Joshua C

https://news.delta.com/delta-fly-non...fective-nov-15Delta will debut year-round service linking Silicon Valley and the Motor City on Nov. 15. This route will provide the only nonstop service between Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. ........(more)

UpgradeMe

Previously noted:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...k-oak-lax.html

koreanair720

Color me moderately amazed that this route didn't already exist.

ATOBTTR

Which would require someone who cares about DTW-SJC route starting to read a thread about another route cut they may not care about and then while reading that thread, come across that post, versus coming across this clearly marked title easy to find in the DL Forum homepage.

Good news for DTW and SJC though. ^

james318

It's about freakin' time.

garykung

Let's see when this route is going to be canceled...

(Note - before the merger, VX ceased its SJC operation and moved back to SFO. UA only has minimal presence. Some international routes have been discontinued. I simply don't see how DL can profit from this route.)

koreanair720

Which? (Not doubting the veracity, just curious)

Pretty damn surprising given proximity to the tech colussess down the street...

fliesdelta

Same here. I've been flying to/from SJC often since January (and quite a few times for the last few years), and I just assumed that all the connections through ATL and MSP were coincidence.

steex

That's not apples-to-apples at all, though. VX ceased its SJC operation because it was stealing from a hub operation at SFO. UA keeps a minimal presence because they're focused on a huge hub operation at SFO. This is somewhat similar to UA not serving HOU/MDW/JFK and AA not serving DAL/MDW due to their internal competition with a nearby hub. DL, on the other hand, maintains service to all of those airports.

DL also has been running the point-to-point SJC-LAS route, added JFK service, committed to a quality product and competitive schedule to SEA/LAX, and has steadily increased frequencies on ATL/MSP over the past couple years. That doesn't make it a guarantee that SJC-DTW is a winner, but it's definitely an indication that DL isn't de-emphasizing SJC.

While "some international routes have been discontinued," the only one of particular note is the low frequency Air China service on SJC-PVG. While it's an unfortunate service to lose, it was always a sketchy proposition - Air China offers virtually zero intra-China connectivity over PVG, so this route is forced to live almost strictly on O&D in the shadow of a plethora of other Star Alliance TPAC service up at SFO (including Air China service to its far superior PEK hub). All indications are that ANA (to NRT) and Hainan (to PEK) are strong performers. Lufthansa (to FRA) is probably still likely a fringe performer, though it's a good sign that the route is surviving a transition from CityLine to mainline LH service. British Airways (to LHR) seems to be relatively pleased with route performance.

Duke787

Nice add. Useful as an additional outlet if flights are delayed from SFO to get back to the East Coast

Mountain Explorer

Wow, are you really cynical, or just trolling? While it's true there have been a few false starts, for each of those there have been at least 10 successful new route introductions at SJC. SJC has been the fastest growing airport in the US for each of the past few years. DL has also had a decent build up at SJC, with ATL going from 1x to 3x and new routes to JFK, LAS and SEA added recently. Plus significant up-gauges on every other route at SJC.

readywhenyouare

garykung

While I have no data on hand, I don't believe BA SJC-LHR is doing as good as most think.

If the demand was high enough within the Bay Area, BA did not to cancel OAK-LHR.

I do believe SJC-LHR is on the chopping board.

I am being reasonable.

If the demand from the Bay Area to Detroit is really that high, why not AS or especially WN have their own nonstop Detroit routes?

james318

This says Detroit is the primary connecting hub for San Jose customers to the U.S. Northeast and Europe. Not the the best hub for connecting to Europe for all passengers everywhere. Obviously JFK and ATL are better. But perhaps timings and logistical position make Detroit better for San Jose customers.

Because it's not just Detroit involved. It's also all the connection traffic through Detroit that AS and WN can't offer.

Duke787

Because AS and WN don't have any feed on the DTW side to help with the flight?

This flight is perfectly reasonable as a connection flight for those of us on the east coast who need to get to the South Bay or encounter weather issues with SFO and are looking for an alternative