Delta and Korean Escalate Their Fight

Delta, Korean Air

Delta has made it clear that it wants a bigger piece of the Hollywood crowd’s business. What’s the best way to do it? Start acting like a Hollywood-type and get into an ugly public spat. It’s only a matter of time before the paparazzi show up, right?

The very public fight between Delta and Korean has continued to escalate. The only question is… will they reconcile or are they headed to splitsville?

The fight apparently began when Delta tried to push its SkyTeam partner into joining a joint venture. It’s believed Korean wasn’t interested. So, as the story goes, Delta started to react.

Delta Korean Air Fight

The first public display of problems came when Delta announced that no travel on Korean Air-marketed flights would earn elite qualifying miles or bonus miles. Considering Korean Air is a founding member of SkyTeam and one of the largest foreign airlines operating in the US, this was a big deal. But travelers could still book a Delta codeshare on Korean flights and get their elite-qualifying miles.

There was one problem with that scheme. Buying a ticket on the Delta codeshare was often more expensive than booking directly with Korean. So it was hard to justify paying more just for the miles. But don’t worry about that. The airlines have gone and fixed that problem for us.

No, no. They didn’t equalize fares. They just started to unwind the codeshare so you don’t have a choice.

Korean started things off earlier this summer by pulling its code off of 97 Delta routes within the Americas. So you could fly from Seoul to Atlanta on Korean but you couldn’t connect on to, say, Ft Lauderdale on a Korean code. Most of the cities affected (59, in fact) were out of Atlanta, but there were also cuts in other hubs. This may seem surprising considering that Korean is ramping up in Atlanta with an A380 and has a lot of seats to fill, but I guess the time had come to fire a warning shot.

Delta upped the game even further. On August 21, it was revealed that Delta would begin flying from Seattle to Incheon every day beginning next June. That fits with Delta’s Seattle growth strategy, but it’s quite a poke at Korean and its daily flight in the very same market.

But why wait all the way until next June to start inflicting pain? At the same time this was announced, Delta cut some of its own codesharing on Korean. As of last week, you can no longer buy a Delta ticket on the Korean Air flights to Incheon from west coast markets. That means no Delta seats from LA, Vegas, San Francisco, or Seattle, and that means no elite qualifying miles if you fly those routes. [Update: Delta called me to confirm that the pulling of the codeshare this early was a mistake and it has been reinstated until June when the Seattle flight start.]

Now we just have to sit here and wait to see what’s next. Maybe these two need their own reality show. Or we could get Dr Phil to sit down with them and solve their problems on a primetime special.

One thing is clear. Delta can certainly benefit from Korean’s network, and I can understand why they’d want a joint venture. Meanwhile, Korean is huge in the US and should also want to benefit from Delta’s loyal base and connecting options. When both sides receive clear benefits from a relationship, you can only hope that they come to their sense and resolve their issues. But as we know, these fights don’t always end the way they should.

[Original taekwondo photo via Shutterstock]

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40 comments on “Delta and Korean Escalate Their Fight

    1. Would JL allow KE in Oneworld? I had assumed that because JL was already there and Asiana was in Star that DL felt KE had nowhere else to go and that was why they were putting on the pressure.

      1. JL + KE = NH + OZ, right? ;-)

        Actually, more accurately:
        JL + KE < NH + OZ + CA + BR

        Also remember that currently it's:
        OW: JL
        ST: KE + CI
        *A: NH + OZ + CA + BR

        Technically you have CX and MH on the OW side, but they're getting pretty far south for gateway to Asia style flying. CZ is pretty far south and has one TPAC flight.

  1. Has Korean started to codeshare with B6? I am booked with Korean out of JFK to MNL via ICN, but to get to JFK from FLL, I was placed on B6. On the return, I fly thru ICN to ATL, then connect to MIA on AA. I haven’t put my Korean Skypass number on these flights so I am wondering if I need to enroll in different programs again.

    1. KE began to not sell any tickets combined with Delta’s domestic flights since 1 or 2 months ago.

      Delta actually revived codeshare on west coast to ICN routes until early June 2014, until when SEA-ICN begins with its metal. Delta claims it was a minor technical error.

