Delta flies direct to US
11/05/2009 14:20 - (SA)



Johannesburg - Delta Air Lines will offer a non-stop service between South Africa and Atlanta in the US starting on June 2, the airline said on Monday.

This first-ever non-stop service will replace the daily service via Dakar.

Passengers flying non-stop to Delta's hub at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport will save around three hours in each direction when compared to the current one-stop service and six hours when compared to routes over Europe, the airline said in a statement.

They would also be able to make connections to 175 cities in the US, Latin America and the Caribbean. "Given the strong demand on this route, we're upgrading to a Boeing 777 aircraft, which has more capacity," said Margaret Copeland, Delta's sales manager for South Africa.

Delta, which also operated three weekly services from Cape Town, was the only US airline to link Africa and the US.

By June 2009 it would operate from nine cities in seven African countries: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lagos, Abuja, Nairobi, Dakar, Monrovia, Cairo and Accra.

- SAPA

But will they get there early enough in the day to continue on to Windhoek without spending the night in Johannesburg?

No they would not the flight from Atlanta arrives at 1710
and the last flight on SAA from JNB to WDH is at 1320

Think they can keep both engines working on that 777 the whole time?

quote:

Originally posted by JohnHunt:
Think they can keep both engines working on that 777 the whole time?

Are Delta's 777's RR-Trent or GE-90 engined?

I'm scheduled on that flight June 1st!

quote:

Originally posted by JohnHunt:
Think they can keep both engines working on that 777 the whole time?

Yeah, I think they'll keep...since there has only been one accident involving a 777 and it was crew error, not mechanical....and even then, no one was hurt...triple 7's are one of my favorite aircraft to fly!

The little issues of engine power notwithstanding, i also think this is the best airplane in the sky right now.

Kathi, Is the pricing about the same as before?
Even though I have flown the old route many time.
What is the total fly time now?

Kat; That arrival time seems a bit short to make the Harare flight: can you make the connection, or, RON in j'berg?

Kathi,

this would be a good time to start working on them to go direct to Harare, or get SAA to coordinate a flight from there about 90 minutes later. Check the baggage straight thru from your starting point, and nobody has to play with your luggage or firearms.

Rich
Buff Killer

quote:

Originally posted by DuggaBoye:

quote:

Originally posted by JohnHunt:
Think they can keep both engines working on that 777 the whole time?

Are Delta's 777's RR-Trent or GE-90 engined?

I'll gladly answer that question! Delta currently flies the B777 in two configurations:
B777-200 with RR 'Trent' engine, range 8150 mi
B777-200LR with GE90-110B1 and range 10840 mi
Hope that answers you question - anything further re Delta please just ask.
PS - you can also find a lot of fleet info at http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0ge...pes_layout/index.jsp

Trapper, wasn't fuel icing the problem in the LHR 777 incident with the Trents? Have they come up with a fix yet?

My personal favorite was the 747-400. You could fly second class and sit in the upper level and if you got a window seat there was cavernous storage beside you and you could lean in that direction and doze. The 400 could only fly nonstop down (as range was 8,400 nm and joberg was 8449) because of tailwinds. The flt back to atl had to have an intermediate stop.

I am thankful for Delta and the 777 and the nonstops. Wouldn't it be cool if they flew to Dar es Salaam, since HRE is out of the question.