Summary
- Delta Air Lines flew to Fort Myers to maintain its presence in competition for Florida’s market share with rival airlines like Continental Airlines, U.S Airways, and Southwest Airlines.
- Today, Delta Air Lines dominates the market share at Southwest Florida International Airport. 20% of passengers in December 2024 flew on Delta Air Lines.
- Delta flights out of Fort Myers connect passengers to Delta’s hubs along the East Coast and Midwest.
Table of Contents
Southern Florida is a popular destination for air travel due to the region’s appeal to vacationers. Big cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale have large airports that accommodate much of the air traffic to Southern Florida.
Since Everglades National Park makes direct travel by car from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Ocean side of Southern Florida difficult, people tend to sleep upon Fort Myers as a viable option for travel in and out of Southwest Florida.
Delta Air Lines began flying to Fort Myers’s Southwest Florida International Airport in 1983 shifting service from Fort Myers’s previous airport, Page Field.
Today, Delta owns nearly 20% of all passengers departing Fort Myers. With virtually minimal competition on its routes, Delta is a viable option for Southern Floridians or travelers abroad for their air travel needs to the area.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the history of Delta Air Lines at Fort Myers. We will uncover all the current Delta routes to and from Fort Myers and provide much more information you need to know when utilizing Southwest Florida International Airport with Delta.
History of Delta Air Lines at Fort Myers
Delta’s Early Days and Competition for the Southern Florida Market
Southwest Florida International Airport was built in 1973 to replace Page Field which could not accommodate the growing demand for passenger airline service to the Fort Myer area.
Delta Air Lines began operating at Southwest Florida International Airport in 1983. The airport welcomed commercial aviation that year and Delta was one of its first tenants.
The first flight conducted by Delta Air Lines was a route between Atlanta and Fort Myers. This route was the first commercial operation at the new airport.
In the following years, there was tremendous competition amongst American air carriers for Florida’s secondary destinations like Fort Myers. One of the concepts that came out of this competition between Delta, US Airways, and Continental Airlines was “an airline within an airline”.
Delta’s “airline within an airline” in this competition was called “Delta Express”. Delta Express operated until the early 2000’s connecting passengers from mostly the Northeastern and Midwest portion of the United States to Florida.
Delta Express also served as a response to Southwest Airlines’s booming popularity within the region.
Fort Myers was one of the destinations flown to by Delta Express until its demise.
Current Operations at Fort Myers
Historically, Delta Air Lines flies to Fort Myers from its hub cities throughout the East Coast and Midwest. That makes much sense because Fort Myers can be considered a leisurely vacation destination. There isn’t much demand for business travel like you would find in other cities like New York City.
All the flights are offered on a year-round basis. Delta is one of two airlines at the airport that offers 100% year-round service to its destinations. The other airline is American Airlines.
Delta uses a hub and spoke system meaning that much of their flights are connected to a major hub. With that said, you won’t find much service out of Fort Myers besides flights connecting back to Delta’s major hubs.
Delta Air Lines Routes from Southwest Florida International Airport
As mentioned in the previous section, much of the service by Delta to and from Fort Myers is to destinations that are the airline’s main hub cities in the Midwest and on the East Coast.
Fort Myers can be seen as a leisurely destination for people looking to beat cold winters. Passengers going outbound from Fort Myers can catch connection flights to Delta hubs where they can fly transcontinentally or board an international flight.
Refer to the table below for all the routes currently being offered from Fort Myers’s Southwest Florida International Airport by Delta Air Lines.
| City | Airport | Offering | Aircraft |
| Atlanta | Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport | Year-round | Boeing 757, Boeing 737-900 |
| Boston | Boston-Logan International Airport | Year-round | Airbus A321-100, Boeing 737-800 |
| Cincinnati | Cincinnati International Airport | Year-round | Boeing 737-800 |
| Detroit | Detroit Metro International Airport | Year-round | Airbus A321-100, Boeing 737-900 |
| Minneapolis/St.Paul | Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport | Year-round | Airbus A321-100, Boeing 737-800 |
| New York | New York John F Kennedy International Airport | Year-round | Airbus A320-100 |
| New York | New York – LaGuardia Airport | Year-round | Airbus A321-100, Boeing 737-800 |
Delta’s Competition at Fort Myers
In terms of competition at Fort Myers, Delta Air Lines is the clear front-runner for market share at the airport.
