Eagle County airport lands Delta flight to New York City starting in December

It’s been a big 2025 at the Eagle County Regional Airport.

That year got bigger Friday, when Delta Air Lines announced it would begin nonstop seasonal service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport beginning Dec. 20. The flight will operate on Saturdays only through March 28, 2026 on a Boeing 757.

In a statement, a Delta spokesperson wrote, “We’re excited to give residents of the Vail Valley direct access to New York City, a destination rich with culture, dining, entertainment, and more. This new service from Eagle County Airport not only makes it easier to explore the city that never sleeps, but also provides easy one-stop connections to 16 international destinations through JFK.”

The choice of aircraft is significant, since the 757 seats roughly 200 people. The 757 is a larger aircraft than most planes flying into and out of Eagle County. Most of those aircraft are either Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s, which seat roughly 150 passengers.

According to Eagle County Aviation Director David Reid, airlines are largely retiring the 757, which went out of production many years ago. The only routes currently using the 757 are the Delta flight from Atlanta and a United flight from Newark.

The growth of service into Eagle County started in July of 2024, when Alaska Airlines announced it would begin winter service to Eagle County from San Diego and Seattle.

That was followed by an announcement in October of 2024, when Frontier Airlines announced it would begin service to Eagle County from Dallas, Denver and San Francisco.

While Eagle County airport officials are delaying an announcement about the Delta flight from New York, pending final details, Delta will have the flights loaded into its system for sale as of April 5