WASHINGTON, June 28, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- SkyTeam carriers Air France, Alitalia, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) today have applied with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for antitrust immunity for trans-Atlantic routings. Delta currently has antitrust immunity with Air France, Alitalia and CSA, while Northwest has antitrust immunity with KLM.
Included in the application is a joint venture agreement between Air France, Delta, KLM and Northwest that would create a comprehensive and integrated partnership among the four SkyTeam members across the Atlantic.
A more integrated SkyTeam alliance offers significant advantages to consumers including more choice in flight schedules, travel times, services and fares. The DOT has approved more than 20 applications for antitrust immunity in the past, including the recent approval of immunity for nine Star Alliance members.
This application is the first under the landmark European Union-U.S. Open Skies treaty which creates the largest, most important, and fully liberalized air transport marketplace in the world.
Delta Air Lines offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service to 332 destinations in 57 countries. With more than 60 new international routes introduced in the last year, Delta has added more international capacity than all other U.S. airlines combined and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic destinations. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers nearly 700 weekly flights to 63 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 479 worldwide destinations in 105 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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