DL to add JFK-HNL winter/holiday seasonal flights

[topDawg]

Midwest to Hawaii is a different story for some reason I'll never understand. East coast folks like the Caribbean, and people west of the Appalachians and east of the Rockies seem to prefer Hawaii, and the west coast folks head to Mexico...

I suspect it's far less an issue of having an airframe than it is the trash yields. Maybe DL has an extra widebody sitting around due to maintenance rotations, and this is how they're chosing to soak up the time.

i'll third this
 

yes, there are regional vacation preferences but when everyone decides to leave NYC at the same time, there are no trash yields to anywhere.
 
again, UA/CO has flown NYC-HNL for years so I'm not sure there is much to be gained by arguing whether the market makes sense or not. 
 
DOT data shows that UA gets decent average fares but not as good as they do to Europe during the peak season. 
 
I do agree that the risk is relatively low just because of the relatively few days the flight will operate combined with the lack of any competing alternatives across the Atlantic. 

For UA/CO sure it does. That doesn't mean it does for DL. 

 

[WorldTraveler]

I thought you were a suthuner.

If DL picks off the top locals and top flows, it doesn't matter whether UA/CO has flown it for years or months.

JFK is the preferred airport for local longhaul NYC travel and DL is the largest airline in the local NYC market.

have you also noticed the increased in JFK-Latin America flying, predominantly central America, markets that UA/CO has flown for years.

DL starts with the key peak dates (Saturdays this summer) and keeps adding - or picks off the best revenue days

 

[WorldTraveler]

looks like bookings are strong enough that DL is adding more flights.

http://airlineroute.net/2014/05/12/delta-extends-new-york-jfk-honolulu-holidays-service-to-mid-jan-2015/