Analysis: What really may behind San Antonio's new non-stop route to Boston

On Friday, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg touted the news that Delta Airlines will add nonstop service from San Antonio International Airport to Boston starting Nov. 11.

"Delta's timely decision to serve this route demonstrates the strong demand between San Antonio and Boston and that it warrants nonstop service on a legacy carrier," Nirenberg said in an emailed statement.

Word of Delta's expansion to the Alamo City comes a little over a week after JetBlue announced it's terminating nonstop service from San Antonio to Boston and New York's JFK.

"Their planes are full, and the routes to Boston and New York are performing well, which gives me great confidence that other airlines will fill the void in short order," San Antonio Director of Airport Jesus Saenz told the San Antonio Business Journal at the time.

However, here's another possibility: Delta's expansion to South Texas is less about demand than firing off another jab pissing match between the airline and rival JetBlue for control of one of the nation's most lucrative markets.

JetBlue became Beantown's No. 1 airline after establishing one of its main hubs at Boston Logan International Airport in 2005. However, Delta shocked the airline industry in 2019 when it poured money into opening its own hub in the city.

Delta now operates nearly 60 nonstop routes from Boston, severely cutting into JetBlue's revenue stream. Indeed, JetBlue hasn't turned a profit since Delta opened its hub in Boston, losing $716 million in the first three months of this year alone, according to the Express-News .

In response, JetBlue has been busy cutting profitable routes, including in San Antonio.

"With less aircraft time available and the need to improve our financial performance, more than ever, every route has to earn its right to stay in the network," Dave Jehn, JetBlue's vice president of network planning and airlines partnerships, told CBS News in March.

In other words, Delta's new nonstop route may be less of a victory for San Antonio's meager airport than another chess move in the world of domestic airline travel.

Delta will operate year-round service to Title Town with flights departing San Antonio at 2 p.m. daily. Tickets for the new route go on sale Saturday.

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