    2. TC99 – No, Korean has a standard interline agreement with JetBlue. It’s just that JetBlue makes a big deal out of those kinds of arrangements while most airlines don’t. Korean is not a partner with TrueBlue so you can’t earn miles on JetBlue flights.

      hk – Thanks for noting that. Still seems rather silly that they’ll do away with it in June. You can fly with one stop to Seoul from LA or SF today on Delta via Tokyo. The introduction of the Seattle flight shouldn’t change anything.

      1. Cranky, Delta discontinued their Tokyo-Seoul flight in June 2013, so you can’t fly them one-stop from the west coast without using KE metal (or going way out of the way via Detroit) until SEA-ICN starts.

        1. Alex – Thanks for pointing that out. So I guess they’ll just keep the codeshare out there until they can fly it on their own metal. Of course, who is going to want to connect through Seattle if you could go nonstop instead? (Only those who are miles addicts, I suppose!)

  2. Why is Korean not wanting to get into a JV with Delta? Beyond HA and AS it doesn’t seem that they have any other links to US carriers.

    Also, I wonder if DL’s A330 purchase plays into this? From what I’ve heard these A330s are ideal for Pacific flights. If DL isn’t going to have a JV with Korean they’ll need more lift of their own over the Pacific.

    1. Nick – I wish I was a fly on the wall in those conversations. My guess is that Korean thinks it can earn more money on its own with its own flights instead of splitting revenue with Delta across the board.

  3. “Delta can certainly benefit from Korean?s network, and I can understand why they?d want a joint venture. Meanwhile, Korean is huge in the US and should also want to benefit from Delta?s loyal base and connecting options.”

    Are any numbers available on how many people actually connect between DL and KE in ICN?
    For domestic Korean flights, sure, but if flying to other international cities, I’m not sure if KE through ICN actually is necessary. The most important cities in Asia have DL service anyways; within China there is MU and CZ serving many more cities than KE; for Japan it would be faster to take a train or connect to a domestic flight from NRT (or NGO or KIX) than backtrack through Korea; most of SE Asia would be easier by connecting to a non-ST airline in BKK or SIN such as Air Asia.

    The connectivity through ICN seems like a nice idea and I’m sure some people took advantage of it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this actually didn’t impact most US-Asia traffic at all.

    1. Jason H – I don’t have those numbers. International information isn’t made publicly available the same way domestic is. There are some data sources that can probably help but I don’t have those.

    2. I imagine the bulk of DL/KE connecting traffic connects in the US.

      Be that as it may, ICN is ideally located for connecting to Asia from the US. It helps to look at a globe. US flights come into ICN from the North, actually around the West side of North Korea. From there, the secondary Japanese population centers are to the Southeast (Osaka, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, etc.), and the bulk of the Chinese cities are to the Southwest. With KE serving about two dozed Chinese airports, why would I ever want to subject myself to CZ or MU? KE also has a very comprehensive network across South Asia, much more than anyone else in Asia, except maybe CX. And much of KE’s South Asia network leaves ICN in the late afternoon and evening, timing well with arriving flights from the US. Perhaps surprisingly, both JL and NH have rather paltry Asian networks beyond Japan.

      Put KE’s network together with an awesome airport that’s a breeze to connect through (Gate to Security to Transit Desk to Gate in less than 30 minutes, both DL-KE and KE-DL) and you have an awesome gateway to Asia.

  4. Will someone tell the children to get out of the sandbox and stop fighting.

    Since Star is so well covered in Asia over Oneworld and Skyteam, you would think DL wouldn’t be ticking off KE so much.

  5. Perhaps this is the future of the large global alliances, or the unbundling of those alliances. As the legacy network carriers get healthier and purchase newer aircraft, they will be able to provide their own Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific lift and not have to share revenue with the global alliance carriers.

  6. Perhaps this indicates the future of the large global alliances…or the unbundling of those relationships. As the legacy network carriers get healthier, they can buy new aircraft and provide their own t ATL and t PAC lift rather than share the revenue with carriers like Korean.

