greenery-travel

Now that GA has FAA Approval, is there any chance of a DL / GA codeshare nonstop from either SEA - CGK or SEA - DPS? Or maybe DL metal on one route and GA on the other? Either route would be in the top 5 of world's longest nonstop flights, but IIRC, both carriers have 77Ws which can handle the route.

LAX or SLC would make more sense for DL's network, but these both push the length beyond the current longest route in the world.

WhiskeyBravo

Seeing as they're planning to go CGK-NRT-LAX in order to serve LAX, non-stop to LAX isn't happening.
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...a-los-angeles/

A non-stop CGK-SEA might happen, but only if Garuda is pushing and paying for it. DL wouldn't operate their own metal on that route in the current environment.

JohnnyRockets

Not going to be nonstop, 77W can't handle those routes unless they take a weight penalty or the can generate a 100% favorable wind and weather.

3Cforme

The lack of Cat I safety apoproval meant U.S. carriers couldn't codeshare with GU, either. GU does not, however, even have daily service on its own metal from HND or NRT to CGK. Maybe we'll see DL codeshares on GU ops NRT-DPS (although the timing looks like a forced overnight).

MSPeconomist

GA = Garuda, SkyTeam member but what is GU?

Mirk

CGK runaway can't handle a fully loaded 777 so there's no way to launch a direct flight from SEA, it would always need a stop somewhere else.

michael_v

From http://loyaltylobby.com/2016/08/16/i...h-usa-flights/ :

Maybe 787 and A350 can take off better from CGK?

MSPeconomist

I find it a bit surprising that GA wants to expand its route network to include TPAC flights to the USA while MH and TG have pulled out, presumably because these routes weren't profitable for them. One might argue that they're trying to get the passengers who formally would have taken MH and TG, although the latter are likely to fly SQ while the higher yielding MH customers have probably moved to CX. At the same time, Vietnam Airlines (also a SkyTeam member) has nice new planes serving the USA and Chinese carriers (including MU and CZ in SkyTeam) are expanding their TPAC capacity to/from the USA. To me, it doesn't look like a good time for GA to initiate TPAC service to the USA, despite a decent economy and low oil prices.

michael_v

Where does Vietnam Airlines serve the USA?

MSPeconomist

IIRC LAX, maybe other airports. They would also offer some SkyTeam connections through NRT and other airports in Asia.

greenery-travel

IMHO, CGK - NRT - LAX is nothing to get excited about; NH and JL already fly that route. KE and OZ already do CGK - ICN - LAX, and the Middle Eastern carriers already have one-stop connections to major destinations in the US.
I have flown on an EK 77W from CGK - DXB. Is it weight-restricted? I know it does not need to have a full tank of fuel since the distance is much shorter.

DA201

The odds of DL starting SEA-Anywhere in Indonesia in the near future are extremely slim because they are still playing catch up to UA. GA wouldn't want to serve SEA at the moment either. The DL hub there is pretty weak, and LAX would be just as good for connecting passengers and have more O&D.

Now, GA's decision to start CGK-NRT-LAX is an interesting move. CGK is having their runways upgraded, because they are garbage at the moment, so any US service would most likely have to be one stop for weight reasons. However, choosing NRT is weird. For starters, the trend is moving from NRT to HND. There is also a lot of competition form Tokyo to LA. The only advantage is that there is a lot of O&D on this route which GA could potentially grab. I would think GA would do more of a CGK-DPS-LAX route, so they could capture more Indonesian traffic while still serving CGK-LAX.

MSPeconomist

DPS is leisure but I suspect it's still pretty high yield. A nonstop from LAX could be very interesting.

Duke787

Quick point of clarification - Delta does not operate any 77Ws. They operate 77Ls and 772ERs. The 77Ls could absolutely do SEA - CGK/DPS (both routes are shorter than ATL - JNB).

The 772ers would be pushing their range and would likely need to take a weight penalty.

However for this discussion it's completely irrelevant. There is no chance DL moves a 777 from the high yield routes it operates right now to a low-yield route like CGK. Maybe this is somewhere down the list once the a350s come online but in all likelihood it's a pipe dream.

I do think codeshare from NRT-DPS/CGK and HND - CGK makes total sense and they draw down their NRT 5th freedom flights.

bennos

A simple search would reveal that VN in fact has exactly 0 US destinations.