Who are Delta Airlines partners with?

  • Jul 22, 2024
Who are Delta Airlines partners with?

Delta Airlines Partners

At the moment, Delta Airlines has short-term and code-share relationships with other airline organizations and other travel and hospitality companies across the globe. These alliances enable Delta and its partners to expand the routes served, offer more choices to consumers, and enhance their market position within the airline market.

SkyTeam Alliance

Delta Air Lines has been a member of the SkyTeam alliance since its inception, and the founding members of this alliance are Delta, Aeromexico, Air France, and Korean Air. SkyTeam was established in 2000 and currently, it has 19 members with over 14500 daily flights and services to over 1150 destinations in over 175 member countries.

In line with operations in the SkyTeam alliance, all Delta passengers have a chance to accrue and redeem miles for flights on all the partners’ flights. Further, perks such as priority check-in, boarding, and baggage, as well as upgrades, are offered to the elite status members when they are traveling with the other SkyTeam airlines. Some key SkyTeam partners for Delta include: Some key SkyTeam partners for Delta include:

  • Air France/KLM: A significant amount of joint venture cooperation offers huge Transatlantic route connections.
  • Aeromexico: Latin America Flying is Delta’s main partner and it is evident from the above observation that most of its flights are operated through this partner.
  • Virgin Atlantic: Cross-Atlantic partnership from the United Kingdom
  • China Eastern: Major China connection through the gateway at Shanghai
  • Korean Air: The most important Asian partner was distributed over the Korean Peninsula.

Joint Ventures

The following is a list of the major airlines with whom Delta has partnered: Delta has also entered into joint ventures with other partners that are not in SkyTeam: These strategic codeshare agreements enable the two airline companies to integrate schedules, fare levels, and seat management across the world in a very effective way that can be described as a virtual merger. Delta’s main joint venture partnerships are: Delta’s main joint venture partnerships are:

  • Virgin Atlantic: Potential for large conversion of flying costs and revenues on a transatlantic basis
  • Aeromexico: This paper analyses the concept of joint venture partnership across the United States of America and Mexico.
  • Latam: A recent joint venture approval on South American routes

Delta also holds minority share positions in other airlines, especially in Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico, Latam, and China Eastern. They do this through these equity partnerships, which also serve to strengthen Delta’s overall relations with some of its main global associates.

Codeshare Agreements

Currently, Delta socializes with over one dozen airlines through non-joint venture code sharing. These interline codes refer to the promotion of Delta’s flights by assigning the “DL” code and flight numbers to partnered airlines. Key Delta codeshare airlines include: Key Delta codeshare airlines include:

  • WestJet: The airline also has a significant role in many of the US-Canada flight paths.
  • Air France/KLM: Additional codeshares to overtake the Transatlantic joint venture
  • Alitalia: More connectivity over and through the Atlantic and Italy
  • Aeroflot: Russia routes codeshares from two of Delta’s interconnect hubs: New York City and Los Angeles
  • Flybe: This group of flights is referred to as regional flights, and these are the codeshared flights across the United Kingdom.
  • Gol: Brazil and broad regional South American news.
  • Kenya Airways: The codeshare is a convenient way to obtain access to African destinations.
  • Korean Air: It is important to note that the above-mentioned SkyTeam partnership also consists of codeshares.
  • Virgin Australia: Codeshare operation expanding Delta’s network throughout Australia

This lets Delta sell tickets for these flights directly, although it offers more connectivity on routes that Delta doesn’t serve with its planes. Codeshare flight connections are managed through Delta but itineraries operated by partner airlines can also be booked through Delta with similar accessibility to Delta-operated codeshare flights.

Other Partnerships

Delta also codeshares with several of the largest American airlines, including in Los Angeles, where it operates LATAM flights in partnership with American Airlines, and in New York, where it codeshares with JetBlue. These domestic partnerships let Delta develop in important business areas through the positioning of the Delta codes and, to some extent, cooperation with partner airlines.

Further, the company has affiliations with ground transport service providers globally to improve customers’ access to and from airports. Other affiliates are Thalys International in Europe and Via Rail in Canada, among others.

Moreover, Delta collaborates with a range of international hotel companies to offer customers enhanced travel experiences in the trip, hotel accommodation, earning and redeeming flight miles, and other privileges for elite membership in the SkyMiles program. Some key stakeholders are Marriott, Starwood, and other Hilton brands in thousands of hotels in various locations.

Impact of Partnerships

Current membership in global alliances and entering joint ventures has taken Delta to the next level of a global network carrier. Given that DL has cooperative agreements with more than 60% of its international offering, partnerships help Delta cost-effectively get its customers to many more points than would be possible using only Delta’s metal.

These airline affiliations have grown Delta’s service portfolios in important regions such as Europe, Latin America, and China tremendously since the formation of such partnerships more than two decades earlier. And new airline affiliations continue to be vital elements of Delta’s plan and formation as the air transport industry advances globally. Delta has the capabilities to offer unparalleled choice, service, and value proposition to customers across Delta’s extensive international system through its alliance, joint venture, and interline partners.