Flights between London and Boston, Miami offer by Delta Airlines

The question raised when regulators required American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia to make slots available at London Heathrow was whether any competitor would grab the slots.
Delta Air Lines on Thursday took them up on the offer, announcing it would begin flights from Miami and Boston to Heathrow.American and British Airways dominate the Boston-Heathrow route, and are the only scheduled carriers between Miami and Heathrow. That's why the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation singled those routes out when they okayed the joint business agreement between the Oneworld partners, AA, BA and Iberia.

Both set of regulators required them to give up takeoff and landing slots to increase competition.
Delta, a member of the rival SkyTeam alliance, would offer two daily roundtrips between Boston and London and a single roundtrip between Miami and London.Delta's new service would provide more choices and competition for customers traveling between these important U.S. cities and London, one of the most popular destinations in Europe for both business and leisure travelers, said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president of network planning and revenue management.Awarding these slots to Delta and SkyTeam would significantly enhance competition among the major alliances across the Atlantic, he said.At present, Delta and its SkyTeam partners don't operate on those routes.Assuming the EC and DOT approve its proposal, Delta would start the new service March 27, 2011.