While I have no inside information suggesting that this will happen, I can’t help but point out how overdue it is for Delta Air Lines and Etihad Airways to launch a partnership with one another. I mentioned this in passing the other day when discussing the new joint venture between Etihad and China Eastern, but wanted to talk about it in more detail in this post.
In this post:
Current US & Gulf carrier dynamics
It’s interesting to see how the relationships are evolving between the “big three” US carriers and the “big three” Gulf carriers. Going back a decade, the major US carriers were trying to block the major Gulf carriers from growing in the United States, arguing that they provided unfair competition, and were putting US jobs at risk.
However, in the meantime, they’ve taken more of the approach of “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” When you look at the current situation:
- American and Qatar Airways have a strategic alliance, American flies to Doha, and both airlines also belong to the oneworld alliance
- United and Emirates have a strategic alliance, and United flies to Dubai
- American also has a partnership with Etihad, but Etihad is definitely the second tier partner, so doesn’t have as much upside as Qatar Airways does
As you can see, on the US side, American and United are in a good position with these partnerships, while on the Gulf side, Qatar Airways and Emirates have good arrangements. If you ask me, there’s a glaringly obvious development that we should see…
Why Delta & Etihad would be a good fit
Delta is of course an incredibly profitable and strategic airline, yet I’d argue that Delta needs Etihad more than the other way around. When you look at Delta’s long haul network, the airline is very invested in its joint ventures and equity partners.
Delta’s two most important commercial relationships are the transatlantic joint venture (with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic), as well as the transpacific joint venture (with Korean Air).
Arguably the biggest gap in Delta’s long haul network is the Indian subcontinent. Go to Delta’s website and try to book a ticket from Boston (BOS) to major cities in India, like Ahmedabad (AMD), Chennai (MAA), Hyderabad (HYD), Kolkata (CCU), etc. Or try to book tickets to destinations like Dhaka (DAC). The website will tell you there are no available flights. This is a major hole in Delta’s network, compared to American and United:
- American has a partnership with Qatar Airways and Etihad for connectivity in the Middle East, and also flies to India, and has a partnership with IndiGo, which is India’s largest airline
- United has a partnership with Emirates for connectivity in the Middle East, and also flies to India, and has a partnership with Air India
Meanwhile Delta has none of that:
- Delta and Saudia both belong to SkyTeam, but Delta doesn’t at all push its passengers on Saudia, and on top of that, it’s not an airline that many Delta flyers want to travel with (it’s not a good fit — have you seen how much people drink in Sky Clubs?!)
- Delta doesn’t have any airline partners in India
- Delta doesn’t fly to India; while the airline was going to fly to Mumbai (BOM), that’s no longer practical, due to Russian airspace closures
- While Delta’s partnerships with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic offer connectivity to India’s few biggest markets, that’s about the extent of it
- Even if Delta did fly to India, it’s not clear which airline Delta could partner with for connectivity there
It seems like Delta’s best solution to add coverage in the region would be to launch a partnership with Etihad, and maybe to even add a flight to Abu Dhabi (AUH), perhaps from Atlanta (ATL) or Detroit (DTW). Then Etihad could provide connectivity to so many destinations that are currently gaps in Delta’s network.
What’s the upside to Etihad for dumping American and partnering with Delta?
- Arguably Etihad’s US route network is much more complementary to Delta’s; Etihad flies out of T4 in New York (JFK), which is also Delta’s terminal, and even has US Pre-Clearance, so it would make connections so easy, and Etihad has also launched flights to Boston (BOS), which is another Delta hub
- Etihad has second class status with American, as American primarily tries to route passengers its own flights or onto Qatar Airways flights
- Nowadays Etihad seems to send more connecting passengers on JetBlue, but the airline doesn’t have a premium cabin on all flights, so isn’t necessarily great for connectivity
- Partnering with Delta could open up logical new US destinations for Etihad; I could see Etihad flying to Atlanta or Detroit, with the former being the ideal connecting point for a larger portion of the country, and with Detroit having a large population from the regions where Etihad is the strongest
Let me say of course that selfishly I’d hate to see this, since I love redeeming AAdvantage miles on Etihad, and there’s no way Delta SkyMiles would offer good value when redeeming on Etihad. But I’m also trying to separate my general thoughts on commercial partnerships from my desire for certain award redemptions.
Would the economics of this make sense?
I imagine one of the reasons that Delta has been hesitant to launch a partnership with Etihad is because Delta is very focused on launching partnerships that are part of joint ventures, and/or with equity partners.
