Delta and Air France to cut Europe flights
May 20, 2011, 5:32 am
#1
Original Poster
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Delta and Air France to cut Europe flights
"Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Alitalia will sharply reduce flights across the Atlantic starting this fall, after airlines added too much flying on those routes just as fuel prices shot up.
The change will leave travelers between the U.S. and Europe with fewer choices. "
Link to full article:
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/storie...MPLATE=DEFAULT
The change will leave travelers between the U.S. and Europe with fewer choices. "
Link to full article:
http://ap.stripes.com/dynamic/storie...MPLATE=DEFAULT
May 20, 2011, 5:35 am
#2
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Fewer choices and higher ticket prices, even for when oil goes back to a price closer to half its record high price than up to the record high price.
May 20, 2011, 6:07 am
#3
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I quit caring any more and my loyalty to Delta is slowly dwindling... I guess that for me that means less trips over the pond or using other carriers... While Delta has only one main concern - revenue, I have options... Save my money or use it on another alliance... but then I'm sure that my measly revenue cut of two or three trips won't affect their bottom line either...
May 20, 2011, 9:05 am
#5
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To be revenue focussed does not necessarily imply that they have to be more expensive than competition, just not cheaper either.
May 20, 2011, 9:53 am
#6
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Didn't DL just spend bundles to configure Economy Comfort on these routes? If they're now dropping these flights what sense does that make? Are we sure Delta's not being run by the government?
May 20, 2011, 10:13 am
#7
Join Date: Oct 2002
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DL has been the most aggressive airline worldwide in adding Atlantic capacity over the past several years. Some routes have allegedly been very successful (DXB, ACC, LOS) while others haven't. Kudos to DL for experimentation.
But really, with the sharp increase in fuel, is it really a surprise that marginal flying will be dropped? Does MSP need three daily flights to AMS? DTW four flights?
May 20, 2011, 10:18 am
#8
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Autumn and winter are not high season for travel to Europe from the US, perhaps outside of some ski destinations. They're not talking permanent capacity reductions, just seasonal compared to what they ran during the previous low season. As others have said, I'd rather have a solvent DL (and TATL JV) than one that's hemorrhaging cash, and this is part of that.
May 20, 2011, 10:27 am
#9
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May 20, 2011, 10:37 am
#10
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Seems more likely that some of the less popular European markets will lose their flights from ATL or JFK with routing through AMS or CDG coming into play.
May 21, 2011, 2:12 am
#12
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Delta has previously said it plans to retire 140 aircraft in the next 18 months, including some widebody planes used on international routes. Anderson didn’t specify which additional types of planes would be removed from service.
If fuel remains expensive (in the $3/gal range), look for 744s to be parked in the desert.
May 21, 2011, 2:44 am
#13
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So there is no chance that flights to places like SVO, IST, and ATH will get better aircraft finally? I am dreading the old 764 this week SVO-ATL and next go to ATH.
May 21, 2011, 5:16 am
#14
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May 21, 2011, 5:29 am
#15
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