Delta Airlines Returns to India for the First Time in 10 Years

Delta Air Lines will once again fly to South Asia after declaring victory in the Open Skies conflict. The Atlanta-based carrier will resume service between the United States and Mumbai in 2019, with the exact routes and aircraft to be announced later in 2018. The service is subject to government approval.

After the U.S. government brokered an agreement over alleged Open Skies violations by the “Middle East Three,” Delta Air Lines will once again fly direct to India from the United States. The carrier announced they would return to Mumbai 10 years after the service was first canceled, with schedules and aircraft to be announced later this year. The new routes are subject to government approval.

Delta ended direct service to India in 2009, citing a “lack of passenger demand.” Six years later, the Atlanta-based airline ended international service between their Atlanta fortress and Dubai and blamed the Middle East carriers Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways for forcing both of the cancellations.

But flyers were never truly abandoned in South Asia by the SkyTeam member. In 2016, Indian carrier Jet Airways partnered with both Delta and Air France-KLM to expand codesharing and network reach.

Delta credits the new route to an agreement ending the Open Skies conflict between America’s legacy carriers and the Middle East Three. In the agreements made with the governments of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East airlines will offer more transparency in accounting through auditing to international standards and will disclose deals with other state-owned companies.

“We are thankful to the president for taking real action to enforce our Open Skies trade deals, which made this new service possible,” Delta chief executive Ed Bastian said in a statement. “We are looking forward to providing customers in the U.S. and India with Delta’s famously reliable, customer-focused service operated by the best employees in the industry.”

The agreement will also see an expansion of codesharing operations with Jet Airways. Etihad currently owns a minority stake in the Indian airline, but rumors suggest the Abu Dhabi airline could sell their shares as early as 2019.

[Image: Shutterstock]