Delta And Virgin Announce Codeshare

Delta and Virgin Atlantic acquire merger clearance from the European Commission and the U.S Department of Justice and add 66 destinations for customers

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways recently detailed a codeshare agreement across 108 routes that offers customers seamless connections to 66 destinations across North America and the U.K. as of this month.

Virgin Atlantic will now place its code on 91 Delta routes, including both trans-Atlantic and domestic U.S. routes. Delta will place its code on 17 Virgin Atlantic routes, including the recently launched Little Red domestic U.K. services connecting London to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

The codeshare announcement coincides with Delta acquiring a 49 percent stake in Sir Richard Branson’s airline – marking a full joint venture between the two carriers expected to get underway next year, which would allow the carriers to adjust their combined nine trans-Atlantic services.

Regulators in Europe and the US cleared the purchase in June. The two airlines announced their intention to launch a joint venture agreement in December 2012.