Delta Air Lines and Korean Air will expand their codeshare
partnership in the fourth quarter, pending government approvals, the carriers
announced. The move suggests a thawing in the relationship between the two SkyTeam
members.
Under the new partnership, Korean will place its code on 156
Delta routes from Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York's John F. Kennedy
International Airport to U.S. and Canadian destinations. Korean also will place
its code on Delta's flights to Sao Paulo from Atlanta and JFK. Delta in turn will
place its code on 32 Korean Air flights from Seoul's Incheon International
Airport to such Asian destinations as Singapore, Taipei, Bangkok, Osaka,
Okinawa and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Delta also will place its code on Korean
Air flights between Seoul and both Houston and San Francisco.
Prior to this, Korean codeshared on Delta flights to Detroit,
Rio de Janeiro and Santiago, and Delta codeshared on Korean Air flights to 23
destinations, according to Delta.
The partnership will deepen when Delta begins daily nonstop
service between Atlanta and Seoul on June 3, 2017; Korean will codeshare on
that flight.
While both Delta and Korean were among SkyTeam's founding members,
CAPA Centre for Aviation last year called their relationship "one of the
most sour in any alliance." In 2013, for example, Delta discontinued travelers'
ability to earn status-qualifying miles on Korean Air flights, and the two
carriers pulled back on some of their codesharing. Prior to that, Delta
reportedly had pushed for a joint-venture with Korean, which Korean rejected.
Korean, meanwhile, formed a codesharing
agreement with American Airlines last year to put its codes on American
flights between Dallas and Seoul. The move was notable considering Korean is in
the SkyTeam alliance and American is a member of the Oneworld alliance.
Korean's new agreement with Delta does not change Korean's agreement
with American, according to a Korean Air spokesperson. A Delta spokesperson
said its mileage-accrual policy for Korean also remains the same, adding,
though, "We always are looking at ways to enhance our partnerships with
other carriers."
Delta has been shifting its own Asia/Pacific strategy,
including its recent
decision to end service on three routes from Tokyo's Narita Airport. In a
statement, Delta international president and executive vice president of global
sales Steve Sear called Seoul "one of the premier gateways to Asia,"
adding, "The strength of our combined hubs and flight offering gives
customers a significantly enhanced portfolio of destinations for travel."
As of last year, Delta and Korean together
accounted for 59 percent of the air travel market between the United States and
Korea, according to CAPA.