Delta to Introduce West Coast Shuttle

Beginning on September 3, Delta will replicate its East Coast shuttle on the West Coast, with 14 daily flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The new shuttle service will depart every hour, between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Flights will be operated by Delta Connection partner Compass Airlines using Embraer E175 jets, with 52 seats in coach, 12 in Economy Comfort, and 12 in first class.

With multiple airports serving both Los Angeles and San Francisco, there’s already plenty of service to both metro areas, from Southwest, Alaska, Virgin America, United, American, and so on. So it’s not as though there’s a pressing need for a new shuttle service.

But the shuttle’s frequency and regularity are welcome additions, as are a number of other service features clearly aimed at business travelers, including:

• Check-in up to 30 minutes prior to departure
• Dedicated check-in counters for shuttle customers
• Gates located near security
• Complimentary newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times
• Assigned seating
• Two classes of service with complimentary upgrades for SkyMiles Medallion members when available
• Complimentary onboard snacks from LYFE Kitchen, a “California-based lifestyle food brand”
• Complimentary brand-name beverages in-flight in all classes of service
• Access to in-flight Wi-Fi on all Shuttle flights

Taken together, those specs make the shuttle a pretty solid package. If it’s price-competitive with other carriers’ flights, it has the makings of a contender.

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.