Summary
- Delta offers day flights from New York JFK to Paris CDG.
- Air France previously operated such flights on the same airport pair.
- Until 2009, Delta had daytime New York JFK-London Heathrow service.
After 15 years, Delta again offers something unusual: daytime flights from the US to Europe. It runs daily between New York JFK and Paris CDG, a SkyTeam hub and hub of transatlantic joint venture partner Air France.
But the flight gets to CDG too late to connect to much, so it revolves around demand between the two huge and relatively close cities, with over 1.3 million point-to-point passengers in 2023. Delta’s early morning arrivals from the West Coast and elsewhere in JFK also connect to it.
It is one of 23 US/Canada-Europe daytime routes this summer, which will be covered next week.
Delta’s only Europe-bound day service
The specific flight began on March 31, 2024, when northern airlines, including Delta, switched to summer schedules based on IATA slot seasons.
Using the 238-seat Boeing 767-400ER, the 3,158 nautical mile (5,849 km) service in August is scheduled as follows, with all times local. The final flight of the season will depart from the US on October 25, just before Delta switches to winter schedules.
- New York JFK-Paris CDG: DL266, 08:10-21:35 (7h 25m); remains overnight
- Paris CDG-New York JFK: DL267, 09:30-12:05 (8h 35m)
Photo: GB-Photographie | Shutterstock
Delta was not the first airline to have day flights on this airport pair. Examining schedules using Cirium data indicates that Air France had them between May and September 2007. Operated daily on the A330-200, AF5 left JFK at 07:50 and arrived home at 21:00. This is similar to, but not quite the same as, Delta’s schedule.
Unlike London Heathrow, which has multiple transatlantic day flights, US-French markets (like other mainland European markets) are smaller in volume, have more time zone changes, and require additional flying, all of which reduce demand for what is, in reality, already an uncommon endeavor.
Up To 56 Daily Flights: American Airlines, Delta & United’s Huge London Operations Examined
Despite the huge volume of services, each carrier has fewer London flights than last summer.
Delta’s second try at day service
While American and United have long offered day flights to Europe, Delta has not. JFK-CDG is only Delta’s second attempt at the market. It flew between JFK and Heathrow from March 30, 2008, to March 26, 2009.
March 30, 2008, was the first day that Delta – and various other carriers – could finally fly to the much-coveted Heathrow following the withdrawal of the so-called Bermuda II agreement. This accord limited the airlines that could fly from the US to Heathrow and forced others to fly elsewhere, mainly Gatwick.
Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock
Delta operated JFK-Heathrow daily with the 767-300ER (shown above), which was, at the time, very much the airline’s primary equipment across the North Atlantic. In August 2008, the schedule was as follows, with all times local. It is similar to what American, British Airways, JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic, and – from Newark – United have 15 years later.
- JFK-Heathrow: DL3, 08:50-21:10; remained overnight
- Heathrow-JFK: DL4, 08:30-11:25
While I have flown across the Atlantic many times, I have never flown during the day. Have you? If so, let us know your experiences in the comments section.