  7. It may more more difficult to track but I wonder if KE has cut their award availability with Delta awards. I tried to book some seats recently and saw almost no availability.

  8. I’m glad to see someone had the stones to stand up and tell Delta to pound sand.One simply does not demand a JV with a founding member of your alliance like they are a second tier carrier.Yes, I know DL is also a founding member, but that still doesn’t change their bully tactics backfiring in their faces.

    Good.

  9. Actually, Korean has very little to gain/lose from the alliance, but DL has a lot to gain/lose. KE already has extensive through-fare agreements with all the US airlines: if you fly KE in/out of ORD, you can take AA or UA to almost any city they serve, all with a KE throughfare at dirt cheap prices. The same scenario is repeated all over the US.

    Here are some permissible routings on various routes on KE through-fares. I chose the first three I thought of at random. It looks like they’ve scaled back (or eliminated) domestic UA flights since I was actively working as a TA, but my point remains, especially for that last city pair, my goodness.

    ICT-CNX – $1032 RT base
    1. ICT-AA-CHI-SEL-CNX
    2. ICT-DL-MSP-DL-CHI-SEL-CNX
    3. ICT-AA-DFW-SEL-CNX
    4. ICT-DL-DFW-SEL-CNX

    SBN-SIN – $1074 RT base
    1. SBN-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN
    2. SBN-DL-ATL-SEL-HKG-CX/SQ-SIN
    3. SBN-DL-ATL-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN
    4. SBN-DL-ATL-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN
    5. SBN-DL-ATL-SEL-SIN
    6. SBN-DL-CVG-DL-CHI-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN
    7. SBN-DL-CVG-DL-CHI-SEL-HKG-CX/SQ-SIN
    8. SBN-DL-CVG-DL-CHI-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN
    9. SBN-DL-CVG-DL-CHI-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN
    10. SBN-DL-CVG-DL-CHI-SEL-SIN
    11. SBN-DL-DTT-DL-CHI-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN
    12. SBN-DL-DTT-DL-CHI-SEL-HKG-CX/SQ-SIN
    13. SBN-DL-DTT-DL-CHI-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN
    14. SBN-DL-DTT-DL-CHI-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN
    15. SBN-DL-DTT-DL-CHI-SEL-SIN
    16. SBN-DL-DTT-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN
    17. SBN-DL-DTT-SEL-HKG-CX/SQ-SIN
    18. SBN-DL-DTT-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN
    19. SBN-DL-DTT-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN
    20. SBN-DL-DTT-SEL-SIN

