btonkid12345

Well, MNL is where tons of call centers are based, and a military base, and thus it sustains year-round business traffic with high paid fares. Probably higher yields than SIN, which has much more leisure traffic than MNL (on DL metal).

I assume the military base and them being the only US carrier means that most Americans on govt business would have to fly DL...and that probably means great yields.

btonkid12345

What is happening to HNL-NRT?

jrkmsp

Moving to HND. They got the slot from . the US government in the spring.

MSPeconomist

FireEmblemPride

I remember reading that Singapore and South Korea's bilaterals are all used up, meaning no new airlines can enter the market unless the two governments negotiate a new deal. That might be why DL can't fly it, even if they want to keep the city in the network.

ICN-MNL is a surprise -- I would have figured maybe NGO-MNL was a larger possibility,

btonkid12345

Many large cities share these characteristics. MNL has at least 2 additional focus areas that are heavily concentrated there and both of which probably buy heavily from DL - the government because of the Fly America Act.

DavidDTW

That has been obvious ever since the NW merger, when DL dropped several routes ex DTW, moved the planes to ATL to service other cities, and almost killed the Japan market.

ETA: Hey, I finally hit 3000 posts! lol

jrkmsp

It is maxed out, but I would think the US-SIN and US-SK open skies agreements would allow Delta to fly it if it wanted. At least, that's the way I read the treaties, but I'm not an expert.

SJC ORD LDR

I would think most people would fly SQ from SEA/SFO/LAX/NYC and not deal with a connection at NRT these days.

TuxTom

Without a partner in Japan, NRT is also garbage for connections as far as DL/SkyTeam metal is concerned. NRT-SIN was already doomed due to the increase in US-SIN nonstops and local competition on that route. So whether it's NRT or HND, DL is heavily reliant on O/D traffic in Japan either way. That said, I agree, 7 markets on the US does seem like a bit much.

It is a shame to see DL leave a major international market like SIN, but along with HKG, we've seen them have no desire to operate in a competitive bloodbath in the name of pride.

BenA

BenA

flyerCO

UA/AA codeshare to MNL. Fly America Act considers codeshares to be the same as if operated by the marketing airline.

findark

I think it has much more to do with the fact that SIN is much better served from the US mainland so XXX-ICN-SIN is not going to be as competitive.

Akiestar

As I posted on A.net, air travel between the Philippines and South Korea is booming, so DL launching ICN-MNL is very exciting. KE currently flies to MNL twice daily, and a third departure would be beneficial for connections. I can see DL keeping the existing NRT schedule (departing MNL in the morning, while returning late afternoon), which would help fill gaps in KE's current schedule as they don't serve either time slot. (In addition, DL doesn't codeshare on KE's Philippines flights, even if it may be part of the KE/DL JV.)

It also helps that there's open skies between the Philippines and South Korea (save for MNL), as opposed to Singapore, making it easier for DL to move its flight to ICN if needed without needing a new slot to fly out of MNL.