Delta, Zipair and Azul are growing their long-haul networks
By DAVID CASEY
Delta Air Lines is opening a second route to Argentina’s capital, Japanese LCC Zipair is adding a fourth destination in the US, and Brazil’s Azul is making its first foray into the French market using its own metal.
Atlanta-based Delta will add Buenos Aires to its network from New York John F. Kennedy (JFK) later this year, becoming the carrier’s second route to Argentina’s capital.
The airline applied to the US Transportation Department (DOT) in January for broad authority to serve the US-Argentina market to complement long-standing year-round flights from its Atlanta hub.
The SkyTeam alliance member said approval would give it the “flexibility to potentially add additional new flights as market conditions warrant,” starting with a route from New York. The DOT approved the request on Jan. 25.
Seasonal service between JFK and Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) will begin on Oct. 28, subject to government approval. The 8,528-km (4,605-nm) sector will be served daily on a seasonal basis using Boeing 767-400s.
The New York-Buenos Aires city pair is currently served nonstop by two carriers, offering a combined 5,454 two-way weekly seats, data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows.
For the week commencing March 20, American Airlines provides daily JFK-EZE service using 777-200/200ERs, while Aerolineas Argentinas operates 3X-weekly Airbus A330 flights. American has a 70% capacity share of the market.
The current level of capacity between is down by 50% compared with the total available at this time in 2019, when American and Aerolineas Argentinas each served JFK-EZE daily, and United Airlines offered a daily EZE route from Newark (EWR). However, United suspended service from October 2019 and has not returned to the market.
Delta will therefore be seeking to fill a capacity gap now as long-haul demand continues to return. The airline already has a codeshare partnership in place with fellow SkyTeam member Aerolineas Argentinas, which started in 2011 and covers the Argentine flag-carrier’s New York-Buenos Aires operations. Other routes included in the codeshare are Aerolineas Argentinas flights from EZE to Montevideo in Uruguay and Santiago in Chile.
Alongside the Buenos Aires route, Delta intends to restart flying from JFK to Rio de Janeiro Galeão (GIG). The airline previously served the cities during the northern winter seasons in 2017, 2018 and 2019, providing flights until the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Service will again be seasonal, operating daily from Dec. 16 using 767-300 aircraft.
Long-haul LCC Zipair is to begin flying to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which will become the Japanese airline’s second point in California and its fourth in the US.
The carrier, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines (JAL), intends to launch a nonstop service from its base at Tokyo Narita (NRT) using Boeing 787-8s seating 290 passengers. The start date and planned frequency are yet to be confirmed, but flights are expected to begin during the upcoming summer season.
Zipair is a relatively new airline, having launched operations less than three years ago. The carrier, which has a fleet of four 787-8s, initially began life as a cargo-only operation in June 2020 after the pandemic forced it to delay passenger flights.
However, since starting passenger service in October 2020, the LCC has grown its network to six destinations from Tokyo Narita and now flies to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seoul Incheon and Singapore Changi.
The route to San Jose is the latest to join Zipair’s network and operates five times per week. The launch of the service in December came less than a month after the airline’s inaugural connection to Los Angeles.
Zipair’s entry to the Tokyo-San Francisco market will see it become the fourth operator of nonstop passenger flights between the cities. OAG data shows that parent JAL provides daily service to SFO from both Tokyo Narita and Haneda (HND), while All Nippon Airways (ANA) and United also provide the same level of service to SFO from NRT and HND.
In total, there are 20,118 two-way weekly seats available between Tokyo and San Francisco—about 22% higher than pre-pandemic levels. United commands a 38.4% capacity share, followed by JAL at 31.7% and ANA at 29.9%.
Sabre Market Intelligence figures show that total O&D traffic between the two cities totaled some 410,800 two-way passengers in 2019, equivalent to almost 563 passengers per day each way. About 71% of passengers traveled nonstop. Zipair will be seeking to capture a segment of the market seeking lower fares.
Brazilian airline Azul is growing its long-haul network with the addition of a second destination in Europe.
The carrier counts Portugal’s capital Lisbon (LIS) as its sole European point at the present time, but scheduled service to Paris Orly (ORY) will begin on April 26. The nonstop connection from Sao Paulo Viracopos (VCP) will operate six times per week using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Azul has sought to expand its network to France in the past, starting a codeshare agreement with Aigle Azur in July 2018 that covered the latter airline’s newly launched service between Paris Orly and Sao Paulo. However, Azul said it was pausing the deal just nine months later and Aigle Azur ceased operations in September 2019.
Azul will be the sole operator of VCP-ORY flights but will face indirect competition in the wider Sao Paulo-Paris market with two other operators. Air France provides two flights per day to Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) using A350-900s and 777-300ERs, while LATAM Airlines Group serves the same sector daily with 787-8s and 787-9s.
In total, there are almost 12,200 two-way weekly seats operating between the cities and Azul’s entrance will add a further 4,000 to the market.
Azul launched its inaugural European route in June 2016 with flights to Lisbon and a second commenced in June 2019, connecting Viracopos with the Portuguese city of Porto (OPO). However, the latter service is yet to return after being suspended at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
For Paris-Orly, the 9,358-km (5,053-nm) link to Sao Paulo will be the airport’s first to Brazil and the second-farthest destination on its route map. Paris-Orly-Mauritius is the airport’s farthest at 9,429 km (5,091 nm).
