Delta ! DL ! DAL

Delta Air Lines has finalised an agreement with Southwest Airlines and Boeing Capital to lease 88 Boeing 717-200s beginning in August 2013.

The Atlanta-based carrier will receive about three aircraft per month from Southwest's subsidiary AirTran Airways with 16 aircraft transferred in 2016, 36 in 2014 and 36 in 2015.

Delta will either lease the aircraft from Boeing Capital or sublease the narrowbodies from Southwest.

"The 717s also provide Delta with a significant improvement in economic efficiency relative to the aircraft they are replacing," says Richard Anderson, chief executive of Delta, in a statement.

The arrangement is related to a deal between Delta and its pilots that allows the carrier to retire 218 50-seat regional jets and add 70 76-seat RJs.

Southwest will face a $50 million charge from transaction costs but realise $200 million in annual cost savings once the 717s exit its fleet, says the airline.

Delta will configure the 717s with 110 seats, including 12 seats in first class, 15 in economy "comfort" and 83 in economy.

Delta Air Lines is to acquire Singapore Airlines' 49% share in UK operator Virgin Atlantic for $360 million, less than half the £600 million ($965 million) figure paid by SIA.
The
acquisition includes the formation of a broader transatlantic
agreement, comprising a metal-neutral joint venture with the carriers
sharing costs and revenues.
Virgin chairman Richard Branson will
retain his 51% shareholding in the UK operator. The acquisition and
joint venture will be completed by the end of 2013, Delta says.
Delta's
and Virgin's tie-up, which has yet to secure anti-trust approval, will
provide a combined transatlantic network covering 31 services between
the UK and North America. Twenty-three of these will serve London
Heathrow.
Singapore Airlines confirms it is divesting the 49% of
Virgin Atlantic it bought in March 2000. It says it has been evaluating
options for the shareholding for "some time" because the investment "has
not performed to expectations" and the originally-foreseen synergies
"have not materialised".
While Virgin has leaned towards partnerships with Star Alliance carriers in the past, Delta Air Lines is a SkyTeam member.

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic
Airways plan to roll out codeshare and frequent flier partnerships
ahead of a metal neutral joint venture alliance across the north
Atlantic, as they seek anti-trust immunity.

Julie Southern, chief commercial officer of Virgin Atlantic, says
that the carriers have a "long regulatory process ahead" as they seek
immunity but intend to increase cooperation within the existing
regulatory limits ahead of approval, during a press conference in New
York today.

Atlanta-based Delta announced that it would acquire a 49% stake in
UK-based Virgin Atlantic from Singapore Airlines for $360 million
earlier today. The two airlines intend to form an immunised joint
venture between the USA and UK following the deal and anticipate
approval from EU and US regulators by the end of 2013.

"We need to get through the steps of the regulatory process first and
attain anti-trust approval before we make those announcements," says
Richard Anderson, chief executive of Delta, on any route or schedule
changes as a result of the partnership.

He says that both airlines anticipate little difficulty receiving
anti-trust immunity in the USA-UK market, as a Delta-Virgin Atlantic
partnership will have a smaller market share than the existing joint
venture between American Airlines and British Airways.

SkyTeam alliance membership is a possibility for Virgin Atlantic.
Southern says that the airline will evaluate membership and make a
decision in the next "few months".

"We will look at an alliance membership if it's the right thing to do in the future," she says. "We see this as a first step."

Anderson says that its existing joint venture partners Air France-KLM and Alitalia
are very "supportive" of the deal that he says will be very "positive
and accretive" for them. However, he specifically indicates that Delta
plans to have two immunised partnerships over the north Atlantic.

Southern adds that Virgin Atlantic will look at whether it can bring
additional benefits to the existing joint venture by flying to
Amsterdam, Paris and Rome in the future.

Connectivity will initially be an issue at London Heathrow. Delta
will continue to operate from terminal 4 and Virgin Atlantic from
terminal 3 due to space constraints at the UK airport, which is
undergoing renovations. Transiting passengers must take a bus between
the terminals.

"We hope to co-locate together at some point in time at terminal 3,"
says Southern, indicating that a move by Delta could be years away. She
says that Virgin Atlantic has made significant investments in the
terminal that it hopes to share with Delta customers in the future.

At New York's John F. Kennedy airport, both Delta and Virgin Atlantic operate from terminal 4.

The Virgin Atlantic brand will continue to fly under the new
partnership, despite speculation to the contrary. All of the executives
at the event emphasised the strength of the "iconic" Virgin brand.

"That actually gets my blood to boil a little," says Anderson in
response to the speculation. "Virgin Atlantic is an iconic brand. The
whole purpose is to join the brand and join the networks together."

"We're not going anywhere," says Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, at the event via a video conference.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Heathrow_Airport_map_with_third_runway.svg/512px-Heathrow_Airport_map_with_third_runway.svg.png

NICE, 26 March 2013: Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL)
will restart its daily service between Nice and New York’s John F.
Kennedy International Airport effective Sunday, 31 March. The flight is
the only non-stop service between Nice and the United States and will be
operated this summer using a Boeing 767-400 aircraft featuring 39 seats
in BusinessElite; 28 seats in Economy Comfort, Delta’s premium economy
class and 178 economy seats. This flight is operated in conjunction with
joint venture partners Air France KLM.

