Delta to add service from Seattle to Boise, Denver, Ketchikan, Sitka, and boost more

[General Lee]

SEATTLE, Nov. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (DAL) will launch daily nonstop service next spring from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to five new destinations in the continued expansion of its West Coast hub. Tickets will be available for purchase November 22.


Delta's new service will include:

Five daily flights to Denver, beginning June 4*
Four daily flights to Sacramento, Calif., beginning May 4* **
Four daily flights to Boise, Idaho, beginning May 4**
One seasonal daily flight to Ketchikan, Alaska beginning May 15**
One seasonal daily flight to Sitka, Alaska beginning May 15**
*Flight operated by Delta Connection carrier Compass Airlines
**Flight operated by Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines

Delta will serve the top 15 destinations in the Western U.S. with the addition of Boise, Denver and Sacramento, while Ketchikan and Sitka complete the top five destinations in Alaska. Delta will also increase its number of daily flights from Seattle to Anchorage, Alaska; Atlanta; Calgary, Alberta; Detroit; Los Angeles; San Francisco and Salt Lake City.

As Seattle's global airline, Delta offers customers access to a worldwide network of destinations throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S.

"Through the growth of our comprehensive route network, enhancements to our products and award-winning service, we have continued delivering on the commitment we made to be the global carrier this cosmopolitan city deserves," said Mike Medeiros, Delta's vice president ? Seattle. "Our newest flights will ensure customers have more choice in their travels to the top destinations in the Western U.S. and Alaska with an experience that can only be offered by a global airline."

On December 20, Delta will begin service from Seattle to several sun and ski destinations, including Bozeman, Mont.**; Maui, Hawaii; Palm Springs, Calif.**; Phoenix**; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; and Tucson, Ariz.*; as well as a second daily flight to Honolulu. Additionally, Delta commenced service to Calgary** and Spokane, Wash.* **, at the beginning of November.

*Flight operated by Delta Connection carrier Compass Airlines
**Flight operated by Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines

Delta currently operates 80 peak-day departures to 25 destinations from Seattle and will increase to 93 peak-day departures to 32 destinations in December. By next summer, Delta will offer 120 peak-day departures to 35 destinations.

The new routes will allow customers to seamlessly connect to Delta's ten long-haul international flights from Seattle, while providing compelling travel options to cities important to local customers. Earlier this year, Delta launched international service to London-Heathrow, as well as Seoul and Hong Kong and now provides more international long-haul service from Seattle than all other airlines combined. This includes the top five destinations in Asia and three of the top four destinations in Europe. Delta is the only carrier to offer nonstop service from Seattle to Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo-Haneda.





Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Dornier 335]

Can we move this somewhere else, like the Airport Rental Cars forum? This is getting more annoying than pop-up ads...

 

[Baze]

Looks like GL is going to miss his chance to fly in and out of Sitka, with all those RJs picking up the slack.

 

[tankerhead]

Doosh filter no worky...

 

[General Lee]

Looks like GL is going to miss his chance to fly in and out of Sitka, with all those RJs picking up the slack.

I believe this must be a test run to see how many DL pax will connect through SEA to Sitka and Ketchikan. Maybe the next year they'll add a mainline plane. Regardless, it gives pax a choice of airlines, and one of those airlines will have a 4+ Billion dollar profit this year. Fannnnntastic!



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[johnsonrod]

No way will Alaska lose business on these routes when they start to use the SkyWest MRJs in the future... Watch out Delta!

 

[Old School 737]

I believe this must be a test run to see how many DL pax will connect through SEA to Sitka and Ketchikan. Maybe the next year they'll add a mainline plane. Regardless, it gives pax a choice of airlines, and one of those airlines will have a 4+ Billion dollar profit this year. Fannnnntastic!



Bye Bye---General Lee

What's the per airplane profit ? I still think we make more per plane .. 4 billion is nice to talk about but .. . And how much debt you guys have ?

 

[Old School 737]

No way will Alaska lose business on these routes when they start to use the SkyWest MRJs in the future... Watch out Delta!

It will be q400's ..

 

[General Lee]

What's the per airplane profit ? I still think we make more per plane .. 4 billion is nice to talk about but .. . And how much debt you guys have ?

The debt will be down to $5 Billion by 2016,(maybe $7 billion now) and it was in the $18-19 Billion range in 2009. I'd say that's a huge amount of debt paid down. I believe some debt would be kept (maybe a "poison pill" for anyone looking at DL as an aquistion), and the other big 2 have a lot more debt total. (AA has $21 Billion in debt now I believe)

You are looking at a revenue monster, and low oil means a possible $6 billion profit next year. Ummm, yeeeah.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Old School 737]

The debt will be down to $5 Billion by 2016,(maybe $7 billion now) and it was in the $18-19 Billion range in 2009. I'd say that's a huge amount of debt paid down. I believe some debt would be kept (maybe a "poison pill" for anyone looking at DL as an aquistion), and the other big 2 have a lot more debt total. (AA has $21 Billion in debt now I believe)

You are looking at a revenue monster, and low oil means a possible $6 billion profit next year. Ummm, yeeeah.