I wouldn’t necessarily expect Delta and Etihad to launch a joint venture (since it would partly cannibalize the existing transatlantic joint venture), and I also wouldn’t expect Delta to invest in Etihad (despite Etihad executives inferring the airline is considering an IPO).
However, if you ask me, this partnership is more out of necessity of having global access, and serving one of the world’s largest regions. It’s not unlike how Delta has launched a partnership with EL AL, even though it’s fairly casual as of now, as there’s no joint venture, and Delta hasn’t invested in EL AL.
Could Etihad join the SkyTeam alliance as well?
Perhaps the next logical question is if it would make sense for Etihad to join the SkyTeam alliance. There’s a bigger trend going on here. Etihad is increasingly cooperating with SkyTeam airlines — Air France-KLM has a close partnership with Etihad, and China Eastern and Etihad are launching a joint venture.
If Etihad and Delta were to launch a partnership, would it make sense for Etihad to also join the SkyTeam alliance?
Personally I could see it happening, though I wouldn’t consider it to be a sure bet. I do think global alliances are deemphasized a bit nowadays, given how many members some of the alliances have. Many airlines are instead focused on individual, strategic partnerships, so it could make sense for Etihad to continue to do that, without committing to an alliance.
Personally I think the most likely outcome is that Delta and Etihad first launch a partnership, and then maybe in the future Etihad joins SkyTeam… or maybe not.
Bottom line
While there’s no indication that this will happen, I think there’s merit to Delta and Etihad launching a partnership. Delta desperately needs a partner providing access to the Indian subcontinent, while Etihad could use a stronger full service partner in the United States. It’s just wild to me how many cities there are with 5-10 million people, where delta.com returns an error message when you try to find an itinerary…
What do you think — could we see a Delta and Etihad partnership?
This just makes sense.
Let Etihad return to flying LAX - AUH
Let Delta pickup ATL - and DTW - AUH.
That would give service to AUH from JFK BOS ATL DTW LAX (and ORD IAD ).
Wish List: add AUS ... ;)
And it would be awesome to see Delta aircraft at the new ME HUB in AUH.
Etihad and Delta would be a great partnership as the other US airlines (United and American) are already partnered with Emirates and Qatar Airways, Etihad's main competitors. Skyteam really does not match Etihad, though, Star Alliance seems like an alliance which Etihad would much more be in. Another thing is that Etihad CEO had once said "Never Say Never" to joining a airline alliance. So Etihad may as well join an alliance.
"Skyteam really does not match Etihad, though, Star Alliance seems like an alliance which Etihad would much more be in"
Based on what exactly? It's so strange when people make completely non-contextual comments like this.
Partnership of not? Really, who cares~ certainly not me!
Etihad can continue to do quite nicely without Delta, or any other US airline. It's not where its focus lies.
The US is in terminal decline due to its collective myopia and xenophobia, so who wants to buy into that?
You may as well mindlessly ramble on about intestinal parasites, for all the relevance any of what you wrote has to do with the topic at handle.
Joint ventures are bad. Mergers are bad. They limit growth and competitions. only winners are corporations.
Partnerships are good as long as there are good regulations in place.
Waiting to see growth of ME3 + Turkish in the US over the next few years, alliances and JVs are traps to limit their growth and allow the 3 US airlines to control these routes.
except TK and the ME3 are eligible to participate in JVs - and yet they don't.
Those 4 airlines are so large and serve so much of the world east of their hubs that they are the ones that dominate the markets not just from the US but also from Europe.
Just because of distances, the "ME4" can't add a number of secondary and smaller markets as European airlines can do.
If JVs and mergers...
except TK and the ME3 are eligible to participate in JVs - and yet they don't.
Those 4 airlines are so large and serve so much of the world east of their hubs that they are the ones that dominate the markets not just from the US but also from Europe.
Just because of distances, the "ME4" can't add a number of secondary and smaller markets as European airlines can do.
If JVs and mergers really pushed air fares to high levels, then profits would be higher than in other industries - but that is far from the case.
except TK and the ME3 are eligible to participate in JVs - and yet they don't.
Those 4 airlines are so large and serve so much of the world east of their hubs that they are the ones that dominate the markets not just from the US but also from Europe.
Just because of distances, the "ME4" can't add a number of secondary and smaller markets as European airlines can do.
If JVs and mergers...
except TK and the ME3 are eligible to participate in JVs - and yet they don't.
Those 4 airlines are so large and serve so much of the world east of their hubs that they are the ones that dominate the markets not just from the US but also from Europe.