    CLT-HKG – $980 RT base fare
    1. CLT-AA-CHI-SEL-HKG
    2. CLT-AA-CHI-SEL-PUS-HKG
    3. CLT-AA-DFW-SEL-HKG
    4. CLT-AA-DFW-SEL-PUS-HKG
    5. CLT-AA-NYC-SEL-HKG
    6. CLT-AA-NYC-SEL-PUS-HKG
    7. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-9W/AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    8. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-PG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    9. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-TG-DEL-AI-HKG
    10. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-TG-KUL-CI-HKG
    11. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-TG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    12. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    13. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BKK-VN-HAN-CX/VN-HKG
    14. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-BOM-9W-DEL-AI-HKG
    15. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-HKG
    16. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-HKG-8M-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    17. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-HKG-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    18. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-HKG-CI-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    19. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-HKG-CI-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    20. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    21. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    22. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    23. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-PUS-HKG
    24. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-SIN-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    25. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    26. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-SIN-GA-JKT-CI-HKG
    27. CLT-AA/US-DFW-SEL-SIN-SQ-DEL-AI-HKG
    28. CLT-AC-YTO-SEL-HKG
    29. CLT-AC-YTO-SEL-PUS-HKG
    30. CLT-B6-NYC-SEL-HKG
    31. CLT-B6-NYC-SEL-PUS-HKG
    32. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-9W/AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    33. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-PG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    34. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-DEL-AI-HKG
    35. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-KUL-CI-HKG
    36. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    37. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    38. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BKK-VN-HAN-CX/VN-HKG
    39. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-BOM-9W-DEL-AI-HKG
    40. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-HKG
    41. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-HKG-8M-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    42. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-HKG-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    43. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-HKG-CI-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    44. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-HKG-CI-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    45. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    46. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    47. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    48. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-PUS-HKG
    49. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-SIN-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    50. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    51. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-SIN-GA-JKT-CI-HKG
    52. CLT-DL-ATL-SEL-SIN-SQ-DEL-AI-HKG
    53. CLT-DL/US-NYC-SEL-HKG
    54. CLT-DL/US-NYC-SEL-PUS-HKG
    55. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-9W/AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    56. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-PG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    57. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-DEL-AI-HKG
    58. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-KUL-CI-HKG
    59. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    60. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    61. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BKK-VN-HAN-CX/VN-HKG
    62. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-BOM-9W-DEL-AI-HKG
    63. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-HKG
    64. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-HKG-8M-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    65. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-HKG-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    66. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-HKG-CI-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    67. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-HKG-CI-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    68. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    69. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    70. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    71. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-PUS-HKG
    72. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-SIN-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    73. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    74. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-SIN-GA-JKT-CI-HKG
    75. CLT-US-ATL-SEL-SIN-SQ-DEL-AI-HKG
    76. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-9W/AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    77. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-PG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    78. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-TG-DEL-AI-HKG
    79. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-TG-KUL-CI-HKG
    80. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-TG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    81. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    82. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BKK-VN-HAN-CX/VN-HKG
    83. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-BOM-9W-DEL-AI-HKG
    84. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-HKG
    85. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-HKG-8M-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    86. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-HKG-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    87. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-HKG-CI-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    88. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-HKG-CI-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    89. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    90. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    91. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    92. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-PUS-HKG
    93. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-SIN-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    94. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    95. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-SIN-GA-JKT-CI-HKG
    96. CLT-US-CHI-SEL-SIN-SQ-DEL-AI-HKG
    97. CLT-US-DFW-SEL-HKG
    98. CLT-US-DFW-SEL-PUS-HKG
    99. CLT-US-DTT-SEL-HKG
    100. CLT-US-DTT-SEL-PUS-HKG
    101. CLT-US-LAX-SEL-HKG
    102. CLT-US-LAX-SEL-PUS-HKG
    103. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-9W/AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    104. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-PG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    105. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-TG-DEL-AI-HKG
    106. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-TG-KUL-CI-HKG
    107. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-TG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    108. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    109. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BKK-VN-HAN-CX/VN-HKG
    110. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-BOM-9W-DEL-AI-HKG
    111. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-HKG
    112. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-HKG-8M-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    113. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-HKG-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    114. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-HKG-CI-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    115. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-HKG-CI-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    116. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    117. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    118. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    119. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-SIN-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    120. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    121. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-SIN-GA-JKT-CI-HKG
    122. CLT-US-NYC-SEL-SIN-SQ-DEL-AI-HKG
    123. CLT-US-SEA-SEL-HKG
    124. CLT-US-SEA-SEL-PUS-HKG
    125. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-9W/AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    126. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-PG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    127. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-TG-DEL-AI-HKG
    128. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-TG-KUL-CI-HKG
    129. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-TG-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    130. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-TG-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    131. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BKK-VN-HAN-CX/VN-HKG
    132. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-BOM-9W-DEL-AI-HKG
    133. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-HKG
    134. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-HKG-8M-RGN-PG/TG-HKG
    135. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-HKG-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    136. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-HKG-CI-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    137. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-HKG-CI-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    138. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-JKT/KUL-CI-HKG
    139. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-KUL-MH-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    140. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-KUL-SQ-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    141. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-PUS-HKG
    142. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-SIN-AI-DEL-AI-HKG
    143. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-SIN-CX/SQ-HKG
    144. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-SIN-GA-JKT-CI-HKG
    145. CLT-US-WAS-SEL-SIN-SQ-DEL-AI-HKG
    146. CLT-US-YTO-SEL-HKG
    147. CLT-US-YTO-SEL-PUS-HKG

    1. Hans – Just because you can route people on other airlines doesn’t mean you’ll get the traffic. Airlines codeshare because those are the options that get booked more often. Korean will likely lose out on bookings to other airlines that can sell as a single code all the way through.

