Delta Air Lines expands flights with Embraer E175 between Austin and New Orleans

Delta Air Lines continues its expansion at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). The Atlanta-based airline will launch new service to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in New Orleans, Louisiana, early next year.

This comes as the airline plans to begin flights from AUS to Harlingen, Texas, in the fall. This summer, Delta will offer its busiest schedule yet at AUS, while previous rival American Airlines focuses on shrinking its presence at the airport.

Flight details

According to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium, flights are scheduled to begin on February 27, 2025, and will operate twice daily. SkyWest Airlines will operate the flights using the Embraer E175 under the regional Delta Connection brand. DL4016, the first flight to MSY, will depart at 08:00 and is scheduled to arrive in MSY at 09:35. The second flight, DL3970, has a departure time from AUS at 15:00 and is expected to arrive in MSY at 16:35.

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Both flights are MSY flights, meaning they will operate as return flights. DL4016 will depart MSY at 10:15 and arrive back in AUS at 11:50, while DL3970 is scheduled to depart at 17:15 and arrive at 18:50.

Interested in this route? Find flights between Austin and New Orleans here!

E175 with 70 seats

The Embraer E-Jets family is considered one of the most comfortable regional jets in the industry. SkyWest has two different configurations of the E175 for its Delta Connection flights. One model seats 70 passengers, the other 76. The former is used on MSY and offers a total of 140 seats for round-trip flights daily. The cabin is divided into two classes, with 12 seats in first class and 58 seats in the main cabin.

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The first class seats are arranged in a 1-2 configuration, with each seat having a width of 20 inches and a pitch of 36 inches. The standard seats in the main cabin are arranged in a 2-2 configuration, but 20 seats are Delta Comfort+ seats, which have a width of 18.3 inches and a pitch of 34 inches. The remaining 38 standard seats in the main cabin have the same width but a smaller pitch, which ranges from 30 to 31 inches depending on the seating position.

Photo: Joe Kunzler | Easy flying

The E175s are equipped with Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to surf the internet and stay entertained by streaming content to their devices. Internet access is free for Delta SkyMiles members, with a small fee for non-members. In-seat USB ports and power outlets also allow travelers to charge their electronic devices.

Challenging Southwest

Delta will pose a challenge with its new service to MSY. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is currently the only airline serving the route, and it appears to be popular, offering multiple daily flights. Although Southwest will remain the dominant operator on the route in terms of capacity, Delta provides competition.

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In March 2025 – Delta’s first full month on the route – the airline will operate 62 flights in each direction, for a total of 124 flights. The number of seats offered in each direction will be 4,340 – for a total of 8,680. Southwest will still have a significant advantage with its robust operations. According to Cirium, the airline has a whopping 248 flights scheduled between AUS and MSY this month, offering an incredible 38,504 seats.