Delta Expansion at LGA Not at ATL's Expense

By Jim Burress

Atlanta, GA – Delta Air Lines is creating a domestic hub at New York City's LaGuardia Airport. The airline says it helps meet the needs of business travelers.

But will it come at the expense of Atlanta? .

Delta spokesman Trebor Banstetter says "no."

"Atlanta already had very robust service to LaGuardia, but because we're growing at LGA and adding quite a few new cities, people flying from Atlanta will have the opportunity to connect on Delta through LaGuardia, particularly to smaller communities in upstate New York and in the Northeast."

Still, the airline is cutting overall capacity, so adding New York flights means reducing those at Washington-National.

Delta recently completed a "slot swap" with US Airways, where it traded gates in DC for ones in New York.

With 100 new flights, LaGuardia will serve as a domestic hub for Delta, while JFK will continue to handle most international traffic.