Delta, JetBlue in Nantucket battle

The New York-Nantucket air route will see a head-to-head battle between Delta Air Lines Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. this summer.

A month after JetBlue said it would begin seasonal summer service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Nantucket, Delta said this afternoon it will offer its own JFK-Nantucket flights from June 14 through September 8. The flights will be daily, on 50-seat regional jets, leaving from JFK at 9:25 a.m. and 3:35 p.m. and returning to New York from Nantucket at 11:25 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Delta's website showed round-trip fares of $158 on several July dates.

JetBlue is offering a daily round-trip on 100-seat jets between JFK and Nantucket from May 24 through Sept. 24, adding a second daily flight on Friday nights, Saturday mornings, and Monday mornings in July and August to serve New Yorkers coming up for a weekend visits. JetBlue's fares have ranged from $178 to $558 round trip.

Delta has offered summer flights to Nantucket from LaGuardia Airport in New York, but generally Nantucket's only summer scheduled interstate service in recent years has been on Continental Express and US Airways Express. Nantucket-Hyannis-Boston stalwart Cape Air has also formed a marketing alliance this year with JetBlue allowing passengers to buy one-ticket travel itineraries connecting through Logan International Airport on Cape Air and JetBlue.
(By Peter J. Howe, Globe staff)