Delta Air Lines has made a bid to buy out Singapore Airlines’ 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic. (Sir Richard Branson owns the majority 51 per cent). Both companies will have to satisfy US and European competition regulators before the purchase can go through.
Obviously the two airlines see the deal as an opportunity to make more money, but how will this “joint venture” impact passengers?
Well, at this point there’s not much that can be said for sure. What we do know is there’ll be reciprocal frequent-flyer benefits. In other words, members of each airline’s frequent-flyer programme will be able to accrue miles/points while flying with the other. There’ll also be shared access to the Delta Sky Club and Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse airport lounges for those passengers who hold elite status.
Experts at Condé Nast Traveler are pretty certain that this deal won’t lead to lower fares. They also assert, because this is a strategic alliance as opposed to a merger, there won’t be a drop off in customer standards – unlike when Continental and United merged.
Delta and Virgin have declared there won’t be an immediate change to the number of flights scheduled – currently, between them, they run 31 transatlantic round-trip flights a day. Fox News thinks there’ll be changes to the schedule if the deal is approved.
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Featured image: John M. Dibbs)
