The recent merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines will not affect flights to Cayman in the short term and in the longer term may see flights open up to other gateways in the US.
Delta Airlines operates five weekly flights between Grand Cayman and Atlanta on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
NWA operates flights here during high-demand periods. It will have Saturday-only seasonal flights from Detroit and Minneapolis beginning on 10 January through to 11 April.
‘For the Cayman Islands market in the short term nothing will change,’ explained Carlos Santos, Regional Manager, Corporate Communications in the Caribbean for Delta Air Lines.
He explained that the Delta-Northwest merger will occur through an integration process over the next 12 to 24 months.
Although Delta and Northwest will eventually be one merged company, each will continue to operate as separate airlines until integration is complete
‘In the meantime, customers should continue to check-in and do business directly with the airline operating their flight just as they did before the merger,’ said a press release.
Delta will maintain its hubs, including the one at Atlanta, which will benefit from improved global connectivity.
Mr. Santos pointed out that in the long-term, once the system is integrated it will mean that passengers from the Cayman Islands can connect to Asia on the same airline, as Northwest has an extensive network in Asia.
‘We [Delta] have an extensive network in the Caribbean, South America, Europe and Africa,’ said Mr. Santos. ‘This more or less covers the entire world,’ he noted.
Referring to future possibilities in the longer term, Mr. Santos commented, ‘Is it a possibility that this will open up flights from the islands to other gateways in the US? Yes, it’s definitely a possibility, but is not confirmed.’
The Northwest Airlines service on offer in January is a continuation of the seasonal service that it has been operating for many years from Detroit.
In recent years it has added Minneapolis to the service and both gateways have performed strongly, explained Minister for Tourism Charles Clifford.
‘I’m sure that their advanced bookings have indicated strong performances again this year which have led to their decision to continue this seasonal service.
‘We welcome it and this is another indication that despite these challenging times people are going to travel and that the Cayman Islands is well poised to benefit from that travel.’
The new airline from the merger is called Delta Air Lines and is headquartered in Atlanta. It is a combined company that serves more than 375 cities worldwide – more than any other airline, according to a press release.
The transaction is expected to generate $2 billion or more in annual revenue and cost synergies from more effective aircraft utilization, a more comprehensive and diversified route system, and cost synergies from reduced overhead and improved operational efficiency. The company expects to incur one-time cash costs not exceeding $600 million to integrate the two airlines.
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