United States carrier, Delta Airlines, has acquired a 49 per cent stake in the United Kingdom’s Virgin Atlantic Airlines founded by British airline mogul, Sir Richard Branson.

Delta and Virgin Atlantic have also commenced a codeshare agreement across 108 routes, offering passengers seamless connections to 66 destinations across North America and the UK.

According to a statement from the airlines’ offices in Nigeria, the developments mark the next step towards a full joint venture between the two carriers.

The statement said, “Virgin Atlantic will place its code on 91 Delta routes, including both trans-Atlantic and domestic US routes. Delta will place its code on 17 Virgin Atlantic routes, including the recently launched Little Red domestic UK services connecting London to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.”

It quoted Delta’s President, Mr. Ed Bastian, as saying, “This is a strategic investment that enhances Delta’s network with greatly improved access to London Heathrow, the leading marketplace on the trans-Atlantic. As we unite two leading global airline brands in an innovative partnership that focuses on delivering enhanced benefits and services for our customers, we also become a more formidable competitor across the Atlantic.”

It also quoted Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Craig Kreeger, as saying, “Today is an important day for Virgin Atlantic and our customers in both the US and UK as new shareholders in the airline, Delta is an important ally in the all-important trans-Atlantic market. We can stand firm together against the competition and can now offer more destinations, a smoother connecting airport experience and ultimately the best trans-Atlantic on board experience.

“Virgin Atlantic’s award-winning customer experience is loved around the world and we look forward to sharing our unique Clubhouse and in-flight hospitality with many Delta passengers over the years.”

The two airlines announced their intention to enter into a joint venture agreement in December 2012.

Last week, unconditional merger clearance was granted by the European Commission and the US Department of Justice closed their review of the transaction. Delta has successfully completed its acquisition of a 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic.

The US Department of Transportation is currently reviewing the parties’ application for antitrust immunity relating to the proposed joint venture of the parties’ operations on nonstop routes between the US and the UK.

This review is expected to be completed during third quarter of 2013, and the implementation of the Delta/Virgin Atlantic joint venture is anticipated to occur in the first quarter of 2014.

jQuery(‘.nrelate_default’).removeClass(‘nrelate_default’);

More Stories in Transport

Rail accidents may overtake road, plane crashes

June 26th, 2013 /

No Comments

Read Full Story

Passengers describe moments as Delta plane makes emergency landing

By Shannon Sims with Jay Sorgi

CREATED Jun. 27, 2013 – UPDATED: Jun. 28, 2013 | 4:18 AM

• Tweet
• Share
• Email
• Print

• 

  Shannon Sims reports. Video by tmj4.com

  video

• 
• 

• 

• 

• 

Prev
Next

‘);
} else if($(this).data(“type”) == “brightcove”) {
$(this).parent(“li”).addClass(“active-video”).append(”);
} else if($(this).data(“type”) == “brightcoveExt”) {
$(this).parent(“li”).addClass(“active-video”).append(”);
} else if($(this).data(“type”) == “vevo”) {
$(this).parent(“li”).addClass(“active-video”).append(”);
}
});
});
};
function checkWidth() {
var windowsize = $(window).width();
if (windowsize = 750) {
$(“.slider”).nanoslider({width:640,height:360});
} else {
$(“.slider .slides”).css({width:320,height:196});
$(“.slider .slides li”).css({width:320,height:196});
$(“.slider”).css(“width”,320);
$(“.slider”).nanoslider({width:320,height:196});
}
}
// Execute on load
checkWidth();

MILWAUKEE – Minutes before a scheduled landing at Mitchell International Airport, the pilot of Delta flight 927 noticed an indicator light flashing in the cockpit. 

He immediately alerted his crew and passengers on board.
 
“The pilot came on as we were just starting our descent, and just said that we had some hydraulic problems, but rest assured, there are three systems in place and two which are functioning perfectly,” said Mary Fraser, a passenger.

Those words “functioning perfectly” was all Fraser needed to hear.
 
“The fact that they kept calm, we kept calm.”
 
Fraser was one of nearly 160 passengers on board the troubled plane.

Moments after the announcement, Fraser says the plane touched down on the tarmac.
 
“A big clunk when we landed as the tires hit,” said Fraser.
 
