The real reason Delta cut Dubai route

typhoonpilot

Well-Known Member
From the Atlanta Business Chronicle

An airline trade publication says there is more to Delta Air Lines Inc.’s (NYSE: DAL) decision to cut Dubai routes than the carrier’s stated reason of “overcapacity on US routes to the Middle East operated by government-owned and heavily subsidized airlines."

There is certainly no love lost between Atlanta-based Delta and Gulf carriers. On Wednesday, Delta said it would cease its Atlanta-Dubai service from Feb. 11, 2016, adding Dubai flights will be “redeployed to other transatlantic markets where it can compete on a level playing field that’s not distorted by subsidized state-owned airlines.”

Enlarge
Delta Air Lines Inc. jets at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Byron E. Small

But there is something else involved, says Air Transport World, a monthly magazine that serves the global airline and commercial air transport manufacturing communities.

Following Delta’s announcement Wednesday, ATW published an article online titled “The real reason Delta is pulling out of Dubai.”









Delta is blaming its pullout on the Gulf carriers on which it has waged war for many months over alleged subsidies and Open Skies compliance.

But hang on a moment… how many flights do Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways operate to Atlanta? The shocking answer is: zero. So Delta has exclusivity on Atlanta-Dubai, yet apparently can’t make a go of the route. How so?

ATW says the answer lies, at least in part, with these airline route maps: Delta route map and Emirates route map. Delta’s 777 travels from Atlanta to Dubai, but from there (unless you transfer to Emirates), it’s a dead end, ATW writes.

Delta does not have a sub-Indian continent network (nor do any major U.S. airlines) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International does not have any reach into the Indian sub-continent beyond Dubai, ATW says.

That changes next year when Qatar Airways begins Doha-Atlanta service. Qatar has a sub-Indian continent network. ATW adds.

“Delta fully knows this, of course," says ATW. "So it’s making a silk purse from a sow’s ear and using its Dubai pullout announcement for some grand-standing on its favorite political campaign: those terrible, passenger-stealing Gulf carriers!”
 
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Pretty shortsighted and biased viewpoint.

Delta doesn't have much ability to connect passengers on upon reaching Dubai. But I'd be willing to bet that most passengers they take into ATL stay in ATL. Just as I doubt passengers on Qatar or any other airline all stay in the first destination they reach in the US.

On the international stage, the competition isn't DXB-ATL, but DXB to anywhere that you may be able to connect onto from ATL
 
No, United still serves DXB. They just discontinued the extra hop over to Doha. And United still serves Kuwait City with a hop to Bahrain.
 
Didn't United also pull out of Dubai and Bahrain?


UAL still flies IAD-DXB and KWI-IAD, BAH is a tag leg on the KWI service I think.

.....and they're smart enough to code share with FlyDubai so they show connections to multiple cities in the region.


TP
 
I also heard rumors of AA looking to tap into a Middle Eastern market in the near future.
 
UAL still flies IAD-DXB and KWI-IAD, BAH is a tag leg on the KWI service I think.

.....and they're smart enough to code share with FlyDubai so they show connections to multiple cities in the region.


TP

Ahhh, pretty sure United does NOT codeshare with FlyDubai.

They do however, with Jet Airways and Air India. They cover that region pretty well. I know you keep omitting that factoid in every conversation we have as it dilutes the points you try to make there so figure might as well bring it up again!
 
Didn't United also pull out of Dubai and Bahrain?

No, United still serves DXB. They just discontinued the extra hop over to Doha. And United still serves Kuwait City with a hop to Bahrain.

United is discontinuing the KWI and Bahrain service.

Here is one take on the why that is happening...

http://upgrd.com/matthew/kuwaiti-government-expels-united-airlines-from-kuwait.html

I also heard rumors of AA looking to tap into a Middle Eastern market in the near future.

Take a look at the above link. Recently American stopped service to TLV citing 'financial reasons' which is bull fecal matter. With what that article states, did American pull out of TLV in order to make it easier to serve the rest of the Middle East?
 
Take a look at the above link. Recently American stopped service to TLV citing 'financial reasons' which is bull fecal matter. With what that article states, did American pull out of TLV in order to make it easier to serve the rest of the Middle East?

Airways *just* finished a dedicated refrigerated cargo facility in PHL for all the drug shipments to TLV. I'm really surprised they pulled out of it.
 
Yep! Something more is going on!
I agree they are trying to engineer some sort of "woe is me". Just my thoughts.

That being said, US airlines are making bank right now and instead of investing in their product to compete they are burning money buying back stock. The ME airlines have a point, our planes in general are lacking. The US carriers are making 4x the net profit Emirates is, they can afford it.

I have no idea what the barriers to entry to re-create the ME "hub/spoke" international system are, seems pretty high, that is a competitive advantage the ME3 have.
 
I agree they are trying to engineer some sort of "woe is me". Just my thoughts.

That being said, US airlines are making bank right now and instead of investing in their product to compete they are burning money buying back stock. The ME airlines have a point, our planes in general are lacking. The US carriers are making 4x the net profit Emirates is, they can afford it.

I have no idea what the barriers to entry to re-create the ME "hub/spoke" international system are, seems pretty high, that is a competitive advantage the ME3 have.

FWIW we are starting to reinvest in our products and I know Delta has as well.
 
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