Delta and Saudia Ink New Agreement

Early Wednesday morning, Delta and Middle Eastern giant Saudia signed a codeshare agreement. This news comes after Delta had previously signed a memorandum of understanding with new Saudi Arabian carrier Riyadh Air. 

The new agreement with Saudia will expand on an existing interline agreement between the two carriers as both are a part of the SkyTeam alliance. The new codeshare agreement will allow Delta customers to connect on Saudia to nine destinations in Saudi Arabia. Reciprocally, Saudia customers will have the ability to connect to 12 destinations in the United States out of Delta’s hubs in New York and Los Angeles according to the latest press release.

Perry Cantarutti, senior vice president of alliances for Delta, is enthusiastic about the new agreement stating that “strengthening our partnership responds to customer demand for more travel choice between the Gulf and North America.”

Middle Eastern Giants

Delta now has agreements with two different carriers in the Middle East. Currently, American Airlines and United Airlines have agreements in place with Qatar Airways and Emirates respectively. Since strengthening relationships, the two U.S. major carriers have each launched their own service to the Middle East. American serves Doha from Philadelphia and United serves Dubai from Newark. 

With longer range A350-1000s on order, Delta appears to be gearing up for the launch of new routes. At an event reported on by Thrifty Traveler, the carrier’s CEO Ed Bastian stated a press release regarding the signing of an agreement with IndiGo will be released in the coming days. Along with this announcement was the statement by Bastian that Delta “really want[s] to serve the market directly.” The A350-1000 aircraft on order would allow Delta to once again fly this route economically after retirng its fleet of Boeing 777-200 aircraft during the pandemic.

Thus, the idea of non-stop flights to Saudi Arabia by the carrier is a future possibility. At the time of writing, no United States airline flies to Saudi Arabia. Delta at one point flew to the Middle East, specifically Dubai, with the Boeing 777 until the route was discontinued in 2016. A potential new route would mark the carrier’s re-entry to the Middle Eastern market for the first time in nearly a decade. 

While Delta has agreements signed with both Saudi Arabian carriers, the two have also signed agreements with each other. This agreement includes codeshare agreements as well. While Saudia is established connecting Saudi Arabia with the world, Riyadh Air is gearing up to take on the Middle Eastern mega giants of Emirates and Qatar Airways. 

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Zach Cooke

Zach’s love for aviation began when he was in elementary school with a flight sim and model planes. This passion for being in the air only intensified throughout high school when he earned his Private Pilot Certificate. He then attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, earning his certificates and ratings to later flight instruct and share his passion for aviation with others. He now resides in the North East living out his dream as an airline pilot.

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