Just because of distances, the "ME4" can't add a number of secondary and smaller markets as European airlines can do.
If JVs and mergers really pushed air fares to high levels, then profits would be higher than in other industries - but that is far from the case.
Making declarative statements with no factual basis to back them up, is even worse....
ITA and Saudi’s just signed a codeshare agreement, if they can do it so can Delta.
Saudi's customer reviews scare me away.
Meanwhile, no blogger seems to cover anything about KE ending transfers with Bonvoy?
If Etihad joins SkyTeam, then I think we may see Star Alliance try to get an airline in the Middle East. That could be Emirates. However, EK has repeatedly maintained their position of not seeing the value in joining a global alliance. As a result, I think Star Alliance may try to get Riyadh Air onboard (or the other way around). Being a new player, Riyadh Air will definetly benefit from being apart of a...
If Etihad joins SkyTeam, then I think we may see Star Alliance try to get an airline in the Middle East. That could be Emirates. However, EK has repeatedly maintained their position of not seeing the value in joining a global alliance. As a result, I think Star Alliance may try to get Riyadh Air onboard (or the other way around). Being a new player, Riyadh Air will definetly benefit from being apart of a global alliance. And given Riyadh Air's aspirations, it will definetly become a not-so-insignificant player in the next few years. And given that Saudia is already apart of SkyTeam, Riyadh Air joining Star Alliance makes sense.
And with the rapid growth of the Indian aviation market in these coming years, I think we might see another full service airline become a prominent competitor in India to Air India and IndiGo, which would also likely align itself with SkyTeam (since the two former airlines align themselves with the other alliances).
You mean to say that IndiGo, a low-cost carrier with an all-economy product, is aligned with an alliance as premium as Oneworld?
Tbf they are to have business class on their A350s, by then it would be ideal for 6E to join an alliance
Turkish is Star Alliance’s Middle Eastern airline.
Look at the potential synergies of their A350-1000s! The shared vision of having the most efficient aircraft as the backbone is paving the way for a successful partnership. My dummy Tim will educate you further on the economics.
let me guess.
You're a United employee that can't stand to hear that UA loses money flying the Pacific when Delta makes money and UA will not have the A350-1000 for years after DL puts it into service even though UA has had A350s on order for years; the 35K is the most efficient widebody on the planet and that will only change IF the 777X is put in service and UA puts as many as 400 seats on it.
"35K is the most efficient widebody on the planet"
Depends. One can definitely currently say "35K is the one of the most efficient widebody on the planet".
the A350-1000 in proportional configurations IS the most efficient widebody in service on the planet.
And it is also the most capable other than its sister the A350-900.
Both far more so than any version of the 787.
None of which changes that EY and QR have the 35K while EK whines about the engines don't perform in the Middle East - and so waits for the 777X which is delayed. The 777-9 will...
the A350-1000 in proportional configurations IS the most efficient widebody in service on the planet.
And it is also the most capable other than its sister the A350-900.
Both far more so than any version of the 787.
None of which changes that EY and QR have the 35K while EK whines about the engines don't perform in the Middle East - and so waits for the 777X which is delayed. The 777-9 will be large and have good economics but less range than either version of the A350 while the 777-8 will have range but economics that are not much different than the 350.
Until the 777-9 enters service, it's pretty hard to make the case that the A350-1000 is not the most efficient widebody currently available. It may still be afterwards as well, as the 777-9 would have to be quite a leap, to make up for its significantly heavier weight.
I think it's just a matter of time, especially since Air France / KLM are now working with Etihad more closely now too. Speaking of other partnerships, I'm very surprised Air France / KLM don't work more closely with Korean, given their lack of coverage for Australia etc
Of course, being a biased SkyTeam flyer, I would like to see this happen. Extra hopeful because isn't EY already working with Flying Blue? I don't fly SkyTeam to the ME just because the only option is stopping at AMS or CDG, which is obviously not as good as a 12-hr direct flight from JFK.
Sorry I didn't mean that as a reply to you, but somehow also answered my question about EY and FB. lol
It would be intriguing.
No Way. I love Etihad and I can't stand Delta. Why should Etihad drag it's good name down by hooking up with a loser?
Kolkata is CCU, no?
I agree 100% but can Bastian bury his pride and work with an ME3 carrier?
Not sure about that.
Bastion will work with the red Devil himself, if it'd make money for the company... or the Board would replace him with someone who will.
