Delta will fly from RDU to nation’s third busiest airport for the first time in decades

Correction: An earlier version of this article quoted a Delta spokesman saying that the airline had never flown nonstop from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. In fact, Delta flew between RDU and O’Hare on and off from 1970 to 1978 before the airline industry was deregulated.

The busiest airline at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will begin flying nonstop to the nation’s third busiest airport next spring.

Delta Air Lines says it will begin offering three nonstop flights a day between RDU and Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in April. Delta will become the third airline to offer nonstop flights between RDU and O’Hare, joining American and United, which both operate hubs there.

The flights, announced by RDU on Thursday, will be the first Delta has offered from the Triangle to O’Hare since 1978, when the airline industry was deregulated and carriers were freer to choose their own routes, said spokesman Morgan Durrant.

Delta carries nearly a third of the passengers from RDU, more than any other airline. Through June, 951,420 people have gotten on Delta flights at RDU this year, about 11 percent more than the same period last year. American, the second busiest airline at RDU, handled about 752,000 passengers.

Chicago will become the 26th nonstop destination for Delta from RDU. The airline will take on American and United using Embraer E-175 jets, which the airline said would seat 70 people — 12 in first class, 20 in “Comfort+” class and 38 in coach. The flights will leave RDU at 7 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Nearly 38.6 million people boarded planes at O’Hare last year, more than any other U.S. airport except Los Angeles International and Delta’s main hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

This story was originally published July 19, 2018 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Delta will fly from RDU to nation’s third busiest airport for the first time in decades."