Delta announces 15 new international routes

Delta Air Lines, which finalised its merger with Northwest Airlines about two weeks ago, has announced 15 new international routes, which would make it the No. 1 airline based in the United States to fly between the US East Coast and Asia.

Glen Hauenstein, senior vice-president of Delta Air Lines, told a news conference: “Following its merger with Northwest Airlines, three of Delta’s new flights would originate from its hubs and go to the Northwest Airlines’ hub at Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Delta is always adding new things that have high potential, and we are taking out the bottom performers.”

Delta also disclosed its plan to start new flights to 12 destinations in Africa.

Delta Air Lines, based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the United States, operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. It is the only major United States-based carrier that flies to Africa. Delta is also the largest trans-Atlantic carrier and, following the merger, has become the largest United States-based carrier to Asia, leaving behind United Airlines. After the merger, Delta is now the world’s biggest carrier in terms of passenger traffic.

Delta’s new flights will start in the summer of 2009 with a mix of Boeing 767-400 aircraft taken from domestic service, newly delivered 777LR aircraft, and a few planes taken from discontinued international routes, Hauenstein said.

The carrier also announced an increase in capacity by 14.5% between Delta’s four hubs and Northwest Airlines’ three hubs. The increased connectivity, according to

Glen Hauenstein, “would allow for more changes down the line” and “the first thing is to make sure that conduits are open for connecting traffic.”

Delta will add Tokyo flights from Atlanta, from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport, and from Salt Lake City.

Glen Hauenstein explained at the news conference: “The single New York flight means that we take ourselves from not being an Asian player in New York to being the No. 1 Asian carrier. Atlanta will get a second Tokyo flight. Also, Delta will add a Tokyo-Ho Chi Minh City flight, taking advantage of Northwest Airlines’ rights to fly routes directly from Tokyo.”

In a statement, Delta said Salt Lake City, with a population around 180,000 and a metro area of 1.2 million, would become the smallest US city ever to have non-stop service to Tokyo. Salt Lake City, which Delta has built into a hub for the mountain region, already has a Paris flight.

Delta’s proposed destinations in Africa will include Abuja in Nigeria; Luanda in Angola; and Malabo in Equatorial Guinea, via Cape Verde. The carrier will serve 12 destinations in Africa – 8 eight destinations from Atlanta and 4 destinations from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport.

Across the Atlantic, Delta will add flights from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport to Prague in the Czech Republic; Valencia in Spain; Zurich and Gutenberg in Switzerland.