Delta Air Lines to Fly to India in 2019
by Daniel McCarthy
Air travel demand continues to grow around the world.
Delta Air Lines will fly nonstop to Mumbai in 2019, marking the carrier’s return to India three years after it discounted its service because of tensions over alleged violations of the Open Skies Agreement.
Delta released the news on Thursday, explaining that it was satisfied with “agreements between the U.S. and Qatar to address the issue of government subsidies provided to state-owned carriers in those nations.”
Related Articles
Delta, along with American Airlines and United, had long been upset over what it calls unfair government subsidies of Gulf carriers. All three airlines had been petitioning the U.S. government to revisit the Open Skies treaty that has allowed those lines to expand rapidly over the Atlantic.
“We are thankful to the president for taking real action to enforce our Open Skies trade deals, which made this new service possible,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “It is exciting to be able to announce Delta’s return to India from the U.S. as part of our vision to expand Delta’s reach internationally.”
Little details of the new service, aside from Delta’s commitment to its codeshare relationship with Jet Airways that will provide connections around India, were released. All routes are still subject to government approval.