As a precaution, the flight was greeted by a number of fire trucks on stand by.

Once everyone was safely off the plane, maintenance began the process of investigating the 757 aircraft.
 
A spokesperson for Delta told us, “Out of an abundance of caution, the captain elected to declare an emergency.”

Posted on: 8:16 pm, June 28, 2013, by Ashley James, updated on: 03:24pm, June 28, 2013

(Atlanta, GA) Delta Airlines is facing a $750,000 fine for violating rules that protect passengers who get bumped on oversold flights.

The Department of Transportation says Delta didn’t get volunteers before it bumped passengers.

The airline also didn’t give passengers written notice, telling them they have the right to be compensated with cash if they’re bumped.

<!– –>
• 
  Tweet
  
• 
  –
  A
  A
  A
  +
  

<!–

–>

DENVER – A Delta Airlines flight headed to Denver from Atlanta was forced to make an emergency landing Thursday night after one of the two engines propelling the plane went out. 

Delta Airlines Flight 705 departed Atlanta at 7:19 p.m. ET and was scheduled to land in Denver around 8:15 p.m. MT Thursday.

9NEWS spoke with Jordan Babeon, a passenger on the plane, who said the engine shut down at 30,000 feet. She suddenly felt a drastic float down in the air. 

The pilot came on to notify the passengers that the left engine went out. The power was then off on the left side of the plane for the duration of the descent and the plane was tilting to one side. The descent took approximately one hour.

The Denver Fire Department met the plane on the runway after the landing to ensure there was no fire danger and the plane was secure.

Delta Airlines released a statement about the incident.

“[The flight] … landed early and without incident at DIA after an engine was shut down just prior to initial descent. The flight crew followed established procedures. Delta maintenance technicians examined the engine overnight and the aircraft is back in service. Safety is always Delta’s top priority.”

The flight landed at 8:01 p.m. MT. No injuries were reported.

(KUSA-TV © 2013 Multimedia Holdings Corporation

NEW YORK, June 27 (UPI) — Several passengers on a Delta Airlines flight from Istanbul, Turkey, landed at New York’s JFK Airport Wednesday complaining of nausea, officials said.

The passengers on Delta Flight 73 got sick during the flight and required medical assistance for vomiting and nausea, NBC-TV, New York, reported.

Delta employees were “working closely with these customers to ensure they are well cared for,” the TV station quoted Delta spokeswoman Leslie Scott as saying.

The ill passengers were allowed to move through customs after about 30 minutes.

• Cabin of a Delta Airlines flight began to fill with fog soon after takeoff
• Captain offered passengers a round of drinks to calm frayed nerves
• Combination of hot weather and cool air conditioning caused freak phenomenon

By
James Daniel

PUBLISHED:

18:18 EST, 26 June 2013

|

UPDATED:

10:11 EST, 27 June 2013

Passengers on an aircraft flying out of JFK had to deal with the scariest of sights just after take off.

The cabin of a Delta Airlines plane began to fill with smoke as the aircraft began its climb on one of the hottest days of the year.

Soon afterwards, the plane began to shake violently as it encountered turbulence.

Passengers were told to stay in their seats, but it didn’t stop some travelers from taking pictures of the troubling sight.

Glow sticks required: Smoke began to fill the cabin of this Delta Airlines plane and it didn’t dissipate until the aircraft had reached cruising altitude

One Reddit user Ficcolo posted the picture stating: ‘Last night flying out of JFK….this happened and freaked us out. Disco rave flight!’

• 
  Key witness in Zimmerman trial testifies for second day

• 
  Gorilla gets revenge on excited kids

• 
  Home invader beats mom in front of child

• 
  Paula Deen sobs during exclusive interview on the Today Show

• 
  NFL star Hernandez charged with murder

• 
  Trayvon Martin: ‘Creepy a** cracker is following me’

