Press release -
Glasgow gets slice of the Big Apple
Scottish tourism is set for an American boost this summer with the launch of Delta Air Lines’ non-stop service between New York-JFK and Glasgow.
Delta’s Glasgow flight complements the airline’s existing daily seasonal service between New York-JFK and Edinburgh, launched last year. Combined, Delta will offer seats for more than 4,500 customers to fly between Scotland and the United States each week during the peak travel months.
All flights offer fully flat-bed seats in the Delta One cabin and complimentary on-demand, in-seat entertainment for every passenger on the aircraft. Delta’s Scotland flights are operated in conjunction with joint venture partner, Virgin Atlantic.
Frank Jahangir, Delta’s vice president Sales and Affairs, said: “We’re delighted to link New York-JFK and Glasgow, strengthening our network to Scotland and helping boost inbound tourism by flying as many as 37,000 passengers on the route this summer.
“As well as providing extensive travel options throughout the U.S. for customers in the Glasgow area, the new flight will provide more opportunities for American tourists to discover this exciting city for themselves.”
Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “Delta’s direct service between JFK and Glasgow is a fantastic endorsement of Scotland by one of the world’s biggest airlines and is a huge growth opportunity for Scottish tourism. This new service to Glasgow is well timed to exploit the increased interest in our culture and ancestral tourism among prospective visitors from across North America, where we saw an 18 per cent growth in 2016.
"This interest continues to grow thanks to a favourable exchange rate, initiatives such as our Spirit of Scotland campaign and Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology as well as the hugely popular television adaptation of Outlander.”
Dr Bridget McConnell, Chief Executive of Glasgow Life, said: “Glasgow Life has been working closely with the team at Delta on a strategic programme of joint marketing communications activity in the US, including the giant digital billboard unveiled in New York’s Times Square last month, to profile the new service from JFK to Glasgow as well as the city’s cultural attractions and its location as the gateway to Scotland.
“North America is Glasgow’s largest international market, with 156,000 transatlantic visits made to the city in 2016 resulting in a boost of some US$98.5 million (£76 million) to the local economy, and this new Delta service presents us with an outstanding opportunity to continue to grow both leisure and business tourism to Glasgow from this key territory.”
The United States is Scotland’s biggest international market. Last year, the country welcomed 600,000 visitors from North America – an 18 per cent increase on 2015. These visitors spent £640 million – a 40 per cent increase on the previous year.
Delta’s Glasgow – New York-JFK service is scheduled as follows:
| Flight number | Departs | Arrives | Frequency |
| DL266 | Glasgow at 13:00 | New York-JFK at 15:29 | Daily |
| DL466 | New York-JFK 23:23 | Glasgow at 11:15 (next day) | Daily |
Highlights of Delta’s flights to Scotland include:
• Wi-Fi connectivity and seat-back screens featuring Delta Studio™ on demand – more than 300 movies, plus T.V. shows, music and games - at every seat.
• The Delta One™ cabin offering fully flat-bed seats plus chef-curated menus, award-winning wines and TUMI amenity kits featuring products by Kiehl’s since 1851 ®, and Westin Heavenly® In-Flight Bedding, designed exclusively for Delta by Westin Hotels and Resorts.
• Delta One customers enjoy access to the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing and Clubhouse at London Heathrow plus the Delta Sky Club® in Portland International for premium customers
• Delta Comfort+®, offering additional legroom and more recline than in the Main Cabin.
• For passengers 21 and older, complimentary beer, wine and spirits throughout the aircraft.
Topics
- Tourism
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 seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- To ensure everyone can safely enjoy Scotland’s amazing countryside and landscapes, VisitScotland encourages all visitors to fully respect their surroundings by behaving in a responsible and appropriate way.
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- 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
- The Scottish Government is the Managing Authority for the European Structural Funds 2014-20 Programme. For further information visit www.gov.scot or follow @scotgovESIF
- 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) 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