      1. It doesn’t happen that way with TAs, but I guess online some people might shy away from it? It’s not like it’s really presented in a negative light on booking engines…

  10. JL + KE = NH + OZ, right? ;-)

    Actually, more accurately:
    JL + KE < NH + OZ + CA + BR

    Also remember that currently it's:
    OW: JL
    ST: KE + CI
    *A: NH + OZ + CA + BR

    Technically you have CX and MH on the OW side, but they're getting pretty far south for gateway to Asia style flying. CZ is pretty far south and has one TPAC flight.

  11. CF, two questions:
    (1) who do you think will cave?
    (2) who do you think should cave (as in whose demands are more unreasonable)?
    Curious to hear your thoughts!

    1. myra – I’m afraid I don’t know the answers. I don’t know what the demands are on each side. Maybe Delta is asking for too much in a joint venture conversation. Or maybe Korean really doesn’t see the value. Only people on the inside could answer that.

      1. well then i guess we’ll have to just wait and see what happens. thanks for keeping us updated on this deliciously (and disgustingly) soapy drama!!

  12. According to Delta’s homepage, customers flying on KE marketing cannot earn Elite/MQM from 1Sep13. Then, is that true we can still get miles from Delta on KE marketing flights?

      1. I am sorry but I guess the hyperlink you’ve attached is applied for travel prior to September 1, 2013. They say there is no miles for KE marketing flights on/after 1September. Could you please check? Thanks.

        1. Ashley – You just have to scroll down to see the table for flights after Sept 1. And you do earn miles on high classes, as shown.

  13. To clarify – you still earn miles, but not elite qualifying miles. Granted, it looks like DL cut the MQM down to 50% for eligible coach fares, so there was somewhat of a cut already. The biggest hit would be the business and first class cabin ticket buyers.

  14. What. A. Mess. DL’s newest transpacific hub flow is almost completely controlled by an airline in bed with AA over which DL has no control, DL and KE are fighting over a network where DL has little leverage, ATL/DTW are tapped out to Asia, NRT is sliding down a long decline, and DL has shown little interest in JFK-Asia.

  15. White smoke?

    DELTA Resumes Korean Air Seoul ? US West Coast Codeshare Service from Sep 2013

    by JL

    Update at 0600GMT 06SEP13

    As per 06SEP13 GDS timetable/inventory dispaly, DELTA has resumed codeshare service with Korean Air on US West Coast ? Seoul Incheon sectors, at least until 01JUN14 inclusive. DELTA?s ?DL? code once again appears on following Korean Air service during (the weekend of) 01SEP13 schedule update.

    Seoul Incheon ? Las Vegas
    Seoul Incheon ? Los Angeles
    Seoul Incheon ? San Francisco
    Seoul Incheon ? Seattle

    DELTA removed its ?DL? code on routes listed above during (the weekend of) 24/25AUG13 schedule update, with ?last codeshare service? operated on 28AUG13.

  16. Delta is making good money and they know they have a good product, but their growing arrogance is going to bite them. There is only so much customers will take getting caught up in these games.

  17. Hi Cranky,

    I just learned of this post through Rapid Travel Chai.

    Perhaps the tension between Korean Air and Delta explains why there is virtually no award availability whatsoever on KE flights using Delta Skymiles, something I find extremely frustrating. This has been the case now for at least half a year.

    What do you think? Has anyone been able to find any business class availability on any KE flight for the next year? Should I kiss goodbye the possibility of Delta award redemptions on KE?

    1. Craig – If you’re flexible enough, you should be able to find some availability but it’s not as easy as it used to be. I doubt award availability is directly tied to this spat, but an expansion of rules preventing good redemption opportunities wouldn’t surprise me in the future.

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