, and its planned growth at the airport continues unabated as it marches toward 200 daily departures from its second largest base.

The severity of Delta's threat to jetBlue in Boston remains unknown. But each airline is working to exploit opportunities in the market and intensify competition in Boston.