This isn't an elementary playground, it's simple business calculous.
calculus* even
As someone who lives in ATL, I would love if Etihad partnered with Delta and started flying here. Even though the redemption rates would be crazy with SkyMiles, ATL is really in need of more major foreign airlines flying here as most of the premium Asian airlines do not, for obvious reason. My dream would be Etihad partnering with Delta and flying to ATL while Aeroplan fixes their issue with booking Etihad awards.
Delta won't have a major partnership with an airline if it can't fly at least one solid route to its hubs which is one of the reasons why Saudia, Malaysian, Vietnam and others are peripheral SkyTeam partners.
DL could pump tons of feed onto EY and EY could add more destinations to DL's route map. However, AA and UA are either giving away alot of that traffic to QR and EK since there is no...
Delta won't have a major partnership with an airline if it can't fly at least one solid route to its hubs which is one of the reasons why Saudia, Malaysian, Vietnam and others are peripheral SkyTeam partners.
DL could pump tons of feed onto EY and EY could add more destinations to DL's route map. However, AA and UA are either giving away alot of that traffic to QR and EK since there is no JV or are booking very little of it to secondary and tertiary destinations in S. Asia.
And the sole reason why DL objected to the ME carriers before was because of the ExIm bank which used taxpayer money to subsidize ME carrier subsidies of Boeing airplanes.
There is much less of an issue now that Boeing has major delays on its widebodies and DL is exclusively buying widebodies from Airbus - which might or might not be aggressively discounting to offset DL's pricing concerns even w/ the exclusive MRO deals which make DL's widebody aircraft some of the lowest cost in the world to operate.
Different strategies work at different times.
"And the sole reason why DL objected to the ME carriers before was because of the ExIm bank which used taxpayer money to subsidize ME carrier subsidies of Boeing airplanes."
Yet DL had NO problems getting government bailouts during COVID-19.
Makes sense to me. Delta is the airline that best matches Etihad. It would be great to see some type of partnership. Forget UA and AA. Delta has proven over and over to be the best local/national carrier in the US.
If EY considers SkyTeam it will need to play nice with Saudia, and to a lesser extent Middle East Airlines. It’s the Star Alliance that’s most lacking in the Gulf; they could do with Gulf Air or something. AI, ET and TK do all the work otherwise.
Etihad has zero reason to care about either of them.
They're not founding members, do not have veto power within SkyTeam, and are not part of any of the major J/Vs within that alliance. Nothing they do would have any relevant effect on EY.
You clearly want to to see a DL-EY partnership, Ben, and I think you will one day be pleased.
Delta measures the success of its strategies by decades, not the quarterly decisions that drive AA and UA.
Delta also makes money flying the Atlantic which is where US-Middle East flights are recorded- more than 2X as much as UA which just broke even in the 4th quarter. AA LOST more money in 2023 flying...
You clearly want to to see a DL-EY partnership, Ben, and I think you will one day be pleased.
Delta measures the success of its strategies by decades, not the quarterly decisions that drive AA and UA.
Delta also makes money flying the Atlantic which is where US-Middle East flights are recorded- more than 2X as much as UA which just broke even in the 4th quarter. AA LOST more money in 2023 flying the Atlantic than UA made.
Second, both AA and UA have just a single daily flight to the ME on their own metal.
All of the big 3 serve the major Indian cities through their JVs; AA and UA fly weight restricted (at least part of the year) 787s or 777s on a single route from NYC to DEL.
DL will serve India again; it is a huge market.
The A350 is simply a superior aircraft to anything in AA or UA's fleet. SQ's A350s which are less capable than DL's newest A350s also respect Russian airspace and overfly India on the way from NYC to SIN. DL specifically configured its A350-900s to be 18 hour planes. They can easily do not just NYC-India but also some of DL's interior US hubs. The A350-1000s will add unbeatable economics that will allow DL to make money where AA and UA simply never will with the planes they operate.
Your point is valid in terms of the growth of relationships between DL's SkyTeam partners and Middle East airlines.
Etihad is preparing for an IPO; DL could very well be waiting to participate.
DL has the A350s coming in at a fast rate now including converting the ex-Latam A350s to DL standard international configuration which further increases aircraft for longhaul expansion.
The ingredients are coming together.
The chances that DL will fly ATL-AUH in the next 3 years are quite high.
The most premium Gulf airline, Emirates, already chose the most premium US one, United. Delta is an also ran here.
lol @ EK being the most premium Gulf airline when the J product they have on most of their 777's is maybe one of the worst in the world?
