Delta Air Lines’ new domestic hub out of LaGuardia Airport will bring major changes to travel options into and out of New York City and affect the competitive landscape for domestic carriers.

Delta's LaGuardia expansion brings its number of total flights out of New York to more than 400.

The airline is adding 100 flights to 29 new cities, bringing it to a total of 264 flights out of LaGuardia and more than 400 out of the New York City area when adding the 140 flights it operates out of John F. Kennedy International Airport and nearby Newark Liberty International Airport.

The move was enabled by a slot swap with US Airways at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington.

Delta is marketing this as a particular boon to business travelers. New destinations will include Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Charlotte, Denver, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Cleveland. Delta will be moving into Terminal C and making $140 million in renovations, including a new Sky Club and a 600-foot connector to its older home in Terminal D.

In “celebration” of the announcement, the Atlanta-based airline announced a fare sale beginning in March, including $49 one-way flights to Buffalo and Rochester and $99 to Miami. Asked how the expansion would affect fares in the longer term, Delta’s Gail Grimmett, senior vice president, New York, said at a press conference on Friday, “This is a very competitive market and we do want to be the carrier of choice in New York.”

The move gives Delta a more convenient New York hub than rival United Airways has at Newark, and it poses a major challenge to American Airlines, which entered Chapter 11 in November.

Delta says that it will optimize flights for international routes at JFK, where its presence is set to grow when that airport’s Terminal 4 expands in 2013.

Photo: Delta Airlines

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