The new flights operated by Delta Air Lines from Rio de Janeiro arrived in Atlanta and New York Dec. 17, both associated with the Joint Venture Agreement with LATAM.
Flight DL60, from Rio de Janeiro to Atlanta – which will now be a year-round operation – took off from Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport (GIG) at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, landing at Delta’s main hub at 5:15 p.m. (local time). Shortly afterwards, at 10:15 a.m., flight DL244 departed Rio for New York-JFK, landing in the U.S. city at 6:30 p.m. (local time). This frequency is seasonal and will be offered until Feb. 21, 2024.
Both routes are operated by a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, with four cabins: Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin. They are new additions to the daily direct services that Delta already offers from São Paulo (two frequencies to Atlanta and one to New York-JFK), now totaling five daily flights between Brazil and the United States – the largest schedule ever offered by Delta in Brazil in its 26 years of operations in the country.
“We are extremely happy with the return of Delta’s direct services between Rio de Janeiro and the United States, yet another demonstration of the recovery of the travel industry in both countries and proving the importance of Rio as a gateway for international tourists, as well as Delta’s focus on taking its customers to the places they most want to go,” said Danillo Barbizan, Delta Sales Manager – Brazil.
In the three years prior to the pandemic, the airline carried more than half a million passengers between the United States and Rio de Janeiro.
DELTA-LATAM Joint-Venture
In recent months, the Delta-LATAM Joint Venture has announced exciting expansions in its services between the United States and South America, including new routes and enhanced frequencies. Among the routes already in operation due to the partnership are Orlando-Bogotá, Los Angeles-Sao Paulo, Medellín-Miami and a second Lima-Atlanta frequency, all operated by LATAM. Additionally, Delta has introduced its second daily flight between Atlanta and Bogotá. And this December, in addition to the Rio de Janeiro-Atlanta and Rio de Janeiro-New York/JFK frequencies, the partners will introduce the Atlanta to Cartagena route, which will be operated by Delta from Dec. 22.
