Delta Air Lines announced new seasonal summer service to Croatia on Friday. With its recent announcement of additional service to Iceland and Greece, a new theme of focus is emerging for U.S. carriers in Europe this summer.
New Delta Flight To Dubrovnik, Croatia
In April, United Airlines announced it would add service to Athens (Greece), Dubrovnik (Croatia), and Reykjavik (Iceland) this summer, three nations which are now open to Americans.
Days later, Delta followed by introducing expanded service to Iceland and Athens. Now Delta has decided to challenge United directly on the Dubrovnik route with its own service from New York.
The flight will operate three days per week from New York (JFK) to Dubrovnik (DBV):
Route |
Flight |
Dep |
Arr | Operating Days |
JFK-DBV |
184 | 7:30 p.m. | 10:45 a.m. |
Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat |
DBV-JFK | 185 | 1:00 p.m. | 5:15 p.m. |
Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun |
Delta will utilize a Boeing 767-300 on the route with 226 seats, including:
- 26 Delta One (business class)
- 35 Comfort+ (extra-legroom)
- 165 Economy class
Service will run from July 2nd through October 3rd. By launching service on July 2nd, Delta get the jump on United, which launches its service on July 8th. United is also using a 767-300 on the route and operating three times per week. Delta notes that if the route is successful, it may continue it into the autumn schedule.
In addition to the new Dubrovnik route, Delta will increase service to Iceland and Greece.
New Delta Service To Athens, Greece
On May 28th, Delta will resume its annual service from New York (JFK) to Athens (ATH), suspended since 2019. But Delta has also announced new service from Atlanta (ATL) to Athens on July 2nd. Delta will use an Airbus A330-300 on both Athens route with 293 seats, including:
- 34 Delta One pods (business class)
- 40 Comfort+ seats (extra legroom economy class)
- 219 Economy class
The new Atlanta flight will operate according to the following schedule:
Route |
Flight |
Dep |
Arr | Operating Days |
ATL-ATH |
222 | 4:25 p.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
Daily |
ATH-ATL | 223 | 12:20 p.m. | 5:35 p.m. |
Daily |
Expanded Delta Service To Reykjavik, Iceland
Finally, Delta will operate service to Reykjavik, Iceland (KEF) from three routes, including:
- Boston (BOS)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)
- New York (JFK)
Delta will use a 767-300 on the JFK route and a 757-200 on the Boston and Minneapolis route. The JFK service will feature lie-flat beds in business class while the BOS and MSP service will utilize a “domestic” 757-200 that has only “Premium Select” recliners (the sort of seats you can expect in first class on most Delta domestic flights).
The routes will operate according to the following schedule:
Boston (BOS) – Reykjavik (KEF) Schedule On Delta
Route |
Flight |
Dep |
Arr | Operating Days |
BOS-KEF |
266 | 10:25 p.m. | 7:45 a.m. |
Daily |
KEF-BOS | 267 | 10:15 a.m. | 12:00 p.m. |
Daily |
Minneapolis (MSP) – Reykjavik (KEF) Schedule On Delta
Route |
Flight |
Dep |
Arr | Operating Days |
MSP-KEF |
260 | 7:30 p.m. | 6:40 a.m. |
Daily |
KEF-MSP | 261 | 9:30 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. |
Daily |
New York (JFK) – Reykjavik (KEF) Schedule On Delta:
Route |
Flight |
Dep |
Arr | Operating Days |
JFK-KEF |
246 | 10:25 p.m. | 8:05 a.m. |
Daily |
KEF-JFK | 247 | 11:15 a.m. | 1:15 p.m. |
Daily |
Will American Airlines Match?
American Airlines is the only U.S. carrier that has actually served Dubrovnik, but it has not announced service yet. Meanwhile, AA will operate service between Philadelphia (PHL) and Reykjavik (KEF) and launch service between New York (JFK) and Athens (ATH) this summer.
CONCLUSION
The summer transatlantic market is heating up, with Delta bolstering service to countries where Americans can travel with proof of vaccination or negative PCR test. Tickets for Delta’s new Dubrovnik flight go on sale today.
My family is Croatian. I’m a dual citizen. And I love Croatia. But this is heartbreaking. Dubrovnik has become a soulless tourist trap. You couldn’t pay me to go there in the summer. Overpriced. Overcrowded. Game of Thrones tour wandering zombies. A No thanks. It makes me so sad that such a beautiful place has sold its soul to mass tourism.
That’s for sure. I went to DBV five years ago in early October and it will still packed. Lovely, lovely place. Lovely, lovely people. But I’m staying away!
Judging by the flight cancellation notice I received last Sunday, Delta has since modified their schedule from Boston to skip Monday and Tuesday until July 1.
Boston to Reykjavik
@Caleb
I understand how you feel, however, Croatia has basically nothing to offer aside for tourism. I visited Split on a cruise and took a tour to Krna. Dubrovnik is a picturesque spot perfect for a postcard. I appreciate your problem with tourists but they are literally feeding your people (our people as white Christians who don’t hate being white are all brothers and sisters). Croatia is a perfect stop for cruises visiting Venice. The Venetians have a problem with the cruises, but Venice exports glass and Italy is a powerful economy with luxury automotive manufacturing, leather, fashion and fabric, olive oil, and etc. Croatia maybe has a little olive oil and some fishing. We need tourism to keep Croatia going and hopefully it is traditional enough to deter non western foreign immigration that is destroying other cities and countries.
I don’t see how Delta flying to Croatia is a problem. If people are willing to spend the money on a non low cost carrier to come, it’s likely the better quality people coming from the U.S. who I’ll spend good money.
I really shouldn’t respond to your ignorance, but I’ll bite. While I’m sure your cruise stop to Split was incredibly enlightening (so enlightening, by the way, that you forgot where you went (it’s Krka, not Krna), Croatia actually has a lot more to offer than just tourism. Yes, it’s a small country. But one filled with hard working, proud, and passionate people who prefer to not sell themselves out to the kind of people who take Mediterranean cruises. Your comments about ethnicity and religion are ignorant and racist – nothing more and nothing less. On your next cruise, I’d suggest you stick to Italy. I’m sure most Croatians would rather starve than take a single kuna from people like you.
@Caleb. You tell him Caleb!! Good for you!!
“Jackson Waterson” visits this and other blogs and pretends to post about travel, but his very obvious agenda is to insert as much vile racist, white “Christian” supremacist ranting into the blogosphere as he can get away with.
@Matthew Klint, you should ban this idiot from posting here.
@Caleb, well said.
I believe the JFK-DVB service by Delta will be four times weekly, not three, as noted in the article.