Deliver Your News to the World

Delta Adds 16 New Routes from Los Angeles to Meet Customer Demand in Burgeoning Hispanic Travel Market


WEBWIRE

Historic expansion puts Delta on track to become one of the largest U.S. airlines to Mexico

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 14, 2006 – Delta Air Lines this winter will add 16 new routes from its West Coast gateway at Los Angeles International Airport to accommodate soaring demand in one of the country’s largest travel markets for Hispanic customers. The expansion will include new nonstop flights to nine Mexican destinations, two Central American destinations and corresponding connecting service to five destinations in the United States where many Hispanic customers prefer to travel.

The expansion includes new service to the following destinations from Los Angeles:

Country:

Mexico
City | Effective Date
La Paz** | Dec. 15, 2006*
Acapulco | Dec. 16, 2006 (three times weekly)
Loreto** | Dec. 18, 2006*
Mazatlan** | Dec. 22, 2006*
Culiacan** | Jan. 6, 2007*
Manzanillo** | Jan. 16, 2007*
Zacatecas** | Jan. 16, 2007*
Hermosillo** | Feb. 1, 2007*
Torreon** | March 8, 2007*


Costa Rica:
City | Effective Date
Liberia** | Dec. 15, 2006 (once weekly)

Guatemala:
City | Effective Date
Guatemala City** | Dec. 15, 2006 (once weekly)

U.S.
City | Effective Date
Las Vegas | Dec. 15, 2006*
San Francisco | Dec. 18, 2006*
Sacramento | Dec. 22, 2006*
Oakland | Jan. 5, 2007*
San Jose | Feb. 1, 2007*

*Service operated by Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines
**Service subject to foreign government approvals

“Los Angeles is at the heart of Hispanic culture in the United States and we are pleased to expand our service to meet the needs of our customers in this growing West Coast market,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s executive vice president of Network and Revenue Management. “With new service both southbound and northbound from Los Angeles, our customers will find it much easier to travel between the top destinations in Mexico, Central America and most any point in the United States.”

Added Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa: “This is welcome news for both business and leisure travelers to our city. We appreciate Delta Air Lines making such a strong commitment and investment to Los Angeles International Airport and the City of Los Angeles. This is a dynamic and growing market and we are happy that Delta made Los Angeles its destination of choice to expand service.”

Complementing its growth in Southern California, Delta also will continue to expand services between Mexico and other U.S. hubs and gateways, where Delta has already added a dozen new routes this year. Delta plans to begin new nonstop service between Atlanta and Leon/Guanajuato, Mexico, effective Dec. 1; to add a second daily round-trip flight between New York-JFK and Mexico City, effective Dec. 15; and to add new nonstop flights connecting Salt Lake City and Orlando with Mexico City as soon as December, both of which are subject to foreign government approval. Additionally, Delta has filed for DOT approvals to offer customers nonstop service between Salt Lake City and Guadalajara; and between Los Angeles and Los Mochis and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, all of which also are subject to foreign government approvals.

“During 2006 Delta has become the fastest growing U.S. airline to Mexico and next year we will be pleased to offer customers service to nearly 20 Mexican destinations – three times as many as we offered just two years ago,” Hauenstein said.

Based on current airline schedules, the new flights are expected to position Delta as the second-largest U.S. carrier in the Mexican market by March 2007 in terms of destinations served.

Delta’s new service from Los Angeles now is available for sale via delta.com and other ticketing channels and will be operated using a mix of Boeing 737-800 aircraft and 50- and 70-seat Bombardier regional jets operated by Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

To celebrate the new routes, Delta is offering customers special low introductory fares for travel between Mexico, Central America and the United States. Customers should act fast, however, as these discounted fares must be purchased no later than Aug. 29, 2006.

Sample one-way fares to Mexico, based on a round-trip purchase, include:

From:
Los Angeles

To | One-way fare*
Culiacan, Mexico | $139
Hermosillo, Mexico | $149
Mazatlan, Mexico | $159
Torreon, Mexico | $159
Acapulco, Mexico | $169
La Paz, Mexico | $179
Guatemala City, Guatemala | $199
Loreto, Mexico | $199
Manzanillo, Mexico | $199
Zacatecas, Mexico | $199
Liberia, Costa Rica | $239

*Additional taxes/fees/restrictions apply. Fares shown are available for purchase only on delta.com or from a travel agent. See below for more details.

Sample one-way fares to domestic destinations from Los Angeles include:

From:
Los Angeles

To | One-way fare*
Las Vegas | $49
Oakland | $49
San Jose | $49
Sacramento | $49
San Francisco | $59

*Additional taxes/fees/restrictions apply. Fares shown are available for purchase only on delta.com or from a travel agent. See below for more details.

