ATLANTA, Sept. 5, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Delta Air Lines will continue its rapid expansion into Mexico and the Caribbean this December with the addition of two new routes to Mexico City as well as its first flights to the French island of Guadeloupe. Effective Dec. 1, Delta will add new nonstop service between Mexico City and Orlando and Salt Lake City, and on Dec. 13 will add flights between its largest hub in Atlanta and Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. All new routes are subject to foreign government approvals.
"Delta is a customer favorite for travel between the United States and destinations across Latin America and the Caribbean thanks to the expanding scope of our network and the number of unique and exciting destinations we serve," said Glen Hauenstein - Delta's executive vice president - Network Planning and Revenue Management. "Delta remains the fastest growing U.S. carrier to Mexico and the Caribbean and in December will become the only U.S. carrier to serve the beautiful French island of Guadeloupe nonstop from the U.S. mainland."
Delta customers traveling to Guadeloupe will enjoy traditional Caribbean warmth with a French twist. Guadeloupe is one of the world's best yachting destinations and is known for its favorable winds, pristine beaches, casinos, nightlife and decidedly French culture. As citizens of France, the 450,000 residents of Guadeloupe speak French, do business with the Euro and are closely connected to the European Union.
In Mexico City, Delta will strengthen its already extensive schedule of flights to and from the world's largest city. With new routes from its Western hub in Salt Lake City and the world's vacation capital of Orlando, Delta will offer 41 weekly flights between Mexico's economic, cultural and governmental center of Mexico City and four major gateways in the United States, with convenient connecting service beyond to hundreds of worldwide destinations.
During 2006, Delta has become the fastest growing U.S. airline to Mexico with more than a dozen new routes added. By March 2007, Delta plans to offer customers service to nearly 20 Mexican destinations from the United States -- nearly three times as many offered in 2004. Most recently, Delta announced that it would expand its presence to Mexico from Los Angeles to meet soaring demand in one of the country's largest Hispanic travel markets. This expansion begins in December and includes new nonstop flights to nine Mexican destinations with corresponding connecting service to five U.S. destinations where many Hispanic customers prefer to travel.
Delta's newest Latin America and Caribbean flights are scheduled as follows:
Delta's schedule between Orlando and Mexico City effective
Dec. 1, 2006:
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Flight Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft
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239 Orlando at Mexico City Tuesday, Boeing 737-800
7:31 p.m. at 10:06 p.m. Friday,
Saturday
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238 Mexico City Orlando at Wednesday, Boeing 737-800
at 7:51 a.m. 11:46 a.m. Saturday
Sunday
Delta's schedule between Salt Lake City and Mexico City, effective
Dec. 1, 2006:
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Flight Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft
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237 Salt Lake Mexico City Tuesday, Boeing 737-800
City at at 2:30 p.m. Friday,
9:35 a.m. Sunday
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236 Mexico City Salt Lake Tuesday, Boeing 737-800
at 3:30 p.m. City at Friday,
6:51 p.m. Sunday
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Delta's schedule between Atlanta and Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe,
effective Dec. 13, 2006:
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Flight Departs Arrives Frequency Aircraft
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469 Atlanta at Pointe a Wednesday, Boeing 737-800
9:55 a.m. Pitre, Saturday
Guadeloupe
at 3:10 p.m.
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470 Pointe a Atlanta at Wednesday, Boeing 737-800
Pitre, 7:20 p.m. Saturday
Guadeloupe
at 4 p.m.
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To celebrate its newest international routes, Delta is offering customers special low introductory fares for travel between Mexico, Guadeloupe and the United States. Customers should act fast, however, as these discounted fares must be purchased no later than Sept. 19, 2006.
Sample one-way fares, based on a round-trip purchase, include:
From To One-way fare(see Note) Orlando Mexico City, Mexico $179 Salt Lake City Mexico City, Mexico $199 Atlanta Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe $279
Note: 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 expanded nonstop service to Latin America and the Caribbean is part of a series of more than 50 new routes to Latin America and the Caribbean added or announced by Delta in the last year as part of the largest international expansion in the airline's history. With its March 2007 schedule, Delta plans to offer customers 246 weekly flights to 19 Mexican destinations and 282 weekly flights to 23 Caribbean destinations. This growth represents a 70 percent increase in Delta's weekly flights to Mexico and the Caribbean combined since fall 2004.
Additionally, U.S. Hispanic customers now can use the convenient shopping and self-service functionality at delta.com in Spanish for all important travel information, booking, seat assignments, flight check in, SkyMiles(r) award ticket booking, refunds, and much more. As part of its globalization efforts, Delta will also introduce Spanish and French-language check-in kiosks in early 2007 to complement Delta's industry-leading Spanish gate information screens and gate audio announcements already available in major U.S. airports.
Delta Air Lines (Other OTC:DALRQ) offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service to 292 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 400 weekly flights to 48 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 461 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 for some itineraries may be on the Delta Connection carriers: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Chautauqua, Comair, Freedom Airlines, Shuttle America, and SkyWest; ExpressJet, Horizon Air Industries, Mesaba, and Pinnacle Airlines; SkyTeam partners: Aeromexico, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, or other Delta codeshare partner: Aerolitoral.
The Delta logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1825
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. Tickets must be purchased within 72 hours after reservations are made, but no later than September 19, 2006. See delta.com for online ticket purchase requirements and restrictions. Travel Period: For Pointe a Pitre travel may begin December 13, 2006 through March 31, 2007. For Mexico City travel may begin December 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007. All travel must be completed by April 30, 2007. Blackout Dates: 12/22/06-01/02/07. Fare Validity: Fares are valid in the Economy (Coach) cabin on Delta/Delta Connection carrier and certain codeshare partner flights only. For Pointe a Pitre fare shown is valid for travel on Wednesday while a higher fare applies for travel on Saturday. For Mexico City, fares shown are valid Monday through Thursday, while higher fares apply for travel Friday through Sunday. Minimum Stay: For Pointe a Pitre: 3 nights; for Mexico City: Saturday night. 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. SkyMiles and Partner Offers: 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.