Comments on: Hm…Maybe Delta Knows What It’s Doing

By: Jose

Jose — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:57:35 +0000

I understand the passengers that are filling Europe bound planes are… Europeans making good use of their Euro vs Dollar return. And Delta is not stopping there. Considering Delta’s antitrust benefits with other carriers, including the biggest carrier in Europe, Air France-KLM, I bet they have all these airlines have their clocks well synchronized to tap markets that their competitors currently can’t.

By: onlinetravelreview

onlinetravelreview — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:34:46 +0000

I do agree with one thing IAHPHX said - Delta could be in for a world of hurt during the slower fall travel period to Europe. High fuel costs + weak dollar + fewer people flying to Lyon = possible disaster. The Europe strategy may not be the savior for Delta. However, their African routes coupled with some of the newer more obscure routes (like Guyana) where VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) traffic can be profitable, may keep it from being as awful as we think.

By: iahphx

iahphx — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:45:58 +0000

There’s something “funny” about Delta’s results, especially since there’s obviously “softening” in the int’l market right now (CO’s Kellner talked about it in the conference call — blaming the obscene value of the Euro). Since Delta’s strategy is to fly a lot of transatlantic routes that nobody (including CO) think could be profitable, I’m skeptical they’ve found a gold mine. I suspect it has something to do with the restructuring — US also had surprisingly wonderful results after AWA bought them in Chap. 11. Delta also doesn’t seem as cheap (aka “cost efficient”) as some other airlines, which also makes me skeptical of their results.

But only time will tell whether my skepticism is justified. I would just look for them to underperform compared to their peers next year.

By: charlie

charlie — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:19:23 +0000

yes, I had to go to therapy for a few days.

Seriously, though, I was trying to make a point that cuts by businesses in travel spending are hurting as much as the increase in costs; however, a friend over the weekend told me his very large consulting firm hasn’t cut back on travel yet. Ayything over $450 needs to be approved, but for the bulk of domestic travel that is not going to kick in.

By: onlinetravelreview

onlinetravelreview — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:21:23 +0000

I mocked you? That wasn’t very nice

By: charlie

charlie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:17:48 +0000

You mocked me for this a while ago, but I’ll throw it out again: based on my limited understanding of the DOT filings, it looks as if Delta actually has historically made money on domestic flights. I suspect that has to do with small southeastern captive markets than anything else.

By: Rachael

Rachael — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:17:40 +0000

I will gladly pay the extra $ to fly rather than drive cross country with my kids for 18+ hrs. when I could fly for 2-4 hrs. to reach the same destination. I’ll pay for convenience and sanity reasons!

rachael@reviewsbyrachael.com