DL to start ORD-LHR

[FWAAA]

Did that flight ever start?

Nope, it was scheduled to begin on October 25, 2014.

http://airlineroute.net/2014/03/29/dl-ordlhr-w14update2/

 

[eolesen]

don't be surprised if you see DL make other moves in the domestic Chicago market to strengthen its marketing position.

It's still just a 767 and DL and VS do have the ability to discount to help fill seats if they need to.

I can't wait to hear WT explain how pulling the route will strengthen DL's marketing position in Chicago.

 

[robbedagain]

its comin E  in about a mile and half long page how it benefits DL while all the others are losing money on that route

 

[metopower]

Great. Then it won't effect profit sharing. Smart move . Thanks

 

[737823]

its comin E  in about a mile and half long page how it benefits DL while all the others are losing money on that route

...after being told a few weeks ago that this is opportunistic growth and how only DL has the most suitable aircraft for the mission and will command revenue premiums to the incumbent carriers.

Josh

 

[Kev3188]

It'll be interesting to see where (if anywhere) that flying now goes instead...

 

[WorldTraveler]

It is not the first time that DL has loaded a route for sale and not started it.

I would bet that DL and VS were bidding on a corporate contract and didnt get it.

opportunities arise and you have to be willing to jump to get them.

If not you go to another plan
want
There is a reason why DL has a revenue premium on its system and it involves being willing to give customers what they want

 

[robbedagain]

just the same goes with any OTHER airline  

 

[WorldTraveler]

some airlines do load flights in hopes of winning corporate contracts and pull the route... but DL has probably done it more than other carriers.
 
And yet they have a larger revenue premium than other carriers so they know what they have to win the business and walk away from route additions if the revenue is not there.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

Is "revenue premium" your new favorite saw?
 
Is DL commanding a revenue premium on ORD-LGA?

 

[eolesen]

Is DL commanding a revenue premium on ORD-LGA?

Statistically, probably. When you only commit a few seats into a market dominated by someone else, it's easier to have bragging rights on a higher yield, because there are fewer flights and fewer seats to discount. The flip side of that is you're less likely to win new business aside from your uber-faithful flyers.

The other statistic that goes hand in hand with that example: the carrier with more frequency wins a disproportionate amount of the total revenue pie in the market, so the benefit of the revenue premium may or may not be all that significant.

Where a revenue premium becomes more important is when the capacity and frequency between two carriers are more balanced.

 

[AdAstraPerAspera]

That's interesting; I didn't know that. Thanks, E. I just assumed the carrier with the most premium seats would get be the fare leader, but that makes sense now that you explain it.

 

[eolesen]

Your assumption is actually correct in many cases: UA used to only offer 8-12 F seats, while AA was offering 14 or more in F. Evenly matched on frequencies and departure times, AA would routinely kick UA's butt on both revenue premium and in total revenue share.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Statistically, probably. When you only commit a few seats into a market dominated by someone else, it's easier to have bragging rights on a higher yield, because there are fewer flights and fewer seats to discount. The flip side of that is you're less likely to win new business aside from your uber-faithful flyers.

The other statistic that goes hand in hand with that example: the carrier with more frequency wins a disproportionate amount of the total revenue pie in the market, so the benefit of the revenue premium may or may not be all that significant.

Where a revenue premium becomes more important is when the capacity and frequency between two carriers are more balanced.

 
DL's revenue premium claim is based on its SYSTEM.  Every carrier has revenue premiums in a few markets.... it is far more meaningful to look at what a carrier does at a system level.
 
specific to ORD-LGA, AA has long had a MARKET SHARE premium over DL and UA who offers far less service than AA... but AA also gets 12% less average fare than DL or UA who have nearly identical average fares.  It is also noteworthy that DL has only a few market share points less than UA even though UA has a much larger hub and its HDQ at ORD compared to DL at LGA. 
 
AA has tried to maintain its position in ORD-LGA by keeping capacity in the market... and that is exactly why WN's addition of service from DAL will cause a huge revenue hit to AA if they try to flood the market with new capacity but don't generate new premium revenues to fill those extra
seats
 
And then we have the example of LGA-MIA which has long been a very strong AA market yet DL since the slot swap closed now has 40% of the market at average fares within a few percent to AA. 
 
DL is clearly capable of generating premium revenues even in other airline hub markets like ORD, where DL is also the largest airline in each of the markets to DL's hubs - except LGA as noted above. 
 
ORD-LHR like LAX-LHR is a key industry market which DL needs to serve either on its own metal or part of a JV that is very service comparable - access to terminals etc. 
 
It takes time to push into key competitor hubs but DL has demonstrated it isn't afraid to do it and will focus on the markets that it needs to serve.
 
This round of LHR-ORD isn't the last dance for DL at ORD. 

 

[700UW]

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/delta-drops-chicago-to-london-service
 

A Delta spokesperson said: "Having done further research on the route the decision has been made to evaluate the Delta - Virgin transatlantic offering as we build our partnership and optimise the transatlantic schedule.