Delta Air Lines To Start Atlanta-Seoul Flights Next Year

In a bid to further expand its operations Atlanta, GA-based Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) recently announced the launch of non-stop flights from Atlanta to Seoul. The airline behemoth declared that the non-stop flights from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Seoul Incheon International Airport will start from Jun 3, 2017.

The carrier intends to strengthen its Asian presence through the introduction of these daily flights. Delta will utilize a 291-seat, Boeing (NYSE:BA) 777-200LR aircraft for operating the flights between the two cities.

Delta has been looking to strengthen its Asian presence for quite some time. Earlier this year, the carrier announced plans to introduce new flights to key markets like China and India. Moreover, Delta had announced its decision to shell out $450 million to own 3.55% of China Eastern Airlines (NYSE:CEA) , last year.

Korean Air Codeshare Expanded

Apart from announcing the Atlanta-Seoul flights, Delta declared that it has expanded the codeshare agreement with Korean Air. Notably, the carriers were among the four founding members of the SkyTeam alliance in 2000. However, their association apparently turned sour later on due to differences of opinion regarding a joint venture across the Pacific.

We remind investors that last month, the carrier had announced its decision to end some flights to Tokyo's Narita Airport. The expansion of the codeshare pact with Korean Air can be seen as part of its shifting strategy as far as Asian markets are concerned.

The expansion of the codeshare pact is naturally a huge positive for passengers as it will facilitate travel between the U.S. and China to a great extent. The carriers intend to introduce the new codeshare by the end of this year.

A codeshare deal allows sharing of flights, which implies that a passenger has the free will to avail any flight operated by either of the companies under the agreement, irrespective of the flight number.

Korean Air will be eligible to place its code on Delta flights to 115 destinations in the U.S. and Canada (beyond Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York City) once the agreement becomes effective. Delta’s Atlanta-Seoul flight will also have Korean Air’s code. In turn, the U.S. carrier will be able to do the same for 32 destinations beyond Seoul served by Korean Air. The destinations include Taipei, Osaka, Singapore, Nagoya and Okinawa.

Zacks Rank

Delta currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader transportation space include Green Plain Partners LP (NASDAQ:GPP) and The Greenbrier Companies, Inc. (NYSE:GBX) . Both stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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