In a press release issued yesterday, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines says it will be adding nearly 1,000 new flights to its July schedule but will still be operating at 65% less capacity than it did during the same month in 2019. Despite border restrictions being lifted and an uptick in passenger numbers, the nation’s third-biggest airline by destinations says that its number of flights would be significantly reduced compared to the previous year.
Delta will offer 60% fewer flights for domestic travel and 85% less for international travel, partly perhaps due to the European Union barring Americans due to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Last week the European Union published a list of 14 counties it had deemed to have not done a good job in stopping the spread of COVID-19 but omitted the United States, Russia, and Brazil.
U.S. domestic and Canadian market
The SkyTeam global alliance member said that it plans to offer more non-stop flights in key markets while focusing on its Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City hubs. Delta says it will also provide more flights to leisure destinations in Florida and transcontinental flights to the West Coast. The carrier says it will look for opportunities to up-size to a larger aircraft types or add more flights on routes that see an uptick in demand.
Regarding Canada and the non-essential travel guidelines between Ottawa and Washington being extended into July, Delta says it will operate a reduced schedule to help accommodate those with crucial travel needs. Delta’s main gateways in Canada are Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Winnipeg. Delta flies to Canada primarily from Minneapolis, Detroit, and New York-JFK. Delta says it will also continue flying from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
Caribbean and Latin America
Compared to 2019, Delta says it will operate just 20% of flights and add capacity once borders reopen and demand returns. In June, Delta flew only 10% of flights to the region because of travel restrictions imposed to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
Flights going ahead are to leisure destinations such as Los Cabos, Mexico, Montego Bay, Jamaica. Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Delta also says it is looking at reintroducing previously suspended flights to Aruba, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, and Puerto Rico.
Trans-Atlantic Flights
Despite the ongoing European and U.S. travel bans, Delta says it will fly from Boston to Amsterdam four times per week while also offering a daily flight from Seattle to the Dutch capital. Delta says it will also resume its flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to Paris-Charles De Gaulle (CDG).
The airline will continue to operate a service between Atlanta and London and New York and Paris. Flights from Atlanta will also serve Frankfurt and Tel Aviv.
Trans-Pacific Flight
For now, Delta says it will operate very few flights to the Asia-Pacific region but is looking to restart flights between Los Angeles and Sydney sometime this month. Delta will also add a weekly flight from Atlanta to Seoul-Incheon in South Korea while maintaining the existing service from Seattle and Detroit.
Flights between Detroit and Seattle to Haneda Airport (HND) in Tokyo, Japan, will continue, as will flights to Shanghai, China via Incheon.
In its statement about the July flights Delta said the following:
“Delta’s schedule remains subject to change due to the evolving nature of Covid-19, customer demand, government travel regulations, and federal health guidelines. Specific restart dates in July may vary for previously suspended routes due to travel restrictions and other operational requirements.”
The way things are right now, everything is subject to change, as we have just seen with a new lockdown in Melbourne. Airlines are doing their best to get flying again, but everything can change in an instant.
What do you think about flying right now and especially overseas where you risk not being able to get home if the borders were to close? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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