Halo marketing is a hell of a drug though
I adore OW no. 1 airline QR (Emerald Status.) So nice with the Avios. I yet to try Etihad. As a Platinum Skyteam, I immediately would book Etihad, should Etihad join Skyteam. I've yet to try ITA: ITA in SkyTeam seems awkward at best. SAS on Skyteam remains to be seen. So many exciting options in the future to lure me away from OW.
EK has middle seats in business class.
While most EK's J pax enjoy some intimate 2-3-2 J cabins, the marketing certainly looks shiny from the elusive F cabin. Similarly, UA's "from A to Z" Polaris marketing masks the de facto 2-4-2 tight J seats - it's a huge leap forward from the 2-2-2 or ghetto 2-4-2 for UA/CO diehards but not even close to the average 1-2-1 nowadays.
In this way, these two do have some synergies.
1 trillion skypesos for Etihad Y
LETS GO!
I don't know why Delta needs this. They are already quite successful and profitable without this partnership.
The truth is also that India is a very low yield market compared to others. Etihad also has a JetBlue partnership, which rivals Delta in BOS and JFK. I don't see this happening unless something major changes.
Today maybe. But it's also now the most populous country on the planet, with a middle class that's quickly growing.
Think they want to get locked out of that? Particularly against two rivals who'll have spent years getting entrenched with both their own metal and partners'?
Delta continues to grow and stay very profitable without it. Clearly it's not a market they need to enter to be the most profitable airline in the world.
No individual market is.
However (again) as the India-USA market continues to grow, it'll be increasingly difficult to justify staying out, as its direct competitors continue to grow along with it-- particularly from NYC, in terms of corporate contract acquisition/retention.
"the India-USA market"
It's not just one market, it's multiple markets populated with millions of people, that are growing at a steady clip. Sure only three matter much, regarding service to the states at this moment, but (like you said) it won't stay that way for long. Delta would be fools to stay out of it in the long term, no matter how much money they're making right now.
If it's going to be so great, then why wouldn't Delta service the market itself instead of making a fraction of it by pumping feed into Etihad?
Either way, Etihad is the one that needs the partnership more, not Delta.
"then why wouldn't Delta service the market itself instead of making a fraction of it by pumping feed into Etihad?"
Who's saying they wouldn't?
Then why would they need a partnership w/ Etihad for that?
Etihad needs this market as a carrier focused on connecting traffic. Either way, Delta doesn't that and will continue to grow and be profitable or they can directly enter the market themselves.
"they can directly enter the market themselves."
Again, what "the" market are you even referring to?
Id be a fan. It’s only 90k delta miles to fly from Europe to Australia which includes quite a lot of availability on Vietnam air that doesn’t show up on flying blue.
As negative as Delta has been, historically, with the ME3 I can’t see this happening. Additionally they have opportunities to expand their investments/engagement with markets they’re already in (South America, Australia, Africa, Asia). That’s more than enough to keep them occupied. There’s no rule book that says a successful airline has to be involved in every world market.
That means nothing. Corporations are not sentimental. If it makes money, they'll do it.
If you need references:
(1) recall American Airlines vs. McDonnell-Douglas... following the crash of AA191, the deadliest in US history, the former wiped the latter's name off of all their advertisements and even off the side of their aircraft (even wonder why their...
That means nothing. Corporations are not sentimental. If it makes money, they'll do it.
If you need references:
(1) recall American Airlines vs. McDonnell-Douglas... following the crash of AA191, the deadliest in US history, the former wiped the latter's name off of all their advertisements and even off the side of their aircraft (even wonder why their MD80s were labeled "Super80s?"), only to go on an place a launch-era order for the MD11.
(2) recall American Airlines vs. Airbus.... from cut-throat blaming each other in court for the 2nd deadliest crash in US history, to partnering for the (then) largest ever aircraft order, in less than half a decade.
(3) Virgin Atlantic took Airbus's slogan "4Engines4Longhaul" and even attempted to trademark it... now they have an all-twinjet longhaul fleet. They also wrote "No way AA/BA" on their aircraft in protest of joint ventures, in two different periods (1998, then again 2007), only to jump into a joint venture with Delta shortly afterward.
Or TL;DR... businesses don't give a crap what they said yesterday, if something will make money for them today.
Etihad also cooperates with SAS, who is joining skyteam
Detroit would be ideal because Michigan had the largest per capita Arab and Middle Eastern population in the United States. Delta could also poach customers from Toronto, which is served by a few flights a day from Detroit. There are a lot of Indians, Arabs and Middle Easterners within driving distance in Ontario who would probably prefer driving 30 minutes to Detroit as opposed to 3 hours to Toronto.
I think Delta should absolutely pursue this -;