Delta Returns to London Gatwick after 11-Year Hiatus

Delta’s newest transatlantic route will be operated by a 767-300 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)

[ News ]April 12, 2023 11:30 pm ET

By Aviacionline

On April 10, Delta Air Lines began nonstop service between New York (JFK) and Gatwick (LGW), bringing back service to London’s two main airports. The reactivation of this route coincides with the airline’s 45th anniversary of the start of operations between the United States and United Kingdom.

The company’s last scheduled service to Gatwick (LGW) was on April 17, 2012 with a daily flight from Atlanta (ATL) on Boeing 767s. Delta is the only U.S. legacy airline to operate at London’s second major airport.

Flight DL 62 was operated on a Boeing 767-300ER registered to registration N196DN, which took off from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) at 23:54 local time and landed at Gatwick Airport (LGW) at 11:24 the following day, after six hours and 30 minutes.

“Delta began flying to the U.K. 45 years ago this month at Gatwick, so it is fitting that we are starting our operations from Gatwick to the U.S.“, said Nicolas Ferri, Delta’s vice president for Europe, Middle East, Africa and India.

Delta will compete on the New York (JFK) – London Gatwick (LGW) route with British Airways, Norse Atlantic Airways and JetBlue Airways. This segment moved 699,766 passengers in 2019 according to data obtained through UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Delta’s schedule to Gatwick

New York – London/Gatwick Flight DL 62 JFK 23:35 – LGW 12:00+1 daily flights.
London/Gatwick – New York Flight DL 63 LGW 14:10 – JFK 17:00 daily flights.

The route is operated on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 226 seats in three classes (26 Delta One/35 Comfort+/165 Main Cabin) and promotional fares are available from USD 752 round trip.

The carrier’s service to Gatwick (LGW) offers convenient connections to New Orleans (MSY), Nashville (BNA), Miami (MIA), Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), Salt Lake City (SLC) and Seattle (SEA). All of the carrier’s U.K.-U.S. flights will be operated in cooperation with Delta’s joint venture partners Virgin Atlantic, Air France and KLM.

“Delta is a big name in the transatlantic market and to be able to offer passengers from London and the South East the opportunity to travel with them between Gatwick and New York City is fantastic, providing not only greater choice but also greater competition. It also demonstrates Gatwick’s strong appeal as an airport for major long-haul airlines“, said Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick Airport.

In addition to its services to Gatwick (LGW), Delta also operates at Heathrow (LHR), London’s main airport where it has non-stop flights from New York (JFK), Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW), Minneapolis (MSP), Los Angeles (LAX), Seattle (SEA) and Salt Lake City (SLC). The airline has scheduled 40,716 seats per week between the United States and the United Kingdom for the summer season.