“The return of our nonstop service marks the start of the summer
season on the Riviera and we are delighted to offer greater convenience
and more travel options for customers flying to the United States and
beyond,” said Beatrice de Rotalier, Delta’s commercial manager for
France. “Each year we see a high demand for this route, with load
factors exceeding 80% in 2012, demonstrating that our customers are as
pleased as we are to see Delta’s daily flight return to Nice.”

Delta’s flight departs Nice at 13:35 and arrives into New York-JFK at 16.50. The return flight departs New York-JFK
at 21.00 and arrives into Nice at 11:25 the next day. The service is
conveniently scheduled to connect with more than 60 destinations
throughout the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, including
Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Delta is making a number of significant investments in its products
and services to improve its customers experience on the ground and in
the air. These include Delta’s state-of-the-art, $1.4bn Terminal 4 at
New York-JFK that will open on 24 May. Customers flying between Nice and New York-JFK
this summer will benefit from a greatly enhanced airport experience on
arrival and departure at the airport. One of the largest terminals in
North America, Terminal 4 offers travellers a spacious environment with a
wide variety of shopping and dining options. For BusinessElite
customers, the Delta SkyClub at Terminal 4 features a Delta SkyDeck – an
outdoor airport terrace offering unprecedented runway views.

In addition to its service between Nice and New York-JFK,
this summer Delta will operate a further 24 daily flights between
France and the United States. The airline is expanding its operations
out of Paris Charles de Gaulle with a flight to Newark’s Liberty
International Airport, an additional service to Atlanta, a seasonal
service to Boston and year round service to Detroit. Altogether, Delta
flies from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to 11 U.S. destinations:
Atlanta, New York-JFK, Newark, Cincinnati, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, Seattle, Boston, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia

Admin a écrit:Juste pour mémoire (en attendant plus de détail)
Mise à niveau de la flotte d'A330 avec lit plat en biz

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5712685/
A330-200 : 34 biz / 32 eco+ / 168 eco = 234 Pax
A330-300 : 34 biz / 32 eco+ / 227 eco = 293 Pax

Airbus recently began talking up the lower ownership cost of its A330
wide-body jet as it defends the model against a proposed new stretched
version of Boeing's Dreamliner - the 787-10X. Airbus told a US industry
conference in March that the A330, whose sales have held up better than
expected due in part to 787 delivery delays, could compete with the 787,
implying price discounts to outweigh higher fuel consumption.


"We operate 33 A330s and were a launch customer in the US," Delta's
Anderson said. He added that should Boeing hope that its stretched 787
would take sales from the A330, "its prices have to come way down.

"This Airbus agreement is another opportunistic fleet transaction for Delta in which we acquire economically efficient, proven-technology aircraft," said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer. "These A330s and A321s will provide tremendous flexibility for Delta to optimally manage our capacity over the next five years while further improving the flight experience for our customers and returns for our shareholders.

"Disciplined capital deployment is a cornerstone of Delta's comprehensive financial plan," said Paul Jacobson, Delta's chief financial officer. "These Airbus aircraft will generate free cash flow and improve our return on invested capital from the time they enter service."

Airbus A330-300
The 10 A330-300 aircraft will augment Delta's existing fleet of 32 A330s. The first A330 delivery is scheduled for spring of 2015, with three additional airplanes scheduled for that year, four in 2016, and the final two in 2017.

Delta will be the first airline to operate the enhanced 242-metric ton A330-300, which offers additional payload capacity and range. Delta will use the aircraft's versatility to optimize its Pacific and Atlantic networks.

These aircraft will be powered by General Electric CF6-80E1 engines. Delta currently operates similar GE CF6 engines on more than 60 widebody aircraft.

The A330 will feature 34 full flat-bed seats with direct aisle access in BusinessElite, 32 extra-legroom seats in Economy Comfort and 227 Economy seats. The international aircraft will feature in-flight Wi-Fi and industry leading in-flight entertainment with a library of more than 1,000 on-demand options, as well as standard 110v power, modern interiors with LED lighting, and extra-capacity overhead bins.

Airbus A321
The 30 A321s will expand Delta's existing fleet of 126 A320-family domestic aircraft. Delta's first three A321s are scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2016, with 12 more due in that year. The remaining 15 jets are scheduled for 2017.

Delta's A321 will be equipped with CFM56-5B engines produced by CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Snecma of France. Delta operates more than 200 aircraft in its fleet today with CFM56 engines, including all Airbus narrowbody aircraft. The A321s will also feature wingtip sharklets, which will provide up to 4 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.

The Airbus A321 will have 20 First Class seats, 22 extra-legroom seats in Economy Comfort and 148 seats in the Economy cabin. Every A321 will feature in-flight Wi-Fi, industry leading in-flight entertainment with live satellite TV and on-demand options, and standard 110v power. The A321 will also offer Economy cabin seats that are among the widest in the industry.

Delta’s 57 A319 and 69 A320 aircraft will receive complete interior updates including new seats in both First Class and Economy cabins with in-seat power throughout the aircraft. The aircraft will also receive new space-saving galleys, new lavatories, new larger-capacity overhead bins with an average increase of 60 percent more carry-on baggage space, updated LED lighting systems and new cabin interiors. Updates to the A319 fleet will also include the installation of in-seat video with satellite TV.

The A319 will include 12 seats in First Class and the A320 will have 16 First Class seats. All Economy seats on both aircraft types will feature wider seats with an increase from the current 17.2 inches to 18 inches for each seat. Both fleets will have 18 Economy Comfort seats with 34 inches of pitch. Economy seats will each have 31 inches of pitch on both aircraft with 102 seats on the A319 and 126 seats on the A320.