In a press release issued today, the United States’ third-biggest carrier, Delta Air Lines, has announced that it is restarting its flagship route. The popular London Heathrow (LHR) to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) will resume today precisely two months after reinstating non-stop Atlanta to London flights.

In an offer to help make passengers feel safe during the transatlantic journey Delta remains the only US carrier that is keeping the middle seat open. Delta will also continue to cap capacity on all routes through September 30 to help protect all passengers and crew safety.

Families and groups can sit together

Once a reservation has been made, and a seat has been selected, Delta will automatically block the adjacent seat to stop it being sold. If you are traveling as a family or as part of a group, you will all be able to sit together, including being able to book the middle seats.

“We know how important it is for our customers to feel safe when they fly. It’s always our number one priority and even more so during this time,” said Roberto Ioriatti, Delta’s Vice President Transatlantic, as per the release.

“This is why, as we add more routes between London and the US, we’re continuing to limit the number of people per aircraft. We are also offering additional flexibility with tickets, so customers have extra peace of mind should they need it.”

Face masks must be worn

As a part of its commitment to health and safety during the current COVID-19 crisis, Delta requires all employees and passengers to wear appropriate face masks when traveling.

The Atlanta-based carrier has also made its tickets more flexible on flights purchased up until August 31. This helps customers facilitate changes to their bookings should entry requirements to certain countries suddenly change due to the coronavirus. Passengers can make changes to their current itineraries via the “My trips” area on Delta’s website. 

Along with the safety measures mentioned above, and ticket flexibility, Delta has also introduced a program called “Delta Care Standard.” Started as a part of Delta’s Global Cleanliness Division, the program is designed to show the airlines’ commitment to a superior cleanliness level.

Customers traveling between the United States and the United Kingdom will see the aircraft cleaned from top to bottom and include the following:

• State of the art HEPA air filters that remove more than 99.99% of fine particles in the air, including viruses and bacteria.
• Boarding flights from back-to-front – reducing the instances of customers needing to pass by one another.
• A temporary onboard wellness kit along with packaged food and drinks.

Delta will fly once daily between LHR and JFK

The new daily service between London Heathrow and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport will operate on the following schedule:

Flight number DL-2 will depart Heathrow at 10:20 and arrive in New York at 13:30.

Flight number DL-1 will depart JFK at London Heathrow at 07:45 (next day).

While the US and the United Kingdom currently both have travel restrictions that restrict free travel between them. Citizens and dual nationals can enter the USA if they hold a valid American Passport or the UK if they hold a valid British passport.

We are sure that Delta is not expecting to see large numbers of passengers, but with cargo still flying, why not open the plane up for passengers too!

What do you think of Delta’s London to New York flight? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments.