Airline News

Delta is now planning hourly flights to Philadelphia from Atlanta starting June 1 2004. Delta said the increase is a response to increasing demand for business and leisure travel to the city. Its flights from Atlanta will begin at 6:40 a.m. and end at 9:40 p.m. From Philadelphia they begin at 5:40 a.m. and end at 7:40 p.m. Separately, Delta announced that CFO Michele Burns is leaving at the end of April to work for Mirant Corp. in Atlanta. The airline has not yet named a replacement.

Delta Air Lines says it and its fellow SkyTeam members are gearing up for an increase in international travel this summer. So far this year, international traffic is up 6 percent, and that should continue throughout the rest of the year, said Paul Matsen, Delta senior VP of international and alliances. The International Air Transport Association is predicting a 7 percent annual growth in global passenger traffic. There will be several new flights this summer by Delta, which will also be adding new or expanding code sharing flights with Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Southern, Emirates and Korean Air.

Delta Air Lines will increase its international service by expanding its own flights and placing its code on flights operated by its SkyTeam partners. In April it will launch a second daily flight from Atlanta to Cancun and two weekly flights from Atlanta to St. Lucia. It also is adding two new daily flights from New York JFK to San Juan. In May, the carrier will begin new daily service from Cincinnati to both Amsterdam and Rome and a second daily Atlanta-Munich flight. June additions include daily flights from JFK to Santo Domingo, a thrice-weekly JFK to Athens flight and new service from Cincinnati to Cancun. This summer Delta will place its code on flights to destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East operated by AeroMexico, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Southern, Emirates and Korean Air. In addition, it will expand its code share agreement with Continental and Northwest to include flights to 11 cities in the Caribbean, 12 in Latin America and 14 in Canada.

Emirates will launch thrice-weekly service from Dubai to Christchurch via Melbourne June 10 using an A340-500. The service will double to six times weekly Aug. 1 2004.

Emirates will offer in-flight e-mail service across its fleet using Tenzing software. The system will be installed initially on new A340- 500s beginning in the first quarter of 2004 and progressively across the entire fleet.

Hawaiian Airlines has received the last governmental approval it needed before its May 18 2004 expansion to Sydney. The airline has received its international airline license from Australia's Department of Transport and Regional Services, clearing the carrier for the launch of four nonstop roundtrips a week between Honolulu and Sydney. The route marks Hawaiian's return to this market after an absence of more than a decade. In related news, Hawaiian and Boeing Capital Corp. again have agreed to extend lease negotiations, this time through May 31. At issue are agreements for 11 Boeing 717-200 aircraft for its inter-island network and three Boeing 767-300ER planes for transpacific service that Hawaiian leases directly from BCC or through BCC-controlled trust arrangements. The latest extension is subject to approval by U.S. bankruptcy court.