Delta Air Lines is cutting nearly 20% of its New York City capacity in the post-holiday 2025-2026 season. Planned flight schedules show a reduction of 15-20% in operations at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA).
November, December, March and April are also expected to see a slowing of around 10% according to analysis by the Points Guy, supported by Cirium schedule data. The reduced capacity will not mean any routes are cut entirely, but simply the number of aircraft assigned to each route out of JFK and LGA will be reduced.
Delta Chopping The Throttle
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The Federal Aviation Administration “Limited Waiver of the Slot Usage Requirement” allows Delta Air Lines to cut the frequency of flights into the NYC area without losing its access despite the general requirement that specifies a minimum of 80% slot utilization. This policy is essentially a “use it or lose it” clause that gives the FAA the authority to reassign take off and landing slots to airlines with the greatest demand.
The strategic purpose of this move to redeploy aircraft and staff to other hubs and routes with higher projected demand but without losing the rights to some of America’s most busy airports. In coverage by the The Points Guy, a Delta spokesperson was quoted as providing the following comments:
“Following the FAA’s extension of the NYC slot utilization waiver through Summer 2026, Delta is making select adjustments to our winter schedule at LaGuardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy (JFK) airports. … We apologize for any inconvenience that these schedule changes may cause. Delta remains committed to minimizing travel disruptions while ensuring a smooth transition for all impacted travelers.”
The Post-Pandemic Era Of Flying
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The traffic in and out of some hubs, like JFK and LGA has not yet returned to the levels seen during the pre-COVID aviation market. Compounded by issues with air traffic control (ATC) that have both created bottlenecks and tarnished the reputation of some airports like LGA, means that Delta’s aircraft are flying with more empty seats.
The months when cuts are planned represent off-peak periods, while the surge season of holiday travel will be given the full support of the airline to offer the greatest capacity possible. The other side affect of this strategy is potentially higher airfare as the reduced daily frequency gives fewer choices for flyers. Lower supply of flights may drive up prices if demand is higher than predicted.
Delta is also working towards integrating artificial intelligence with its pricing model by the end of the year. This has come under intense criticism from other airlines, like American Airlines, and US lawmakers. The airline is reportedly testing generative AI on 3% of its routes with the goal being implementation on 20% by year’s end. Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Warner and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Delta CEO Ed Bastian in July cautioning against “surveillance pricing.”
AI Finding The “Pain Point” Price
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As the US Democratic Lawmakers stated in their joint letter, the practice of using aggregate personal data and flight data for AI-driven pricing analysis raises both data privacy concerns and fair business concerns. The goal of the generative AI in determining prices under a for-profit business model logically equates to finding the highest price customers will swallow for the same service.
The former head of the Federal Trade Commission had already stated objections to the practice of surveillance pricing that analyzes a passenger’s purchase history, web browsing behavior, geolocation, social media activity, biometric data, and financial status to calculate personalized pricing.
Year Founded
1929
CEO
Ed Bastian
The most exploitative example of the possible use of AI in future application given by former FTC Chair Lina Khan would be along the lines of AI setting the highest “custom price” because “the company knows that they just had a death in the family and need to fly across the country.” Delta has of course denied that any such activity is ongoing or planned.
