ATLANTA, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines
(NYSE: DAL) and Virgin Australia Airlines (ASX: VBA) today welcomed
the U.S. Department of Transportation's proposed grant of antitrust
immunity to their alliance, which will allow the airlines to
implement their joint venture, expanding their reach between the
U.S., Australia and the South
Pacific region.
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Antitrust immunity will enable Delta and Virgin Australia
Airlines to provide a seamless product to customers and more
options for travel between the U.S. and South Pacific. The airlines
will collaborate through codesharing, coordinating route and
product planning and extending frequent flyer program benefits and
lounge access to customers of both carriers.
"We appreciate the DOT's thorough review of our alliance with
Virgin Australia and recognition of the important customer
benefits," said Glen Hauenstein,
Delta's executive vice president of network, revenue management and
marketing. "This alliance will bring more effective competition to
the region and provide consumers greater choice of destinations,
frequencies and schedules."
The alliance will create a comprehensive, fully integrated
network able to serve thousands of city-pairs in North America and the South Pacific.
Delta alone serves a single point in Australia, Sydney, and Virgin Australia's international
airline, V Australia, flies only to Los
Angeles. The antitrust immunized alliance will allow the
airlines to fully cooperate on network planning and distribution to
deliver a more attractive and competitive service for customers. A
detailed econometric study conducted by Compass Lexecon estimated
annual consumer benefits of up to $54
million would be produced by the joint venture.
The alliance with Delta is a centerpiece of Virgin Australia
Airlines' product development and international expansion strategy,
led by CEO John Borghetti.
Under Borghetti's leadership, Virgin Australia Airlines has
developed a market-leading international airline, V Australia,
which offers direct flights between Los
Angeles and Australia.
Virgin Australia also operates an
extensive network throughout Australia and the South Pacific. Through its
alliance with Delta, V Australia has created a network with the
scope and breadth to take on larger rivals serving the U.S. - South
Pacific marketplace.
Virgin Australia Airlines CEO John
Borghetti said: "We welcome the Department of
Transportation's proposed approval of our application for antitrust
immunity with Delta, which will enable our airlines to deliver a
more attractive and competitive service for travelers in
Australia and North America."
"The Delta alliance is a key plank in Virgin Australia's
strategy to build an international network of airline partners that
offers global coverage. If approved, Delta customers will be able
to connect seamlessly to Virgin Australia's extensive network of
destinations across Australia,
New Zealand and the South Pacific
and earn frequent flyer points in the process," Borghetti said.
Antitrust immunity is the latest step in an enhanced alliance
between Delta and Virgin Australia Airlines, which began with their
first codesharing flights in January
2010. On May 21, the
codesharing arrangement will be expanded to add five new
destinations in Australia and
New Zealand to Delta's network.
Delta customers will be able to connect in Sydney on Virgin Australia Airlines flights to
Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra in Australia, and on Pacific Blue (Virgin
Australia's Pacific airline) to Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand. V Australia customers will be able to connect in
Los Angeles to Delta flights to
San Francisco, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit, New York-JFK and Orlando, Fla.
The DOT's Show Cause Order proposes to grant antitrust immunity
to the alliance and allows for a further period of public comment,
after which the DOT will issue a final determination.
Virgin Australia Airlines
Virgin Australia Airlines (ASX: VBA), formerly the Virgin Blue
group of airlines, was launched in 2000 as the first sustainable
low-fare airline in Australian skies. It has established a global
reputation as an innovator and leader in the aviation industry;
renowned for the warmth of its people and the quality of the
service they provide.
Starting out as a single airline operating a single route with
just 200 team members, today the group employs over 7,000 people
and includes multi-award winning domestic airline Virgin Australia
(formerly Virgin Blue); international long-haul airline V
Australia, international subsidiary airline Pacific Blue; and
Polynesian Blue, a joint venture airline with the Government of
Samoa.
Virgin Australia Airlines is currently in the process of
re-launching its domestic and short-haul international product, and
both V Australia and Pacific Blue airlines will operate as Virgin
Australia by the end of 2011. The group also includes multi-award
winning frequent flyer and loyalty program, Velocity, and holiday
arm, Blue Holidays.
Virgin Australia operates a
fleet of 89 modern Boeing 737, 777 and Embraer E-Jet aircraft
flying to 32 Australian and 16 international destinations including
the USA, Abu Dhabi, New
Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga,
Vanuatu and the Cook Islands.
Virgin Australia has an
alliance with the award-winning Etihad Airways, providing guests a
one-stop service to Europe, and
has recently announced partnerships with Air New Zealand and
Skywest Airlines which will see it expand its footprint in the
South Pacific and regional Australia.
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each
year, and was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline
worldwide in its 2011 World's Most Admired Companies airline
industry list. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and
the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 346 destinations in
64 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees
worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft.
A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta
participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture
with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance
partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights,
with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis,
Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt
Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the
SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world's largest airline
loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more
than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing
more than $2 billion through 2013 in
airport facilities and global products, services and technology to
enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground.
Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check
bags and review flight status at delta.com.
SOURCE Delta Air Lines