Customers flying from the
Eastern United States to Tahiti may benefit from a new agreement signed by
Delta Air Lines and Air Tahiti Nui. The two carriers announced that they
have entered into a memorandum of understanding to form a partnership that
provides customers with a wider array of destinations and benefits,
including service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to
Papeete in 2005. In discussing customer benefits, David Bishko, Delta’s general manager -
Alliances Optimization, said, “Our goal is to formalize agreements that
will expand our present network and provide Delta customers with new and
expanded non-stop access to Tahiti from gateways Los Angeles and New York,
as well as convenient connecting service to Auckland and Sydney. One
aspect of Delta’s transformation plan is for us to expand our
international services with both Delta aircraft and our relationships with
other partners. When implemented, this will be a win-win situation for
customers and the carriers.”

The carriers hope to finalize agreements to provide for each carrier to
place its code on the other’s flights, implement frequent-flyer benefits
for customers, as well as discuss other areas of cooperation, such as
lounge sharing, cargo and assistance in facilities and passenger handling
programs.

All codesharing between the carriers will be subject to government
approval.
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