sailingfun

Not to mention our overall flying to the U.K. Is up 25% since the JV started. In addition those passengers arriving on Virgin connect on Delta creating domestic jobs.

TED74

What's the point? My portfolio is up significantly since the JV started too, but of course the JV is not causal. People are going to fly where people need to fly. The same passengers flying on Delta metal instead of Virgin metal would have created the same domestic jobs. What am I missing?

sailingfun

What you are missing is that we never would have acquired the slots for the extra flying without the JV and we would certainly not have run Virgin out of business and taken their slots and routes. You are also missing feeding flights properly.
The JV with China Eastern was the reason we purchased 25 A350's. Not being able to get that JV up and running is the reason there is discussion on reducing those orders. The best international routes are fed from both ends. You need to connect passengers from both sides. China also does not have open skies. Read up on why American just invested in China Southern.

MFan97

So, I'm on reserve, and am going over guarantee this month. Received a 5 day that goes into next month, ending on the 1st. Couple of 30 hour overnights, so quite a bit of credit built into the trip. I was expecting 21:00 to credit this month (the first 4 days) and 5:15 for April 1. Since I'm going over guarantee, this makes a big difference...in iCrew it's showing 12:30 applied this month, and 13:45 next month. Instead of overblocking by 13 hours like I thought I would, I'm only over by 4. Was hoping to bank some hours, etc.
I've been informed that "credit" gets applied at the end of the rotation which is why so much is being applied toward April. Is there any way around this? I feel slightly jipped haha.

sailingfun

Credit is always applied at the end of the rotation. Nothing you can do to change it.

FL370esq

Ummmm....bid X days at the end of the month so that you aren't eligible for a carry-out trip? Problem solved. 😆

Spudhauler

Can you source this, please? I find it hard to believe Delta would buy 25 wide bodies without having some stuff nailed down. It is notoriously difficult to deal with foreign countries plus a JV has to pass regulatory reviews here. You've said these things before and if you've got specific sources, then I apologize for missing it. Would you please post them again? Thanks.

DELTAFO

I also used this strategy to buy myself a few extra vacation days next year. Thanks for the info.

Lifeisgood

You got it backwards.
When we finalized the order the idea was to compete with CE. As JV negotiations started and progressed - there came all this talk of downsizing the order.

That's why CE negotiated their own order for 20 A350's in 2016
Also for 15 more A330's.

sailingfun

I would review your timeline. The A350 order was announced 20 Nov 2014. At that point we already were linked with China Eastern and co locating operations in China. We were already in Negotiations for a deeper relationship when the order was placed. In the Spring of 2015 RA was already discussing a Amsterdam like hub in Shanghai.

Apr 07, 2015 Delta Air Lines may eventually put an international hub in Shanghai, building up its service to Asia in a move that would boost the company's Detroit business.
Delta, which already has partnerships with China Eastern and China Southern airlines, will need an expanded presence in the world's largest economy, CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a recorded message first reported by Bloomberg.
When you think about what our strategy is long-term, we need to have a hub in Shanghai like the one we have in Amsterdam," Anderson said, in remarks confirmed by a spokesman.

In the summer of 2015 we solidified that relationship.

SHANGHAI and ATLANTA, July 27, 2015 – China Eastern Airlines and Delta Air Lines today signed an agreement to expand their partnership and better connect Delta’s global network with China Eastern, one of the leading airlines in China. The agreement will include a $450 million investment by Delta to acquire a 3.55 percent stake in China Eastern.

This move marks a significant step in the airlines’ collaboration and partnership that will allow Delta and China Eastern to compete more effectively on routes between the U.S. and China, provide more travel options for customers in both countries and make joint investments in the customer experience.

In company roadshows right after the purchase they specifically addressed the purchase of the A350 as being to fund a hub in Shanghai. 15 flights a day was the number they were putting out. That would take at least 25 airframes due to flight lengths. The 777 could do some of the flying to supplement A350 ops. They even specifically discussed JFK to Shanghai with the 350 since it was borderline for the segment. That was one of the reasons the 787 was preferred but Boeing would not play ball.