Maybe Northwest has a lower cost structure

I thought Delta flew an MD-11 and if I'm right, that's more capacity than a DC10 or A330-200 so that means higher costs. And if what everybody says about customs is true and it's improved, then perhaps more Asian tourists will come through. Plus I bet they have their landing fees covered for a while. So if you add that on to guaranteed seats then it's much more likely to succeed, at least for a while.

One last ramble: NW has a bigger presence in NRT than DL does at NGO. This means less staff costs due to volume, an established connection infrastructure and probably better brand awareness.

[This message has been edited by bergamini (edited Jan 09, 2004).]