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Delta, Five Other SkyTeam Partners Seek Added Global Customer Benefits With Antitrust Immunity

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

ATLANTA, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Delta Air Lines and five of its SkyTeam partners -- Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airline, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines -- today filed their response to comments on their application for antitrust immunity with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

This application for antitrust immunity has received broad support from affected communities, airports, corporate customers, and consumer travel and public interest groups. Supporters include the State of Georgia, the City of Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the City of Minneapolis, the City of St. Paul, the City of Eagan, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association, Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, City of Burnsville, St. Paul Chamber of Commerce, Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority, the City of Memphis, Shelby County, the Memphis Convention and Visitors Authority and Wayne Country Airport Authority in Detroit.

Letters of support have also been filed by the Business Travel Coalition, a public interest group representing the interests of corporate purchasers of air travel, and a number of major corporations, including Federal Express, General Motors and Ford Motor Company.

"The only comments filed opposing the application were filed by American Airlines, based on its claim that the DOT's decade-long policy of approving immunized alliances and seeking to open aviation markets and improve international air services through Open Skies Treaties has been a mistake," said Scott Yohe, Delta's senior vice president of Government Affairs in Washington D.C. "However, history shows that antitrust immunity would help customers worldwide by allowing SkyTeam members to create a seamless international air transport network, while retaining our separate corporate and national identities. The strengthened alliance would also offer customers significant new service and pricing benefits."

Linking hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, Paris, Milan, Rome, Prague, Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis would dramatically strengthen the international networks for the six SkyTeam partners to provide leisure and business travelers with more travel opportunities and lower fares. Consumers would have accessible service in 8,700 U.S.-Europe city pairs that currently are not served by either the Northwest-KLM or Air France-Delta-Alitalia-CSA Czech Airline alliances. Approval of antitrust immunity would also increase trans-Atlantic competition by allowing the SkyTeam partners to better compete on equal terms with airlines in rival global alliances.

The proposed antitrust immunity also benefits customers by: - Offering 42 percent more options on existing routes they serve, benefiting 16,280 city pairs that account for 79 percent of trans- Atlantic travel. - Creating greater discount fare opportunities in trans-Atlantic travel by allowing passengers to choose alternative paths to their destination. - Reducing travel times in 4,263 city pairs, representing 18 percent of trans-Atlantic travel. Average roundtrip travel times will be reduced by approximately 52 minutes.

As part of its transformation plan to become more customer focused and financially viable, Delta is offering passengers more connections to more global destinations. International flying represents an important part of Delta's total revenues and it continues to look at serving key international destinations with its own aircraft as well as increasing flight frequencies on well-traveled routes through its SkyTeam alliance. Delta currently offers more than 140 daily flights to more than 40 international destinations in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Delta Air Lines is the world's second-largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 488 destinations in 87 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. Delta's marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem frequent flier miles on more than 14,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.

Delta Air Lines

CONTACT: Corporate Communications of Delta Air Lines, +1-404-715-2554

Web site: http://www.delta.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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