Jeff Moomaw, Vice President Asia Pacific at Delta Air Lines, revealed that the airline will increase seat capacity in APAC by 35% in 2024 amid a 75% recovery in demand in 2023. The Delta’s network in APAC accounts for about 20% of all international networks today.
As Delta launched the joint venture with Korean Air on trans-pacific routes in May 2018, the airline has concentrated its hub function on Incheon International Airport in Seoul and shifted its U.S. flights from Narita to Haneda in Japan. Korean Air flies to 11 destinations in Japan from Incheon.. Moomaw said that more travelers from U.S. visit Japan via Incheon.
Delta serves Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Detroit, Atlanta and Honolulu flights from Haneda. Moomaw said of the Honolulu flights, which were launched in October 2023, that the airline is addressing the business from a long-term perspective, though the outbound travel market from Japan is still inactive.
“One of the challenges is how we can acquire leisure travelers to U.S. especially in an off-peak season,” Victor Osumi, Country Manager Japan at Delta Air Lines, said. “I think that the Japan-U.S. Tourism Year 2024 will be a great opportunity to boost travel demand between Japan and U.S. One of the keys will be to boost demand of overseas travel beginners.”
Delta has been developing its branding campaign in Japan, featuring young Japanese Olympic medalists. Osumi said that one of the target customers is travelers for Delta Premium Select seats.
日本市場について説明するムーモーアジア太平洋担当副社長
In addition, Moomaw said that Delta continues investing to improvement of customer experiences, pointing out that travelers’ preferences have changed to premium travel since the pandemic ends.
Delta plans to expand the high-speed Wi-Fi service for Sky Miles members to international flight aircraft in 2025 from domestic flight aircraft in U.S., which started in 2023. On ‘Delta Sync’ app, more customized contents will be offered.
Also, Delta will begin testing International Remote Baggage Scanning (IRS) on the Incheon-Atlanta route in the Q2 of 2024 and then will expand applicable routes.
