Face to face: Nadia Clinton, Delta Air Lines’ country manager UK and Ireland
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
How is Delta performing in the UK market?
We’re very happy with our results. We have grown our business here over the past three years, adding new routes each year from Heathrow, as well as starting flights between Edinburgh and New York-JFK. This will be complemented next year with a nonstop service from Glasgow to New York, as well as new service from Heathrow to Portland. With three points of service in the U.K. – London, Edinburgh and Manchester – to 11 nonstop destinations plus more than 200 onward connections, we offer more choice to customers than ever before.
What factors are giving the airline a competitive edge in the UK?
Since our partnership with Virgin Atlantic began two-and-a-half years ago, together we provide a competitive offering for customers travelling on the trans-Atlantic. As one of our most important global markets, Delta has invested heavily in the customer experience here in the U.K.. Initiatives such as Wi-Fi on every flight really do help set us apart, while our operational reliability reassures customers they will reach their destination on time. Investing in technology remains a priority too, and is the reason we have upgraded the Fly Delta App to better align it to delta.com. We’re also introducing radio frequency identification (RFID) baggage handling to improve tracking at every airport around the world, while at our U.S. hubs, we’ve implemented a number of changes to ease the journey through the airport. This includes hiring additional agents to ease queues at security and investment in automated Passport Control kiosks to help U.K. customers clear customs more quickly.
On board, Delta has partnered with other global brands, including Westin Hotels and Resorts, TUMI and Kiehl’s Since 1851 to offer customers quality amenities in the Delta One business class cabin.
How important is the U.K. to Delta globally?
Across the business, Delta is focused on globalization, with Britain and China at the forefront of this. The U.K. is one of Delta’s key markets. London Heathrow has played a pivotal role in the success of the aviation market between the UK and North America. And while the London to New York route remains the world’s most important corporate travel market, Delta is continually looking to offer more destinations and convenient schedules.
How important is the travel trade to your growth strategy and what training and incentives do you offer the industry?
The travel trade is essential to Delta’s growth plan. We recently hired a new team of field account managers so our trade partners have a personal point of contact to manage their account. We are committed to strengthening our relationships with corporate, leisure and TMC clients and along with colleagues at Virgin Atlantic, the new team is driving performance and awareness of Delta in the U.K.. Alongside this, we are expanding our community outreach in London. We have supported The Prince’s Trust for more than a year and have recently become a partner of The Donmar Warehouse, providing young people in the capital with free access to the theatre.
What’s new for Delta?
In addition to the new sales team, from 14 September, we will operate exclusively from Heathrow Terminal 3 following the switch of our services to Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Philadelphia, which have been based at terminal 4. These join our New York, Boston and Seattle flights under one roof. This is very exciting for us as Delta and our joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic will now operate from the same terminal making it easier for customers to manage their travel plans including any last-minute flight changes.
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