Delta grows in Boston with two new routes to Florida

Delta Air Lines is adding two nonstop Florida routes from Boston.The carrier will begin flying from Boston to Fort Myers on Feb. 17 and from Boston to Tampa on Feb. 18.

Delta will fly two daily round-trip flights on the Tampa route. The Fort Myers service will operate only on weekends, with Delta flying one round-trip flight every Saturday and Sunday. The airline will use Airbus A319 aircraft for year-round service on both routes.

Delta currently offers 83 peak-day departures from Boston to 16 domestic and 5 international destinations. The new Florida routes would expand Delta’s domestic route map from Boston to 18 destinations.

Delta will compete head-to-head with JetBlue on the nonstop route to Tampa and with both JetBlue and Spirit on the route to Fort Myers.

Delta's new routes come as JetBlue has rapidly expanded in recent years in Boston, where JetBlue is now the top carrier by nonstop destinations served. One of JetBlue's most-recently announced Boston routes is Atlanta, Delta's hometown and busiest hub. JetBlue's Boston-Atlanta service begins March 30. JetBlue also began flying this fall between New York LaGuardia and Boston, bringing down fares on an air route that had long been dominated by the Delta and American (formerly US Airways) shuttles.

Delta already had been growing its footprint in Boston this year. In September, it announced seasonal nonstop service to Dublin, Ireland, on Boeing 757 aircraft. The airline also announced seasonal service to three Caribbean destinations where JetBlue flies: Montego Bay, Jamaica (begins Dec. 17); Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (begins Dec. 17); and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (begins Feb. 18).

Domestically, Delta also has announced new service from Boston to San Francisco and Nashville as well as additional flights on existing routes to Seattle and Milwaukee.

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