Bye Bye---General Lee

Revenue is great !! But you didn't answer my question ?

 

[Old School 737]

Ok you answered part of my question but ..

 

[General Lee]

Ok you answered part of my question but ..

So which is it? $14 Billion in debt paid down by 2016. That's $2 billion per year since 09. And per plane profit? Uhhhhhhh? Whaaat?

Here is something from the Q3 Conference call analysis via Seeking Alpha:


"Delta reported EPS of $1.20 that beat analyst estimates of $1.18. Also, the airline beat revenue estimates by roughly $60 million with total revenue of $11.2 billion. More important than ultimate revenue growth is the substantial increase in pre-tax income by roughly 36% to $1.6 billion. The numbers contributed to an operating margin of 15.8% and the guidance for record Q4 operating margins in excess of 10%. PRASM increased a solid 2.4% YoY while CASM only grew 0.3% over last year. With revenue growth per passenger increasing faster than non-fuel costs, the airline is seeing strong margin expansion. In addition, the strong cash flow profile is allowing the company to reduce share counts and pay down debt that lowers interest costs and increases EPS. The combined $59 million reduction in interest and fuel costs provide strong tailwinds for profits forecasted to continue into the future."





How's that? Need more? The above answers both of your questions.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Old School 737]

How many planes divided by profit .. = $ per plane profit .. How many planes does delta own /lease .. Including RJ etc ..

 

[Old School 737]

I'm not saying its a Wall Street number they track .. But I bet Alaska. Pulled in more profit for each airframe .. Than any other carrier .. And our debt ratio is lower than all . Except poss SWA .. Who still had the best credit rating of any carrier . With Alaska next ..

 

[General Lee]

I'm not saying its a Wall Street number they track .. But I bet Alaska. Pulled in more profit for each airframe .. Than any other carrier .. And our debt ratio is lower than all . Except poss SWA .. Who still had the best credit rating of any carrier . With Alaska next ..

Uhhhh, you're right. Never heard of that metric. (Profit per airframe). But, buying every Md90 out there for about $8-9 million each (including the engines) and getting 88 717s for a screaming deal from SWA probably helps.



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Old School 737]

I'll do the math and get back to you if you can't ..but .. I figured you knew it .. You have almost all the answers .. But I need to know how many total .. Airframes Delta owns .. And pays leases on .. Including All RJ .. Turbo props .. And I bet if you divid the profits by that number .. It's ok but .. Like I said not a wall street number .. But again Alaska makes more with the number of airframes they have than anybody else ..

 

[Old School 737]

And the dept ratio is below delta as well .. .It appears that the delta .. Alaska war is actually good for us both anyway .. Record profits !! Again .. Yet our union keeps rolling over .. Sad ..

 

[eskimopilot]

Hey General.
Will Skywest let you guys ride the JS on the proving runs?
Just to get a feel for the type of operation you will be sending planes into?
Just wondering.

 

[General Lee]

Hey General.
Will Skywest let you guys ride the JS on the proving runs?
Just to get a feel for the type of operation you will be sending planes into?
Just wondering.

Do they have to do "proving runs" to Ketchikan and Sitka? I can understand Juneau, but the others? Maybe SKW will be flying those routes for you guys too? How's your awesome scope? Horizon has already taken a nice chunk of your Intra AK flying, why not SKW MRJs next? You pretty much can't do anything about that anyway. Hopefully DL will add 737 service into those two airports eventually, since DL will be adding a 737 crew base in SEA. Regardless, your monopoly at Ketchikan and Sitka will be over next Summer, and I can see why that makes you upset. Oh well, get used to it.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[eskimopilot]

Do they have to do "proving runs" to Ketchikan and Sitka? I can understand Juneau, but the others? Maybe SKW will be flying those routes for you guys too? How's your awesome scope? Horizon has already taken a nice chunk of your Intra AK flying, why not SKW MRJs next? You pretty much can't do anything about that anyway. Hopefully DL will add 737 service into those two airports eventually, since DL will be adding a 737 crew base in SEA. Regardless, your monopoly at Ketchikan and Sitka will be over next Summer, and I can see why that makes you upset. Oh well, get used to it.


Bye Bye---General Lee

Relax dude!
I was just wondering if you and your fellow dispatchers ever get a chance to see these type of places from the front of the bus. It's some pretty country.