Delta Launches Service between Seattle and London Heathrow

New route continues rapid expansion of international offerings from Sea-Tac International Airport

News provided by

Jul 23, 2013, 03:14 ET

SEATTLE, July 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of receiving antitrust immunity later this year for its joint venture with Virgin Atlantic Airways, Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) will offer new daily nonstop service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to London Heathrow Airport beginning March 29, 2014. Tickets will be available for purchase July 27.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101123/CL04792LOGO )

New service from Seattle to London Heathrow gives Delta's customers nonstop access to one of the world's top business markets and is an important enhancement to Delta's growing trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific network from Seattle. As of Jan. 1, 2014, every international Delta flight from Seattle, including the new London service, will feature full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite, Economy Comfort seating and in-flight entertainment in every seat throughout the aircraft.

"Our international expansion in Seattle is possible because of our partnerships with Alaska Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta executive vice president - Marketing, Network Planning and Revenue Management. "Together the airlines can provide customers in the Pacific Northwest with an unmatched global network and an industry-leading customer experience on the ground and in the air."

Seattle is one of Delta's fastest-growing international gateways. In June, Delta added service to Shanghai and Tokyo-Haneda, complementing long-established service to Tokyo-Narita. Delta also has served Beijing and Osaka, Japan from Seattle since 2010.

Through its trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia, Delta also offers Seattle area travelers nonstop service to Paris and Amsterdam while also providing connecting service to more than 150 additional destinations beyond those European hubs. With new service to London-Heathrow, Delta will operate flights to eight nonstop international destinations from Seattle.

The strategic alliance between Delta and Alaska benefits customers of both carriers and gives Pacific Northwest travelers an extensive array of domestic and international travel choices.

In December 2012, Delta and Virgin Atlantic announced Delta's plans to acquire 49 percent of Virgin Atlantic. The carriers intend to form a trans-Atlantic joint venture to optimize schedules and services between the North America and the U.K. Delta last month obtained unconditional clearance from the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice to proceed with the investment transaction. Now both carriers are awaiting U.S. Department of Transportation approval of antitrust immunity to implement their joint venture.

On July 3, Delta and Virgin Atlantic launched reciprocal codesharing across 108 routes to 66 destinations throughout North America and the U.K. With the new Seattle service, Delta will operate 10 daily nonstop flights to London Heathrow from six destinations including Detroit, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Boston and Atlanta.

Delta will operate Seattle-London Heathrow service using a 210-seat Boeing 767-300ER aircraft featuring 35 full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite, 32 seats in Economy Comfort and 143 Economy class seats.

Flight Details for Seattle-London Heathrow Service

Flight	Departs	Arrives	Service Begins
37	SEA at 6:40 p.m.	LHR at 12:05 p.m. (following day)	March 29, 2014
36	LHR at 12:20 p.m.	SEA at 2:40 p.m. (same day)	March 30, 2014

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World's Most Admired Companies airline industry list, topping the list for the second time in three years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 330 destinations in 65 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta and Facebook.com/delta.