The yields must be very high. My friend has never had a problem non-reving on that route thanks to low load factors. VS has no domestic/EU routes to flow those passengers on to. And DL certainly has nothing at PDX.

Oh let’s see which of the Major PDX companies could want this flight? Nike, Intel, Genentech.

My bet is on Nike as the UK is their Megamarket in Europe.

Of course they are not. Look at the portfolio of international flights from MCO and LAS. It is very limited in destinations. MCO couldn't even support CDG when Air France tried a few years ago. It's basically just flights to the UK and S America. I'm not even sure if FRA is year-round. LAS has even less than MCO.

Well at MCO, besides the all the service to South America and both BA, VS, and Thomas Cook to the UK, you have LH to FRA, DL to AMS, Icelandair to KEF, Edelweiss to ZUR, Norwegian to quite a few cities, and even Emirates to DXB. I wouldn’t call that “limited” by any stretch of the imagination. LAS has both TATL and TPAC service as well, albeit much less than MCO.

Point being these cities can sustain a decent amount of longhaul traffic, and if it’s a city like PDX with a decent amount of business traffic that can command the nonstop premium, then the city can sustain the service even if it’s not an NYC or LA or Chicago. It also helps that Portland is the top 10 metro areas in the US for highest per capita income.

A 4x weekly service during peak summer only doesn’t seem that unreasonable for PDX.

I’d imagine the Weiden Kennedy folks fly a fair amount too, including internationally. That said, I think it takes a much larger portfolio of businesses to support an international route.

That might result in full airplanes due to leisure travelers, but it wouldn't work for the premium business traffic. Frequent convenient schedules are important, plus if there's an extended low season for business travel, it would be summer.

Only the LHR flight is 4x weekly; AMS and NRT are daily. And 4x weekly covers plenty of flexibility, with M/W/F/Sa outbounds and returns for London. On other days, it’s not like folks are out of luck - it’s trivially easy to connect in SEA or AMS.

This does seem like a “hold the LHR slot” route, to be fair. But it was at least profitable enough to bring it back for a second year this summer...

Speaking from experience, PDX/SEA are also symbiotic reliever hubs for each other in a fashion recalling the way MSP/DTW once worked for NW. When SEA directs fill up, PDX connecting itineraries are often available at a lower price, helping fill remaining seats not consumed by the local O&D market. And it’s a useful tool for DL during irops to have at least one airport operating slightly under full capacity...

Right, and there isn’t enough business traffic to justify a daily service year-round. Hence why the last day of Delta Flight 36 is October 5th - resuming next year.