Delta, Air France new joint venture routes marks first anniversary of partnership
By Freesun News at 15 November, 2008, 2:09 pm
New services from Paris to Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham are a celebration of the first year of the Delta, Air France Joint Venture
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Air France today announce the start of two additional nonstop flights between France and the United States. The first of the new flights is a nonstop flight between Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) International Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport. The second new flight is a nonstop flight between Paris-CDG International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. These new flights complement Delta’s and Air France’s existing flights and form part of the Joint Venture Agreement, offering our customers increased choice and flexibility in their travel plans to the United States and beyond.
The new nonstop services will be launched in June 2009. The code-shared routes will be operated by Boeing 757-200 aircraft, with seating for up to 174 passengers, with 16 in Delta’s BusinessElite and 158 in economy class. Both routes will operate daily services.
“The customer demand for Delta’s and Air France’s nonstop flights from France to the United States has been very strong, so we have taken decisive action to respond to this demand and provide extra capacity to the French market with the launch of the flights to Pittsburgh and Raleigh in association with our joint venture partner Air France,” commented Frank Jahangir, Staff Vice President of Sales and Affairs, EMEA, Delta Air Lines. “France is a very important market for Delta and the launch of these new flights is a celebration of the successful first year of the Delta, Air France joint venture which has meant that our customers are able to enjoy increased travel options, improved complementary schedules, better connections through both airlines’ hubs and more frequent flyer upgrade and mileage redemption opportunities.”
The first phase of the Joint Venture was implemented in April coinciding with the EU-U.S Open Skies agreement. Immediate benefits of the Joint Venture have included the addition of new routes between the United States and France, with the launch of the nonstop flight between Salt Lake City and Paris-CDG in June, New York-JFK and Lyon in July, and an additional frequency between Atlanta and Paris-CDG. The agreement also helped secure Delta’s entry into London Heathrow, with flights from New York-JFK and Atlanta, which were also launched in cooperation with Air France, utilizing Air France’s time slots for arrivals and departures. Additionally, Air France began its first transatlantic flights from London Heathrow on 31 March.
David Bishko, Managing Director Alliances, Delta Air Lines commented: “Delta and Air France, as two of the largest transatlantic carriers with complementary schedules, make a strong combination. The first year of the Joint Venture has been an exciting one. Together the two airlines offer over 80 daily flights between the United States and Europe. Plus, through Delta’s U.S. hubs passengers can connect to nearly 240 destinations and through Air France nearly 130 destinations beyond its hubs. These well-timed connections provide extensive choice and flexibility for our customers.”
“The joint venture between Delta and Air France enables the two airlines to figure among the main players on one of the most buoyant markets in the world. We will continue to align our commercial policies to constantly improve our offer and provide the best service between Europe and the United States” declared Patrick Bianquis, Vice-President for Alliances at Air France.
This week Delta and Northwest closed their merger after receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Additionally, earlier this year the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) granted antitrust immunity for six-way alliance activities in transatlantic markets for the SkyTeam carriers Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest. This immunity will enable Air France, KLM, and the new Delta to set up a joint venture agreement among the three of them and ultimately integrate their transatlantic operations.
Delta and Air France flights between France and the United States are available for booking now via travel agents, Delta’s dedicated French reservations team, Air France ticket offices or online at delta.com or airfrance.com.
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