Sometimes you can’t help but laugh at the competitive dynamics in the airline industry. Here’s a funny example of that, obviously reflecting the rivalry between Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.
Scott Kirby is flattered by Delta’s Hong Kong flight
Yesterday, United announced its Q2 2025 financial results, and during the earnings call, United CEO Scott Kirby was asked about a couple of new routes that Delta recently revealed. Specifically, the airline will fly from Los Angeles (LAX) to both Hong Kong (HKG) and Chicago (ORD), both of which are markets in which United is strong.
As flagged by JonNYC, Leslie Josephs from CNBC asked Kirby how he feels about Delta entering these markets, and his answer was interesting:
“We fly 6,000 flights a day. So a couple of new routes aren’t that big of an issue for us. But I guess I feel complimented when other airlines feel like they’re worried about us getting ahead and have to fly routes that are going to lose money for them.”
You’ve gotta love the sass here. Not only does he feel complimented, but he threw in a comment about how he thinks Delta will lose money in these markets.
It’s anyone’s guess how Delta’s Hong Kong service performs
I commend Delta for returning to Hong Hong Kong after eight years, and I’m delighted to see the airline adding Asia service that isn’t to Seoul Incheon (ICN), a hub of joint venture partner Korean Air.
I am a bit surprised to see the service out of Los Angeles, since it’s not exactly Delta’s strongest hub for domestic connectivity, and it’s also a competitive market, where Delta will trail both Cathay Pacific and United. The airline needs to operate the service out of a West Coast hub, though the choice to fly out of Los Angeles rather than Seattle (SEA) is not necessarily what I would’ve expected.
Obviously United has a major advantage in terms of nonstop service to Asia, as the airline flies twice daily to Hong Kong from both Los Angeles and San Francisco (SFO). For that matter, looking at the Q2 2025 earnings of the two carriers, there’s no denying that United’s Pacific performance has been improving more than Delta’s:
- Delta increased capacity to Asia by 11%, and saw a 6% reduction in yields, and overall 1% reduction in unit revenue
- United increased capacity to Asia by 6%, and saw a 3% increase in yields, and overall 9% increase in unit revenue
Now, of course United has a much bigger network across the Pacific, and the Pacific also includes a lot more than just Hong Kong. But still, there’s no denying that this is a rare region in which the two carriers have trended in very different directions in the past quarter.
Okay, I take back saying that “there’s no denying,” because, well, I guarantee it will be denied, and will be spun differently. Anyway, I digress…
The truth is that Kirby might be right, but that might not even be a surprise to anyone. It’s not unusual for long haul routes to lose money for some amount of time. For that matter, often routes are added as part of an overall attempt to offer a comprehensive and competitive route network. Still, I think the question is whether Delta can make the math work internally in the long run…
Bottom line
United CEO Scott Kirby had some comments about Delta’s new service out of Los Angeles, including to Hong Kong and Chicago. He claims he feels complimented by Delta adding these routes, even saying that he thinks Delta will lose money flying them. It’s anyone’s guess how this plays out, but the commentary can’t help but make me chuckle.
Other interesting topics were addressed on the earnings call as well, like the introduction of a basic Polaris business class, and United’s ability to overtake Delta financially.
What do you make of Kirby’s comments about Delta?
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