San Antonio Airport officials announced Friday that Delta Airlines will begin offering daily nonstop service to Boston in November.
Direct connections to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) were previously offered by low-cost airline JetBlue, which recently announced that it would discontinue its service at San Antonio International Airport (SAT) in October.
JetBlue’s abrupt withdrawal came as a surprise to Jesus Saenz, director of airport management for the city’s aviation authority.
The airline began serving San Antonio three years ago with direct flights to BOS and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and was eligible for thousands of dollars in marketing incentives and fee waivers during its first two years of operation.
Tickets for the Delta flight go on sale Saturday. Service begins Nov. 11 with flights departing BOS at 9:50 a.m. and departing Saturday at 2 p.m.
In a statement, Delta Airlines said that the addition of the Boston-San Antonio route to the airline’s network will offer passengers the only nonstop connection between the two metropolises and increase Delta’s market coverage of the top 50 cities from its Boston hub.
Delta currently offers seven flights from San Antonio International Airport, including direct connections to cities such as Atlanta and Detroit. With the new flight connection, Delta is eligible for the airline incentive program.
In recent years, the airline has seen a 20% increase in the total number of departing seats from San Antonio Airport compared to pre-pandemic years, Saenz said.
“This is fantastic news for San Antonio residents, especially our business travelers in the life sciences, technology and finance sectors,” Saenz said.
“Delta’s timely decision to serve this route demonstrates the strong demand between San Antonio and Boston and that it justifies nonstop service on an established carrier,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “SAT continues to gain momentum. And we are pleased to see Delta continue to expand its presence here.”
