Delta Air Lines is to take a 34% stake in French regional carrier Proteus Airlines, gaining it a foothold in the increasingly active French regional-airline market.
This is the first time that a US major has taken a share of a French airline, and follows the recent codesharing deal between British Airways' French subsidiary Air Liberté and American Airlines. Both agreements are subject to the signing of a new US-French bilateral.
Delta says that it is "convinced "that the bilateral will be signed, adding that the investment in Dijon-based Proteus "-reflects our interest in the growing French market". It does not reveal how the deal will work in practice, although sources point out that Delta, with Continental Airlines, has signed a commercial agreement with Air France, which recently agreed a franchise deal with Proteus on several internal routes. A bilateral agreement would give American and Delta access to Paris Orly.
In a separate move, Delta has boosted its Rolls-Royce Trent 800-powered Boeing 777 commitments from ten to 60. The airline says that it will firm up its options for ten aircraft - worth about $1.42 billion . It adds that it has placed a further 20 options, along with "rolling options" for a further 30. The engine purchase is subject to negotiations with R-R.
The ten firmly ordered 777-200s will be delivered between August 1999 and December 2000, and the options and rolling options will follow through to 2018.
The option variants have not been specified, but they could include the -300. Boeing demonstrated the stretched model to the airline during November.
On a broader front, Delta is optimistic that Singapore Airlines (SIA) will not leave its Global Excellence Alliance for the rival Star Alliance (which includes United Airlines and Lufthansa). Star is still widely perceived as the grouping SIA is most likely to join.
Stephan Egli, Delta vice-president Atlantic-Pacific, says that SIA is reluctant to join a grouping with United because that airline is in stiff competition with SIA on the Pacific, where it already has a far more significant presence than Delta. Egli believes that SIA is instead seeking a way to "work bilaterally with Lufthansa".
Source: Flight International
