Delta has received approval to start new service between Atlanta and two new destinations in Ecuador—Quito and Guayaquil—beginning June 8. The new service, subject to Ecuadorian government approval, will operate non-stop from Atlanta to Quito, continue to Guayaquil, and return non-stop from Guayaquil to Atlanta.

“We are pleased to be able to include Ecuador in the growing list of countries Delta plans to serve in South America,” said James Sarvis, Delta’s director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“Our planned new flights to Quito and Guayaquil continue our expansion to the most important business centers in Latin America and bring to seven the number of countries now served by Delta in South America.”

The new flights—to be operated using Boeing 757-200 aircraft—will connect customers via the world’s largest airline hub in Atlanta to Ecuador’s capital of Quito and to the country’s largest city and main port of Guayaquil.

Quito’s historic centre is a maze of narrow streets lined with exquisite churches, monasteries and mansions, shining examples of the most beautiful colonial architecture.

Its exceptional cultural, architectural and artistic heritage led Quito to be declared the first Cultural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.

Guayaquil, a main destination for business travelers, is also known as the base for most visitors to the Galapagos Islands, world-famous for its fauna and as the birthplace of Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Within the last 90 days, Delta has completed one of the largest expansions to Latin America and the Caribbean in its history, starting seven new routes since November 2005 alone.

New non-stop destinations from the airline’s largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport included Punta Cana and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Barbados; Managua, Nicaragua; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Antigua. Delta also launched non-stop service between Salt Lake City and Puerto Vallarta.

Upcoming new routes include non-stop service between Cincinnati and Los Cabos (Feb. 18); Atlanta and Merida, Mexico (Feb. 26); Atlanta and San Pedro Sula, Honduras (March 1) (see Note); Atlanta and Roatan, Honduras (March 4) (see Note); Salt Lake City and Mazatlan, Mexico (March 8) (see Note); New York-JFK and Puerto Vallarta (March 4); New York-JFK and Acapulco (March 11) (see Note); Atlanta and Acapulco (April 5) (see Note); Atlanta and Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa (April 12) (see Note); Los Angeles and Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa (April 15) (see Note); and Atlanta-Kingston, Jamaica (June 1) (see Note).

With Delta’s recent expansion, the airline now plans to offer customers service to many of the major capitals in Latin America and the Caribbean, including 11 capitals across the Caribbean and 14 throughout South and Central America.

Delta recently announced another first with its first service from New York to South America beginning June 16, with new service between New York (JFK) and Sao Paulo (subject to foreign government approvals).

In addition to its new service between New York and Sao Paulo, Delta also serves Brazil with two more daily flights one between Atlanta and Rio de Janeiro, and one between Atlanta and Sao Paulo. Besides Brazil, and soon Ecuador, Delta offers customers daily flights from Atlanta to five more South American destinations: Bogota, Colombia; Caracas, Venezuela; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; and Santiago, Chile.

In the first quarter of 2006, Delta and its codeshare partners will offer service between the United States and more than 170 markets in Latin America, the Caribbean and Bermuda.

With extensive ongoing growth to Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers currently offer customers an average of 57 daily flights to 38 destinations in 24 countries in the region.

Delta continues to significantly expand its presence across the region, with more than 35 new routes announced, added or applied to serve during the last year. Delta’s hub at Atlanta is the fastest growing gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean in the United States and during 2006 Delta will see the largest growth in its history into new markets in Mexico, with service on 17 new routes planned this year.

In the first quarter of 2006, Delta and its codeshare partners will offer service between the United States and more than 170 markets in Latin America, the Caribbean and Bermuda. For special travel deals to many of these destinations and easy online information and booking, customers should go to delta.com.

Separately, Delta also announced today that it has applied with the U.S. Department of Transportation for the necessary approvals to become the only U.S. airline to operate scheduled service between the United States and Africa.

Delta is requesting authority to offer service between the world’s largest airline hub in Atlanta and the burgeoning South African city of Johannesburg, with an intermediate stop in Dakar, Senegal, effective in December 2006.
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