As International Travel Rebounds, US Airlines Rebuild Their Transatlantic Networks

Delta and United restart routes put on hold by the pandemic, and launch service to new destinations

Despite the delays and cancelations encountered by travelers at many of Europe’s airports, the rising demand for international travel is prompting US airlines to reinstate long-dormant routes to popular European destinations.

Delta Air Lines has announced the relaunch of services next spring between Detroit and Rome, starting March 25, 2023, and between New York and Berlin, set to begin in May 2023. The carrier has also announced the return of operations between Cincinnati and Paris, commencing beginning next month.

Detroit-Rome

After a hiatus of nearly three years, Delta is resuming its seasonal Detroit-Rome route, operating daily aboard an Airbus A330-200 with 223 seats. Flights depart Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport at 7:30 p.m. and arrive at Rome Fiumicino at 10:30 a.m. the following day. The return service departs Rome at 12:30 p.m. and arrives in Detroit at 5 p.m. the same day.

New York-Berlin

Delta has also announced the inauguration of flights from New York JFK to Berlin’s new Brandenburg Airport, which opened in late 2020 following years of delay. Daily service is scheduled to begin May 25, 2023, and will operate aboard Boeing 767-300 aircraft.

The inaugural flight is scheduled to depart New York’s JFK airport at 8:40 p.m. and arrive in Berlin at 10:50 a.m. the next morning. The return is scheduled to depart Berlin at 12:50 p.m. and arrive in New York at 3:50 p.m. the same day.

Although Delta has operated service between these cities in the past, this is the first time the carrier has flown into Berlin Brandenburg. Previously Delta’s service into Berlin flew into the old Tegel Airport, which was shut down in 2020 with the opening of the new Berlin airport.

With next year’s launch, the Delta service would become the second nonstop flight operating between New York and Berlin. Earlier this year, United Airlines began service from Newark, the first nonstop flights to the German capital since March 2020.

Previously, United had announced the start of nonstop service between Washington, DC, and Berlin in May, but that route has reportedly been put on hold.

London, Paris and Beyond

With travel disruptions plaguing air travel across the continent this summer, several of Europe’s busiest airports are facing high numbers of flight delays and cancellations, prompting some of the continent’s busiest hubs to impose travel restrictions.

Nevertheless, US legacy carriers continue to rebuild their transatlantic networks in an effort to get a jump on the rebound in demand.

United has gone ahead with the launch of daily flights between Boston and London Heathrow, while increasing frequencies to London Heathrow from Newark, Denver and San Francisco. Other nonstop destinations on United’s schedule include Munich, Zurich, Milan and Nice.

For its part, Delta, in concert with its joint venture partners Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, has boosted frequencies to several European hubs this summer, including Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Paris.

In May, the airline teamed with Air France to increase frequencies between New York and Paris, with nine daily departures from JFK to Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly.

Additionally, the airline has announced it will resume three times-weekly flights between Cincinnati and Paris, the only nonstop service between the Ohio city and a European destination.

Flights operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing Paris Charles de Gaulle at 10:10 a.m. and arriving in Cincinnati 1:25 p.m. The return departs Cincinnati at 6:05 p.m., arriving at Charles de Gaulle at 8:15 a.m. the next day.