Delta Air Lines begins Miami build up with 4 new routes

Miami looks set to become Delta Air Lines' next focus city with four new routes coming online this year as a new partnership with LATAM Airlines ramps up.

Atlanta-based Delta will add flights between Miami (MIA) and Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA) on May 4. Flights to Raleigh/Durham (RDU) begin May 22 while Salt Lake City (SLC) service starts July 28, the airline said Friday. All of the routes will be flown with Embraer E175s, except Salt Lake City, which will be flown with a Boeing 737-800.

Delta will offer up to 41 departures to 10 cities from Miami with new routes, the airline said. The new flights go on sale on Jan. 18.

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"As our new industry-leading partnership with LATAM develops, this announcement broadens our footprint in South Florida to provide our customers with better connections between the U.S. and South America," said Joe Esposito, Delta's senior vice president of network planning, in a statement.

Delta plans to introduce codeshares with LATAM's operating subsidiaries in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru in the first quarter. Tie-ups with the South American giant's larger Brazilian and Chilean operations are expected later in 2020.

Miami is LATAM's main gateway to the U.S. The Santiago, Chile-based carrier operates up to 11 daily flights to 10 South American cities, including Buenos Aires (EZE), Lima (LIM) and São Paulo Guarulhos (GRU), from Miami, according to Cirium schedules.

Delta president Glen Hauenstein said in October that the airline would add "key spokes" in Miami to support LATAM.

"We're not creating a new hub, we're not creating a giant connecting complex — we're making selective adds," Hauenstein explained.

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Related: Delta plans to add 'key spokes' from Miami with LATAM tie-up

The four new routes fit the theme of "key spokes." Floridian cities like Orlando and Tampa are popular with Latin American visitors to the U.S., while Raleigh is Delta's largest focus city, and Salt Lake City its only core hub currently not served from Miami.

Delta also challenges American Airlines, which operates a large hub in Miami, on three of the new routes. American serves Orlando, Raleigh and Tampa, Cirium schedules show.

Frontier Airlines, which is growing in Miami, flies between the South Florida airport and Raleigh as well, according to Cirium.

Delta and LATAM both operate from the South Terminal at the Miami airport. On Thursday, LATAM announced it would relocate next to Delta in Terminal 4 at New York John F. Kennedy in February.

Details on all of Delta's additions in Miami are listed below.

NEW ROUTES

Miami-Orlando: five daily flights beginning May 4

Miami-Raleigh/Durham: two daily flights beginning May 22

Miami-Tampa: five daily flights beginning May 4

Miami-Salt Lake City: one daily flight beginning July 28