• 
  Sopranos stars at Gandolfini funeral

• 
  Murder suspect NFL star bail appeal denied

• 
  ‘Glow in the dark’ Aventador seized by the police

• 
  Hernandez in April: I try to be a role model

• 
  Car-crash TV. Australian host has on-screen disaster during…

• 
  Mark Sanchez dances with his pants off

• 
  Trayvon’s friend and star witness forced to admit she could…

• 
  Obama at the ‘Door of No Return’: President makes emotional…

• 
  How a piece of BUBBLEGUM may prove Patriots star Aaron…

• 
  Tears for Tony: James Gandolfini’s son joins heartbroken…

• 
  Did Aaron Hernandez shoot dead friend because he knew former…

• 
  Driver and his dog get covered in multi-coloured PAINT after…

• 
  ‘I don’t like killing innocent people’: ‘Boston bomber’…

• 
  At least 27 people killed after ‘knife-wielding mobs’ attack…

• 
  Daughter, 16, claims she had to ‘pay’ her father with sex to…

• 
  Lamborghini that ‘glows in the dark’ is seized by police as…

• 
  Who is she? Seattle investigator looks to identify woman…

• 
  America branded: States mapped out showing which product it…

Like most airlines, Delta overbooks its flights. The Department of Transportation fined Delta $750,00 for violating rules on overbooking — specifically for complaints that it bumped passengers without first asking for volunteers, and also failed to offer compensation for those who got bumped.

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) — A mother’s Facebook post said the head of Delta airlines gave up his seat on a flight in Washington to allow her to pick up her diabetic daughter from camp.

Jessie Frank’s Facebook post, which she labeled “An Open Letter to Delta CEO [Chief Executive Officer] Richard Anderson,” said she was on the standby list for an overbooked Delta flight from Washington to Atlanta when someone with a “vaguely familiar face” told her she would be given a seat and helped her with her bag, ABC News reported Tuesday.

Frank said she was grateful to the man, who then sat in a jump seat, for surrendering her seat so she could make it to pick-up day at her 12-year-old daughter’s summer camp, which caters to children with type 1 diabetes.

The mother said she finally recognized the man when a flight attendant introduced the “special guest,” the company’s chief executive officer, to the passengers.

“You, Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta, did all that for me, just an average, middle-aged, woman with, as far as anyone at Delta knew, no special reason to get home,” Frank wrote.

She said she admires Anderson because he “leads by example, and does not set himself above all those who allow this airline to exist.”

Frank said being able to see her daughter at camp was an important part of her year.

“Camp Kudzu gives my daughter 5 days a year when she feels ‘normal.’ Pick-up day gives me a glimpse into that special world where she’s just like everyone else, and she’s a little bit of a different person for the rest of the day. By the next day, it’s back to the harsh realities of managing a difficult, deadly, incurable disease that kills 1 in 20 before the age of 18. Most people just don’t understand how different it is from regular diabetes,” she wrote.

advertisement

A Delta Airlines flight departing from Reagan National Airport for Minneapolis got stuck in a grassy area after going off the runway Monday afternoon.

Passengers were removed from Delta Flight 1763 and the airport remains open, according to airport officials.

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials are working to get the plane back on the runway.

Baggage from the cargo area has been offloaded.

No injuries have been reported and passengers will be put on another plane, said a Delta spokesman.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

News now, of another airline agreement, that’s been approved by regulators. This latest deal sees Delta Airlines and Britain’s Virgin Atlantic partnering on flights and marketing.

NPR’s Wendy Kaufman reports.

WENDY KAUFMAN, BYLINE: Beginning early next month, the two airlines will jointly sell tickets on more than 100 routes. In addition, passengers can earn and redeem miles on either carrier, and passengers with elite status on one airline will be offered the same benefits on the other. Those with airport lounge privileges can use the facilities of both airlines.

The partial integration of flights and services, stems from Delta’s purchase of a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic.

Industry analyst Richard Aboulafia says the deal – first announced in December, but just finalized – gives Delta something it had long sought.

RICHARD ABOULAFIA: Delta gets to grow its market share of the North Atlantic market, particularly to the U.K. and especially to Heathrow Airport; they get more passengers -particularly hi-end business passengers – that account for the majority of profits on these routes.

KAUFMAN: At the same time, Virgin Atlantic will be able to seamlessly funnel its passengers onto Delta’s huge domestic network. Together, the two airlines hope to become a formidable competitor. American Airlines and British Airways already have a similar agreement.

Virgin – which is owned by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, is seen as a luxury brand, and yesterday, the airline’s chief executive insisted that Virgin’s brand identity would not be subsumed by Delta, and that Virgin would remain true to its roots.

Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR’s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.