In the wake of the March 12 Japanese earthquake and its devastating aftermath, Delta Air Lines is slashing seating to Japan while American Airlines is “monitoring the situation carefully.”
Delta plans a cutback of up to 20 percent through May, the company announced.
The reductions at Delta will have a net impact of US$250 million to $400 million, the carrier said at a JPMorgan Chase & Co. conference in New York reported by Bloomberg News.
AMR Corp.’s American is keeping its full schedule and the April 1 start of a trans- Pacific joint venture with Japan Airlines Corp., Bloomberg said.
Singapore Airlines Ltd. and Qantas Airways Ltd.’s budget have also trimmed Japan flights to match diminishing demand.
The Atlanta-based Delta also said it would reduce seating capacity by four percentage points in the second half of 2011, especially in markets where “revenue has not kept pace with fuel” such as the trans-Atlantic.
It is also cutting departures by 25 percent at its hub in Memphis, Tennessee.
By David Wilkening
