Delta A330-900neo Best Premium Select + Seats (Consolidated)
May 15, 2019, 2:32 pm
#107
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: PHX Sky Harbor
Posts: 379
Help........on 2 questions !
1) Has anyone heard when Delta is getting their first A330-900neo delivery? (They were supposed to begin in 2019-April)
....and.....
2) Has Delta determined when in 2020 the SEA-PEK-SEA routes will get the A330-900neo aircraft?
1) Has anyone heard when Delta is getting their first A330-900neo delivery? (They were supposed to begin in 2019-April)
....and.....
2) Has Delta determined when in 2020 the SEA-PEK-SEA routes will get the A330-900neo aircraft?
May 15, 2019, 2:51 pm
#108
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,877
2) DL never said that. You made it up
May 15, 2019, 3:35 pm
#109
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: ZRH / SEA, DL PM
Posts: 1,158
Or most likely Delta does not really have plans that far in advance and they will figure it out later.
Edited to add: SEA-CDG alone would not help to save 1x767. I guess the PEK route will stay with 767 for the foreseeable future,at least with current schedule when Delta overnights 767 in PEK before flying back to SEA. 330neo is more efficient and it needs to fly more to justify cost of buying new plane. 767 can afford to have more ground time (less fuel effient, higher maintetnance cost, less empty seats when not flying, but at the same time no mortgage to worry about) . For same reason South America routes will be probably last to get 330neo or 350.
I also think overnight at destination is also one of the reasons SEA-HKG did not work out for 330 and 777. HKG could not be done by 767, but PEK can.
Last edited by AntonS; May 15, 2019 at 4:24 pm
May 15, 2019, 4:57 pm
#110
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: DL Diamond 1.7MM, Starlux Insighter, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,944
I think SEA-PEK will never happen on the A330neo.*
*SEA-PKX, on the other hand...
All pedantry aside, this is probably the lowest yielding route Delta has out of Seattle. Mostly because they have to compete with Hainan, which runs an old BE Diamond seat in business - so fares are low and the competition is unimpressive. The 767 is serving the market fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was years before this route saw suites.
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX). The main blocker on this happening is probably China’s one airline/one route policies, but there are some signs of possible liberalization happening there...
*SEA-PKX, on the other hand...
All pedantry aside, this is probably the lowest yielding route Delta has out of Seattle. Mostly because they have to compete with Hainan, which runs an old BE Diamond seat in business - so fares are low and the competition is unimpressive. The 767 is serving the market fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was years before this route saw suites.
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX). The main blocker on this happening is probably China’s one airline/one route policies, but there are some signs of possible liberalization happening there...
May 15, 2019, 10:50 pm
#111
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: CONUS
Posts: 947
Slot allocation from Port of Seattle? Would love to read more on this...
I think SEA-PEK will never happen on the A330neo.*
*SEA-PKX, on the other hand...
All pedantry aside, this is probably the lowest yielding route Delta has out of Seattle. Mostly because they have to compete with Hainan, which runs an old BE Diamond seat in business - so fares are low and the competition is unimpressive. The 767 is serving the market fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was years before this route saw suites.
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX). The main blocker on this happening is probably China’s one airline/one route policies, but there are some signs of possible liberalization happening there...
*SEA-PKX, on the other hand...
All pedantry aside, this is probably the lowest yielding route Delta has out of Seattle. Mostly because they have to compete with Hainan, which runs an old BE Diamond seat in business - so fares are low and the competition is unimpressive. The 767 is serving the market fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was years before this route saw suites.
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX). The main blocker on this happening is probably China’s one airline/one route policies, but there are some signs of possible liberalization happening there...
May 15, 2019, 11:41 pm
#112
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: DL; AA; UA; CO; LHLX; NZ; QR; EK; BA
Posts: 7,404
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX).
May 15, 2019, 11:50 pm
#113
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Seattle, WA
Programs: DL Diamond 1.7MM, Starlux Insighter, Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 3,944
As for financial incentives, landing fees are waived for he first year (and substantially reduced for the second year) for new airlines in Seattle, and the Port also contributes to marketing costs for the new route. A typical incentive package is worth north of $1 million, which is not at all chump change, particularly if it’s free money acquired by shuffling around flights within a JV.
