Delta Airlines lands in Stockholm with direct flights from New York
Delta Air Lines has announced a new seasonal connection between New York and Stockholm, after five years of absence in the Swedish capital. It will once again invest in Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico and LATAM Airlines, but has lost its codeshare with Virgin Australia.
From June 1 to October 28, 2022, the American company will offer a daily flight between its base in New York-JFK and Stockholm-Arlanda airport, operated by Boeing 767-300ER which can accommodate 26 passengers in Business class, 18 in Premium and 172 in Economics. Departures are scheduled at 7:30 p.m. to arrive at 9:30 a.m. the next day, with return flights leaving Sweden at 11:30 a.m. to land at 2:10 p.m. (average flight time 8:20).
Delta will compete on this route with United Airlines (from Newark), SAS Scandinavian Airlines (to Newark) and Finnair, which has just launched it to JFK. It had not landed in Sweden since 2017.
The SkyTeam alliance company has also announced new investments to the tune of $ 1.2 billion in Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico and LATAM, which “are transforming their activities to emerge from the global pandemic stronger and more resilient” . As a result of these processes, Delta is targeting a 20% stake in Aeromexico and a 10% stake in LATAM; it will retain its 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic.
These investments “strengthen Delta’s global platform,” providing customers with “an enhanced network, seamless connectivity and a high experience, while fueling business growth for Delta, its employees and partners,” a statement said. . Which specifies that Delta’s participation in Air France-KLM, Korean Air and China Eastern Airlines “remains unchanged”.
“These strategic investments in our partners will transform our ability to improve travel for our customers, allowing us to deliver a seamless travel experience while providing our customers with an unmatched network between North America and major global markets,” said Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta. “The work each of our partners has done to strengthen their businesses for the future makes these partnerships even more valuable and creates a new era of international travel to benefit our customers, employees and investors as global travel rebound in 2022 and beyond ”.
Delta did not comment on yesterday’s announcement by Virgin Australia, however, that they will end their codeshare agreement to United Airlines next April – reservations already made to be honored, however. The Australian company said the new arrangement will “triple its reach” and increase member benefits of its Velocity Frequent Flyer loyalty program. United underlines that it never interrupted during the health crisis the service to Australia, where it remains the first American company in terms of offer: it currently offers daily direct flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Sydney, flights from Houston and direct lines to Melbourne scheduled to resume next year. Thanks to this new agreement, its passengers will also have access “to the main Australian destinations including Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide”. Delta only serves Sydney, departing from Los Angeles.