At JFK Delta had limited 767-400ER flights which were very small and too little to count especially because of limited seating on those planes.

Virgin's fleet plans are far superior. If Delta acquires Virgin as their UK partner, I wonder if Delta will still also run the 767-400ER's or will allocate those to better routes.

I'd be curious about integration/merging with VS's Flying Club (FC) program. FC used to be a very generous one and earning miles, elite or "regular" were accumulated with the lowest fares. Now that's not the case. And here at DL we complain about taxes and fees on award travel. Have a a look at this awards chart with preset taxes and fees listed and you'll see we have it really good.

Ouch. Hope DL does not have to charge these if they become partners.

Come on, BER....don't hit 'em with the facts too-quickly This is FT where business acumen means NOTHING. It's all about getting access to SQ inventory they are unwilling to pay for. cheese, and clubs. :rolleyes:

Less seating = lower availability = fewer junk fares to fill them = profitable flights = happy DL. I think DL's fleet plans have served them just fine. Let VS fill a cavernous a46 and 744 with 400 loss leaders.

Why didn't LedgeT break this news months ago?

It does bring MCO-UK direct flights on ST. Maybe they'll even make one flight to LHR for connecting purposes.

Virgin's fleet plans are known and they are very nice jet orders. Delta's customers will be very happy and I wonder if they will phase out the 767-400ER on the LHR route since it won't be profitable to run compared to Virgin's new fleet. American doesn't own a stake in British so under One World both have airplanes in usage for the route.

It sounds to me like Delta should just rely on Virgin and reallocate the 767-400ER to another route. American and British both fly but AA doesn't own a stake in British though British was interested in acquiring a stake in AA at a future date.

Delta customers get access to way more seating so this isn't going to hurt competition as Virgin is going to have bigger jets on their routes. It is a much better and more efficient way.

Food for thought. Prices to Europe seem to be rising.

You could have flown MIA to LHR to PEK over Virgin Atlantic. Just because it is under SkyTeam doesn't really change much.

Mergers are just business decisions to profit and find higher revenues for lower costs.

Alliances get bigger and each has their own set carriers. Singapore had business decisions which failed devaluating their investment and Delta has a reason which will increase the valuation of their investment by a lot.

I don't think anything here will benefit consumers much if any. The business will try to make it seem like it is and perhaps there could be some slight tweaks or improvements, but before and after it is still just transportation to get between places using aircraft.

Only thing I could think of is Delta makes connection flights easier, allows integration of clubs and gates and the like, and times connection flights better with Delta.

But on the other hand Virgin has a better reputation than Delta although Virgin is known for tight seats in coach. So it remains to be seen if Virgin will alter its airplane configurations more in line with Delta.

For consumers: Alliance mean little if anything.

Actually, for this consumer, alliances generally mean access to a broader range of loyalty-related and presumably loyalty-rewarding options.

Shopping outside alliances gets you lower price options. With some rewards programs the valuation of the rewards cost less than for using multiple airlines for a route.

Using a singular carrier however is more convenient and easier so many people stick with a carrier for loyalty.

Is it better for Virgin to be in Delta's alliance? Yes. But there will always be new adds to alliances.

Shopping outside alliances gets you lower price options. With some rewards programs the valuation of the rewards cost less than for using multiple airlines for a route.

Using a singular carrier however is more convenient and easier so many people stick with a carrier for loyalty.

Is it better for Virgin to be in Delta's Skyteam alliance? Yes, I don't see any downsides.

That single trip changed me from DL Gold to Plat with over 25K MQMs.

Sorry about the double post. Internet connection issues. :-(

It is a benefit for flyers on SkyTeam and will encourage more loyalty and better connections and the like so future flyers will indeed benefit from the FF programs combined and other better shared resources.

But on the backend for Delta, it is more lucrative than it is for consumers.