1 week Ago By Alexander Mitchell
Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines made a strategic move that certainly raised eyebrows among industry analysts. The carrier decided, for the first time in recent memory, to place a high-capacity widebody jet on the airline's nonstop route between Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC). Instead of using a low-capacity Boeing 757-200, a narrowbody aircraft, the airline has elected to place its widebody Boeing 767-300ER on this route for the peak summer travel period , offering more seats through its daily service.
Get all the latest aviation news from Simple Flying! This move has raised eyebrows for a few key reasons, most of which relate to the fascinating nature of this decision. During the peak summer months, Delta Air Lines typically generates its highest profits by using the Boeing 767-300ER and other widebody jets on high-yielding routes across the Atlantic to Europe . Domestic routes, such as this one, are typically much lower-yielding, meaning that there must have been a specific reason for Delta to make this kind of strategic shift.
As a result, industry analysts have begun to discuss this capacity reallocation in the broader context of macroeconomic conditions, which are currently impacting the industry. Legacy carriers like Delta historically focused on catering to business travelers and high-spending premium leisure travelers, a market that could be set to change amid continuing economic difficulties in the United States. In this article, we will take a deeper look at this route and Delta's unique decision to increase capacity during the summer months.
A deeper look at Delta's unique decision and what exactly is set to change On Wednesday, Simple Flying reported that Delta Air Lines would be revamping its longest domestic route, a nonstop service between Atlanta and Anchorage. This move likely aims to help capture rapidly growing travel demand for Alaska, as the service historically operated as a seasonal flight, with the Boeing 757-200 being deployed exclusively during the summer months. With extremely limited year-round demand, Delta preferred to connect passengers to Anchorage from Atlanta by funneling them through a different hub.
However, the decisions made by the airline earlier this week will have a major impact on how the route functions. While the route is currently on a seasonal hiatus, the carrier will begin flying nonstop once again on May 22nd, this time utilizing its widebody Boeing 767-300ER models during the peak summer travel months. This move is primarily aimed at increasing passenger capacity on the route, with the carrier operating over 90 flights using the aircraft throughout the summer months.
The airline has managed to increase seating capacity from around 11,500 seats per month to nearly 13,000, a decision which will further increase available seat miles (ASMs). Alaska's strategic decision to deploy the Boeing 767-300ER remains interesting as it shows Delta prioritizing its domestic market dominance over high-yielding transatlantic routes. This move is part of a broader shift by the airline to increase the number of widebody flights operated in domestic markets.
This move demonstrates that Delta Air Lines has strong confidence in the domestic market. Delta has historically been known for using an adaptive route and network management strategy, and it has been quick to respond to the travel industry's needs. Anchorage is home to a truly unique airport, connecting remote communities and standing between continents.
Flights on this route are also set to operate year-round The decision to switch to a higher-capacity widebody jet is not the only noteworthy thing about this route. The carrier has not only decided to expand its capacity on this service in the summer, but it has also opted to place the Boeing 757-200 on the route in the fall, winter, and spring months, turning what was once a seasonal service into year-round flights. Starting on September 13th, the airline will switch from its summer daily Boeing 767-300 service to once-weekly Boeing 757-200 flights.
It is important to note that the airline will be significantly reducing capacity on this route in the winter months. Not only will it be shifting to the lower-capacity Boeing 757-200, but it will also be operating a single once-weekly frequency. However, the airline has indicated that it will once again increase service frequencies during the busy holiday travel season.
This change will help the carrier best meet the appropriate demand on this route throughout the year. Get all the latest aviation news for North America from Simple Flying! These unique route modifications demonstrate that Delta Air Lines is willing to change its strategic approach when faced with major challenges and shifting conditions. The ability to rapidly adjust service frequencies and aircraft types gives Delta the option to cater to different kinds of travel demographics throughout the year, ensuring seats stay booked and profits stay high.
In addition to this nonstop service, Delta flies year-round to Seattle from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The airline also serves Anchorage with seasonal flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).
According to Aviation A2Z , Delta Air Lines will be relaunching nonstop flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on May 24th. A deeper look at what makes this decision so fascinating The first and most important thing to note is that Delta's Boeing 767 fleet has historically been the workhorse of its transatlantic network. During the summer months, Delta will use aircraft like the Boeing 767-300ER to serve destinations across Europe, especially those that see consistently high demand from premium travelers.
During the winter months, Delta has historically modified its schedules to find places where higher-capacity jets could serve while European routes faced lower passenger demand. United is operating the longest 767 routes using its -300ER variant but plans to phase them out by 2030. During the summer, for the most part, Delta has been pretty firm in keeping its Boeing 767s on the primary European routes where it has historically made the most money.
Therefore, the decision made by the airline to move a Boeing 767 away from a European route and onto a domestic service has undoubtedly raised some eyebrows. For some of the shorter European routes, the Boeing 757-200 can still have the range to operate nonstop services. As a result, Delta has elected to move around 1,500 seats of peak summer capacity away from a European route and towards a domestic service to Alaska, something which has naturally raised more than a few questions, especially given that US domestic routes are far lower-yielding than international services.
Therefore, what exactly is leading Delta to believe that it can expect better performance in US markets than European ones this summer? What exactly is Delta thinking? Delta's thought process behind making this decision is not entirely out of left field, and it does give us some ideas as to where the airline's current thinking is at. The global economic contraction, which has occurred over the past few months due to geopolitical tensions and trade wars, has led many to fear a global recession, one motivated by weaker wage growth and higher inflation. As a result, many passengers will be more hesitant to spend money amid global fears .
Furthermore, the continued devaluation of the US dollar against foreign currencies has led to the cost of going on vacation, especially in Europe, to rise significantly, according to Bloomberg . Both the Pound Sterling and the Euro have made major gains against the US dollar in recent months. As a result, Delta Air Lines is expecting fewer passengers on some European routes, something which will likely lead to increased domestic demand in some markets.
With Alaska emerging as a rapidly growing tourist destination, Delta has been put in the position where it would prefer to double down on this domestic route rather than rolling the dice in transatlantic markets . The SkyTeam carrier deploys the widebody jet on transatlantic routes, to South America, and across the US..
