UPDATE: Southern California's Ontario International Airport welcomes nonstop Delta flights to Atlanta in 2019

ONTARIO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) welcomed news that Delta Air Lines will launch daily, roundtrip service between the Inland Empire and Atlanta in 2019. Delta is the third carrier to announce new transcontinental flights from Ontario International Airport (ONT) in recent months.

"We are thrilled to add Delta's nonstop service to its Atlanta hub, a key development in Ontario's evolution as a gateway airport," said Alan D. Wapner, president of the OIAA. "The world's busiest airport, Atlanta offers Southern Californians a world of opportunities for air travel through Delta's extensive global network."

"In just two years since the airport's transition to local control, we've made tremendous strides in improving our facilities, services and amenities and, as a result, airlines and air travelers are bullish on Ontario," Wapner added.

According to Delta, ticket sales for flights between Ontario and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will begin Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, with flights starting April 22, 2019, using Boeing 737-900 aircraft.

Here is the flight schedule for the new service:

* Begins June 9

Delta, which currently flies to Salt Lake City from Ontario three times a day, is the third carrier to announce plans for nonstop flights to the East Coast this year. Frontier Airlines began service to Orlando in August while JetBlue Airways launched daily flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport last month.

"The new Delta service is truly a feather in our cap," said OIAA Commissioner Jim W. Bowman. "We are going to great lengths to show Ontario is a first-rate airport with the infrastructure and know-how to deliver a world-class customer experience, not to mention ample capacity for future growth."

Ontario is on pace to handle five million passengers this year, its highest total since 2008. The airport's capacity is estimated to be 30 million total annual passengers.

Ontario recently completed a multi-million dollar upgrade of its dining and retail concessions featuring popular national brands and Southern California-based enterprises which cater to local tastes. In addition, app-based ride hailing services including Uber and Lyft were added to ONT's ground transportation program last year.

About Ontario International Airport
Ontario International (ONT) Airport is located in the Inland Empire, approximately 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the center of Southern California. It is a full-service airport with nonstop commercial jet service to 18 major airports in the U.S., Mexico and Taiwan, and connecting service to many domestic and international destinations. There is an average of 64 daily departures offered by 8 air carriers. More information is available at www.flyOntario.com.

Follow @flyONT on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

About the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA)
The OIAA was formed in August 2012 by a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Ontario and the County of San Bernardino to provide overall direction for the management, operations, development and marketing of ONT for the benefit of the Southern California economy and the residents of the airport's four-county catchment area. OIAA Commissioners are Ontario Mayor Pro-Tem Alan D. Wapner (President), Retired Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge (Vice President), Ontario Council Member Jim W. Bowman (Secretary), San Bernardino County Supervisor Curt Hagman (Commissioner) and retired business executive Julia Gouw (Commissioner).

About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves more than 180 million customers each year. In 2018, Delta was named to Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the seventh time in eight years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented seven consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 304 destinations in 52 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, São Paulo, Seattle, Seoul, and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub and Facebook.com/delta.

OIAA Media Contacts:
Atif Elkadi, Deputy Executive Director, (858) 361-9319 [email protected]
Steve Lambert, (909) 841-7527 [email protected]
Delta Air Lines Media Contacts:
Morgan Durrant, (404) 714-8520 [email protected]

SOURCE Ontario International Airport