Delta’s continued expansion into Mexico builds on more than 50 new routes added or announced to Latin American and the Caribbean in the last year as part of the largest international expansion in Delta’s history. In recent months, Delta has started service to new nonstop destinations including Acapulco and Merida, Mexico, and San Pedro Sula and Roatan, Honduras from Atlanta; Mazatlan, Mexico from Salt Lake City; and Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, Mexico from New York-JFK.

From Los Angeles, Delta offers 42 daily flights to 17 nonstop destinations, including long-haul domestic flights to Atlanta, New York-JFK, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, Hartford, Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati and Raleigh-Durham; international flights to Guadalajara, Cancun and Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo; and Hawaii service to Honolulu and Maui. With this winter’s expansion, Delta plans to offer 63 daily flights to 33 destinations from Los Angeles by March 2007.

Delta Air Lines (Other OTC: DALRQ) offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service to 295 destinations in 46 countries. With more than 50 new international routes added in the last year, Delta is America’s fastest growing international airline and is the world’s leading carrier between the United States and destinations across Europe, India and Israel with flights to 29 trans-Atlantic destinations. To Latin America, Delta offers nearly 500 weekly flights to 47 destinations. Delta’s marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on more than 14,000 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 470 worldwide destinations in 96 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.

A portion of travel on some itineraries may be provided by the Delta Connection carriers: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Shuttle America and SkyWest Airlines, or SkyTeam partner: AeroMexico.

Restrictions: Fares shown are available for purchase only on delta.com or from your travel agent. Tickets cost $10 more if purchased from Delta over the telephone or $15 more if purchased at an airport or city ticket office, and these amounts are nonrefundable. Travel agents may impose an additional service charge for ticketing. Tickets are non-transferable. Seats are limited and fares may not be available on all flights or in all markets. Tickets: Fares shown are one-way. Round-trip purchase is required for fares involving international destinations. Round trip purchase is not required for fares involving only domestic destinations. Tickets must be purchased within 72 hours after reservations are made for international destinations and at least 21 days prior to departure for domestic destinations. Travel must be purchased no later than August 29, 2006. See delta.com for online ticket purchase requirements and restrictions. Travel Period: For Acapulco, travel may begin on or after December 16, 2006. For Loreto and San Francisco, travel may begin on or after December 18, 2006. For Hermosillo and San Jose, travel may begin on or after February 1, 2007. For Mazatlan and Sacramento, travel may begin on or after December 22, 2006. For Torreon, travel may begin on or after March 8, 2007. For Zacatecas and Manzanillo, travel may begin on or after January 16, 2007. For Culiacan, travel may begin on or after January 6, 2007. For Oakland, travel may begin on or after January 5, 2007. For all other destinations, travel may begin on or after December 15, 2006. All travel must be completed by March 31, 2007. Blackout Dates: None for international destinations. December 22, 23, 26, 30, and 31, 2006, January 1, 2007, February 16, 17, 19, 24, and 25, 2007 for domestic destinations. Fare Validity: Fares are valid in the Economy (Coach) cabin on Delta flights only for international destinations. Fares shown are valid Monday through Thursday, while higher fares apply for travel Friday through Sunday for international travel. Fares are valid in the Economy (Coach) cabin on Delta/Delta Connection carrier flights only for domestic destinations. For travel between Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV, Oakland, CA, San Francisco, CA, San Jose, CA, & Sacramento, CA fares apply only on nonstop service operated by Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines. Minimum Stay: Saturday night for international travel. None for domestic travel. Maximum Stay: 30 Days. Cancellations/Refunds/Changes: Fares are nonrefundable. Delta may permit you to apply a portion of the fare value to future travel upon payment of applicable fees and fare difference, otherwise the ticket will have no value. Fees may apply for itinerary changes. Delta may allow you to cancel certain electronic tickets until midnight of the day after purchase (or midnight of the departure date of the first flight, whichever comes first) without penalty if purchased at the time of reservation directly from Delta. Contact a Delta agent or visit delta.com for details. Taxes/Fees: Fares do not include a $3.30 Federal Excise Tax which will be imposed on each flight segment in the passenger’s ticketed itinerary. A flight segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing. Fares do not include Passenger Facility Charge(s) of up to $18.00, depending on itinerary or September 11th Security Fee of up to $10 per round-trip. International fares do not include U.S. International Air Transportation tax of up to $29.00 and U.S. and foreign user, inspection, security or other similarly based charges, fees or taxes of up to $250, depending on itinerary. These taxes and fees are the responsibility of the passenger and must be paid at the time the ticket is purchased. Bonus SkyMiles: Bonus mile offer valid only for tickets purchased at delta.com, after you fly. All SkyMiles program rules apply to bonus offer. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/skymiles. Miscellaneous: Fares and rules are subject to change without notice. It is the responsibility of the passenger to be in possession of all necessary documentation (e.g. valid passport, visa where applicable) at the time of departure from origin. Delta reserves the right to deny boarding to passengers without the proper documentation. Other restrictions may apply. ©2006 Delta Air Lines, Inc.



WebWireID18480





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.