What's Stopping LaGuardia Flights From Going Farther West Than Denver

At New York’s LaGuardia Airport, travelers can fly only as far west as Denver. So even though LaGuardia is about six miles from midtown Manhattan, travelers going to the West Coast (nonstop, at least) are forced to schlep much farther afield, to either Newark or JFK airports. LaGuardia's limitations are a problem for Delta Air Lines, too, and now the carrier is pressing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to end a rule restricting LaGuardia flights to 1,500 miles.

The authority is reviewing the so-called perimeter rule “to determine whether it remains in the best interest of the region’s air travelers,” the agency said in a statement. The issue is likely to pit Delta, which controls 45 percent of LaGuardia slots, against JetBlue Airways, which has built its largest hub at JFK International, flying new, larger aircraft to Los Angeles and San Francisco. American Airlines, which has the second-largest slot portfolio at LaGuardia, would also begin flights from the airport to the West Coast, President Scott Kirby said Tuesday at a JPMorgan Chase investor conference. A Delta spokeswoman, Elizabeth Wolf, said the airline had no comment.