NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The world's largest airline, Delta Air Lines Inc., said Tuesday that New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports play key roles in growing its corporate-travel business, as the global economy recovers from recession.
Combined, the airports are No. 3 in terms of passenger traffic, just after Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson and Chicago's O'Hare airports, according to data from Airports Council International.
It's a significant market for an airline that already has carved out a prime niche in the international and business-travel sector.
By early February, the Atlanta-based carrier expects government approval for a plan to swap operating slots at Reagan National for slots at LaGuardia currently held by US Airways Group(LCC 5.05, -0.09, -1.75%). The airlines also will swap gates at LaGuardia to help further consolidate Delta operations.
If approved, the swap will allow Delta(DAL 12.68, +0.03, +0.24%) to more than double its number of nonstop destinations and add more than a dozen new cities, potentially bringing in more than 2 million additional passengers annually, the airline said.
