Originally Posted by
BenA
Yup. SEA-LHR is another great example of a route that was tried, cancelled, resurrected, and then handed over to VS. Routes come and go based on the economy, demand, airport capacity, and aircraft availability, and it's a healthy part of running a profitable airline.
thats not even remotely comparable to SEA-HKG. even during periods where DL metal is absent on SEA-LHR, they still offer own metal flights to LHR from a plethora of hubs. The VS replacement* is also a nonstop.
* I think there’s a bit of mix up regarding what JV entails. It’s only “metal neutral” from the airline’s perspective. From a passenger’s viewpoint, it’s basically just flying a code-shared flight.
One of the most prominent discrepancy would be the process and restrictions regarding using GUC and mileage upgrades on DL metal vs partner metal. In cases like DL+VA, it’s anything but seamless. (I’m aware that AA/JL/BA and UA/NH/LH are in similar boats)
Or if u care about hitting Delta 360, how much allocation they give u for JV metal flights might vary year to year, or partner to partner, or even minute details like who was the playing carrier, and whose marketing code it’s booked under.
(not that it’s 1:1 mapping, but I’ve been told by my Willis tower contact that UA applies much stricter scrutiny when accounting for spend that is entirely flown on JV metal for purposes of GS qual, and even more so if it’s not UA 016 plated.)