In December 2024, Delta accounted for nearly 20% of all the traffic coming through Southwest Florida International Airport. Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Frontier Airlines owned the next largest market shares after Delta.
Analyzing route competition, JetBlue Airways is a main competitor on several of the routes offered by Delta. JetBlue shares routes to Boston and both New York airports.
Where is Delta Air Lines Terminal at Southwest Florida International Airport?
Delta Air Lines flights arrive and depart from the main terminal at Southwest Florida International Airport.
The main terminal is found at the Southernmost part of the airfield. The shape of the building from an aerial view is a “W”.
Delta’s check-in desk is straight ahead when you enter the terminal at Concourse C. Beyond the check-in desk there is one TSA security checkpoint for Concourse C.
There are some food and drink options once you get past security. Passengers can find coffee at Starbucks and pick up a bagel at Great American Bagel. There is also a Sbarro and a Dewar’s Clubhouse for other food alternatives.
What Type of Aircraft Delta Uses on Fort Myers Flights?
There are four aircraft types that Delta Air Lines use currently for flights to Fort Myers Southwest Florida International Airport.
Airbus A320
Delta Air Lines operates a fleet of 59 Airbus A320s. This aircraft is highly versatile as it can serve many different routes for the airline. It can handle short to medium routes, as well as longer transcontinental routes.
The Airbus A320 can accommodate 157 passengers per flight scattered across 3 classes of service (First Class, Comfort+, Main Cabin). Each aircraft is WIFI enabled and has satellite TV.
Delta A320 is used on flights to New York-John F Kennedy International Airport. However, the aircraft is more than capable of serving any flight offered on any route to and from Fort Myers.
Airbus A321
Delta’s Airbus A321 is a longer version of the Airbus A320. It can fit 191 passengers on a full flight across three classes. Like the Airbus A320, it also has WIFI and satellite TV enabled.
Currently, there are 127 classic versions of the A321 in Delta’s fleet. There are also 55 newer versions called Airbus A321NEOs in the fleet. These newer aircraft are built with more fuel-efficient engines increasing the range of the aircraft.
This aircraft is most commonly used on flights into and out of Fort Myers. With flights originating from popular Delta hubs, people are connecting from all over the country who are seeking flights to Fort Myers. That increased passenger demand means that the airline needs an aircraft that can handle a larger passenger load which the Airbus A321 definitely can.
If you would to learn more about Delta’s Airbus A321 service, please refer to our guide here.
Boeing 737
Similar to the Airbus A320, the Boeing 737 is capable of handling any route in the domestic United States for Delta Air Lines.
Delta uses both the -800 and -900 versions of the Boeing 737. The 800 version is capable of holding 160 passengers while the 900 version can accommodate 20 more, totaling 180 passengers.
The 737 aircraft type is used on just about every route to and from Fort Myers.
Boeing 757
The biggest outlier on this list is the Boeing 757. The Boeing 757 is an older aircraft designed for transcontinental flights. It is a larger narrow-body airplane meaning it can carry more passengers compared to a normal Airbus A320 or Boeing 737.
Delta likely uses these aircraft on the route to Atlanta for repositioning purposes. Instead of moving aircraft from airport to airport with no passengers absorbing all the operation costs,
Delta decided to offer passenger service on the 757 from Fort Myers to Atlanta.
Once the plane gets to Atlanta, it can carry on in its normal capacity for transcontinental service.
Final Thoughts on Delta Air Lines at Fort Myers
Delta Air Lines makes flying into and out of a secondary Florida destination like Fort Myers very easy. With flights connected to Delta’s main hubs throughout the East Coast and the Midwest, passengers won’t have any problem finding a flight to Fort Myers for a vacation or Fort Myers residents looking to connect to an international flight abroad.
Fort Myers serves as a great alternative airport for the more popular Florida airports like Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, and Tampa International Airport. Southwest Florida International Airport almost functions as a reliever type airport to the larger cities in Southern Florida. Being a smaller international airport, passengers can expect less hassles utilizing Fort Myers as their departure or arrival airport.
With Delta dominating the market share in Fort Myers, expect no service expansion for Fort Myers. The airline is not receiving enough competition nor Fort Myers doesn’t have a large enough market to warrant a service expansion.
Sources
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-delta-dl
https://dlg.usg.edu/collection/delta_dal-tt?page=13
