Virgin and Delta reveal details of venture
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Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines have released details of their planned joint venture at a conference hosted by Ed Bastian president of Delta Air Lines and Craig Kreeger chief executive officer of Virgin Atlantic.
The two confirmed that Delta had successfully completed its purchase of a 49% in Virgin Atlantic and that the carriers would now start cross-selling seats as of 29 June and codesharing from 3 July.
Kreeger asserted that the venture was a “key part of [Virgin Atlantic’s] strategy” going forward” and that it would offer “more opportunities for our customers”.
He added that: “The partnership with Delta will allow us to stretch our wings further and continue to keep innovating and offering award-winning service.”
It was also confirmed that both frequent flier programmes would remain intact and customers on one could collect points using the other. Delta passengers will also be able to make use of services between the UK and US as well as Little Red, Virgin Atlantic’s domestic service.
Bastian was also keen to stress that Delta had no intention to become a majority stakeholder in Virgin while the company would succeed where Singapore Airlines failed because of the amount of air traffic between the states and UK.
“Our joint venture will allow us to operate better and align our schedules, but over the course of the next year we will see examples of where we can create value and provide a better competitive reach,” added Kreeger.
Kreeger also used the opportunity to say the Virgin Atlantic brand will remain intact and said the Delta partnership is a “fundamental turning point” in the history of the airline.
“I’d like to reiterate that the Virgin Atlantic brand will remain true to its roots. It will not change and we are proud of the brand,” he said.
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