Delta Air's New York LaGuardia Swap Makes American 'Vulnerable'

Delta may double its daily LaGuardia departures under a trade giving it most of the slots held by US Airways Group Inc., which has said a final agreement may come within weeks. The move would help Delta win more full-fare corporate passengers, for whom frequent flights are important.

"For the first time in perhaps its 80-year history, American is facing a truly serious contender for the business traveler at LaGuardia," said Henry Harteveldt, a Forrester Research Inc. analyst in San Francisco. "American Airlines is vulnerable."

More New York growth would amplify Atlanta-based Delta's gains from the 2008 purchase of Northwest Airlines, which helped push its share of LaGuardia passengers to 29 percent at the end of 2010, from 22 percent five years earlier. American slid to 21 percent from 24 percent in the same period.

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