May 16, 2019, 12:11 am
#114
Join Date: May 2009
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVPG, DL FO, Marriott Gold, Hertz 5 Whatevers
Posts: 1,099
I think SEA-PEK will never happen on the A330neo.*
*SEA-PKX, on the other hand...
All pedantry aside, this is probably the lowest yielding route Delta has out of Seattle. Mostly because they have to compete with Hainan, which runs an old BE Diamond seat in business - so fares are low and the competition is unimpressive. The 767 is serving the market fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was years before this route saw suites.
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX). The main blocker on this happening is probably China’s one airline/one route policies, but there are some signs of possible liberalization happening there...
*SEA-PKX, on the other hand...
All pedantry aside, this is probably the lowest yielding route Delta has out of Seattle. Mostly because they have to compete with Hainan, which runs an old BE Diamond seat in business - so fares are low and the competition is unimpressive. The 767 is serving the market fine, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was years before this route saw suites.
Even more likely would be for DL to strategically toss SEA-PKX over to China Eastern, getting yet another new airline incentive and slot allocation from Port of Seattle and relieving themselves from having to fly the route at all. (Similar to how they have handled CDG, LHR and MEX). The main blocker on this happening is probably China’s one airline/one route policies, but there are some signs of possible liberalization happening there...
10/2018: 73% inbound (interestingly, PEK-DTW was at 62% but still, it was lower than the other Asia flights to SEA) / 86% outbound
9/2018: 94% / 78%
8/2018: 97% / 90%
7/2018: 97% / 78%
6/2018: 91% / 97%
5/2018: 78% / 95%
4/2018: 88% / 77%
3/2018: 74% / 91%
2/2018: 89% / 91%
1/2018: 94% / 69% (DTW-PEK was at 74%)
12/2017: 83% / 94%
11/2017: 86% / 78%
The loads actually beat my expectations. Interestingly, DTW-NGO has been pulling some comparatively atrocious loads (ex: low 50s in Jan/Feb '18) and it's still around.
Not sure if DL wants to get China Eastern to fly SEA-PEK/PVG as well to flush Hainan out of the market, just as KE/DL are both flying SEA-ICN. POS seems to pull some black magic with slots and gates when they get new international carriers. But didn't CX end up with a nighttime slot though? Maybe POS is actually out of capacity with the current IAF and international flight schedule.
If DL is putting scheduling the A333 on SEA-AMS/CDG in S20 - it's possible they're placeholders for the A339? SEA-CDG hasn't seen the A330 on DL since AF started service.
Last edited by ab2013; May 16, 2019 at 12:26 am
May 16, 2019, 9:55 am
#116
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,877
DL has said all widebodies will get the "4 seat experiences" (D1, PS, C+, Y). Most of the 777s have the 4 now (the rest will be finished by early next year). Then the A350s will get C+. Interior mods of the 767 are just beginning, but that mod includes the 4 seats.
May 16, 2019, 10:11 am
#117
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,130
May 24, 2019, 1:41 pm
#118
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,877
Jun 12, 2019, 6:56 pm
#119
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: PHX Sky Harbor
Posts: 379
Just noticed on flightradar24 that the 2nd of Deltas A330-900NEO aircraft's (N402DX) leaves TLS at noon tomorrow. These will be the first 339 aircraft to be used on the daily SEA-PVG round trips that were delayed from 7-1 to 7-15. Delta has not slipped (to the best of my recollection) the other 2 SEA TPAC routes, so the thought is that Airbus has caught up with their delivery schedule for DL's remaining 2 339s this year. SEA-ICN 339 round trip scheduled to begin 8-1 and SEA-NRT 339 round trip scheduled to begin 8-31.
Jun 12, 2019, 7:14 pm
#120
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 61
Just noticed on flightradar24 that the 2nd of Deltas A330-900NEO aircraft's (N402DX) leaves TLS at noon tomorrow. These will be the first 339 aircraft to be used on the daily SEA-PVG round trips that were delayed from 7-1 to 7-15. Delta has not slipped (to the best of my recollection) the other 2 SEA TPAC routes, so the thought is that Airbus has caught up with their delivery schedule for DL's remaining 2 339s this year. SEA-ICN 339 round trip scheduled to begin 8-1 and SEA-NRT 339 round trip scheduled to begin 8-31.