Delta Air Lines Expands Services to Africa for Winter 2024/25

Delta Air Lines is gearing up to bolster its services to Africa for the upcoming northern winter of 2024/25, with significant upgrades and expansions planned for its routes to Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.

The carrier will reintroduce a daily flight between New York-JFK and Lagos, Nigeria, starting from December 1, 2024, utilising Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This move will supplement Delta’s existing daily service between Atlanta and Lagos, resulting in a total of 14 weekly flights to Nigeria in December and the first half of January, with a subsequent reduction to 10 weekly flights for the remainder of the winter season.

Passengers on the reinstated New York-JFK to Lagos route will have access to a range of service offerings, including Delta One (business class), Delta Premium Select (premium economy), Delta Comfort+ (enhanced economy), and Main Cabin (economy class) products. The Airbus A330-200s deployed on this route will accommodate 223 passengers across these classes.

Furthermore, Delta plans to enhance its services to Accra, Ghana, by upgrading its aircraft to the Airbus A330-900neo. This upgrade, scheduled for late October 2024, will significantly increase seating capacity and improve passenger comfort, representing a 30% capacity increase between Ghana and the US. Delta currently operates daily service from New York-JFK to Accra, solidifying its position as the largest carrier in the US-Ghana market.

In addition to the upgrades in Ghana, Delta is also elevating its offerings on routes to South Africa. The carrier will introduce higher-premium cabin Airbus A350-900s on flights between Atlanta and Johannesburg, as well as Cape Town. These aircraft will feature an additional eight Delta One Suite seats, catering to the demand for business travel between these cities. The fleet upgrades are scheduled for June 20, 2024, for the Johannesburg route and September 9, 2024, for Cape Town.

Joe Esposito, Delta’s Senior Vice President of Network Planning, emphasised the airline’s commitment to meeting customers’ evolving needs and providing premium service and hospitality.

Delta Air Lines currently transports over half a million passengers between the US and Africa annually through more than 34 weekly flights.