Press release -
Delta doubles flights to Edinburgh with new Boston service for summer 2019
Delta Air Lines will double its flights from Edinburgh next summer by adding a new service to Boston’s Logan International Airport, effective May 24, 2019. Complementing the airline’s existing daily service to New York-JFK, the seasonal Boston route will offer customers more travel options from Edinburgh to the United States, with two flights every day during the peak summer months.
The new Boston flight will operate in conjunction with Delta’s joint venture partner, Virgin Atlantic, significantly boosting the airlines’ network from Scotland. Delta has scheduled a 163-seat Boeing 757-200ER aircraft between Edinburgh and Boston, offering 16 fully flat-bed seats in the Delta One business class cabin, in-seat entertainment for every passenger, Wi-Fi access and free mobile messaging.
“Boston is our fastest-growing international hub and a daily service from Edinburgh in addition to our New York-JFK route responds to increased demand for travel to the U.S. and provides greater choice when it comes to planning trips for business or pleasure,” said Roberto Ioriatti, Delta’s Vice President – Trans-Atlantic. “More American tourists visit Scotland than from any other country - over half a million in 2017 - and with more than 2,000 extra seats each week between the U.S. and Edinburgh, Delta will help increase visitor numbers, contributing to the local economy.”
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson said: “Direct air links to the United States of America play an important role for Scotland’s economy, so I warmly welcome the announcement of this new service between Edinburgh and Boston. Not only will this give Scottish businesses a direct route into important North American markets, but it will also give inbound visitors even more options when it comes to getting a taste of the world class tourism experience on offer in Scotland. I wish Edinburgh Airport and Delta every success with this new service and look forward to it taking off next year.”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said:“We’re absolutely delighted that Delta is expanding its network in Scotland, which will strengthen links with our biggest international market. It is particularly exciting that this new service from Boston to Edinburgh will open up opportunities for the Scottish tourism industry to engage with a new area of the USA which could build on both Scotland’s leisure and business markets. Our unrivalled beauty, rich history, pioneering partnerships and innovative thinking are communicating with visitors from every corner of the world and the North American market continues to perform strongly for Scotland.”
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said: “North America has been one of our biggest growth markets and there has been exceptional demand for those services this summer, so to add Boston with Delta is fantastic news for the airport and passengers as we seek to satisfy that demand. More choice for passengers and growing Scotland’s connectivity to the world are key theme in our strategy for Scotland’s busiest airport, and Delta’s decision to grow its presence here will deliver that. It also strengthens our partnership with them and we look forward to working together to make the route a success.”
Increased capacity from Scotland
Delta and Virgin Atlantic will jointly offer up to 25 weekly flights from Scotland to the U.S. in summer 2019, representing a capacity increase of 25% versus this year. The airlines’ shared network includes:
- Daily flights from Edinburgh to Boston and New York-JFK, operated by Delta.
- Daily service from Glasgow to New York-JFK, operated by Delta.
- Up to four weekly flights from Glasgow to Orlando, operated by Virgin Atlantic.
Last month Delta announced its longest-ever season between Glasgow and New York will operate during summer 2019, with over 9,000 extra seats available between the two cities over the peak season.
Delta’s new nonstop flight between Edinburgh and Boston is scheduled as follows:
| Flight | Departs | Arrives |
| DL123 | Edinburgh at 10:55 | Boston at 13:02 |
| DL122 | Boston at 22:15 | Edinburgh at 09:25 (next day) |
Edinburgh is one of two cities to gain trans-Atlantic service to Delta’s Boston hub next summer. The airline will add a new nonstop flight from Lisbon to Boston in May 2019. Delta also flies to Boston from London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, while Virgin Atlantic serves the city from Manchester and Alitalia serves Rome.
Customers wishing to book flights on Delta’s nonstop service to New York and beyond should visit delta.com or see their travel agent.
END
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- boston
- delta air lines
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by five overarching strategies: Marketing, Events, Quality and Sustainability, Inclusive Tourism, International Engagement.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
2018 Year of Young People
- The Year of Young People (YoYP 2018) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally
- Central to YoYP 2018 will be a celebratory events programme that puts young people at the heart of its development and delivery, creating new and valuable experiences for young Scots and the wider public, with links to the inaugural 2018 European Championships.
- Over 200 young people throughout Scotland are currently being recruited to become YoYP 2018 Ambassadors. Ambassadors will ensure that people and organisations in their communities know about what’s happening and will lead on projects and activities to create events and opportunities to celebrate young people.
- The Year of Young People will have six themes which were developed in co-production with young people themselves:
- Participation – looking at how young people can influence public services and decisions which affect their lives
- Education – creating a stronger role for young people in shaping their learning
- Health and Wellbeing – supporting young people to lead healthier, active lives and have opportunities to learn about and improve their mental health and resilience
- Equality and Discrimination – broadcasting the value of young Scots, challenging negative perceptions of young people, and supporting young people to take leading roles in challenging discrimination in all its forms.
- Enterprise and regeneration – celebrating young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live
- Culture – celebrating young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.
- Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website www.yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.
