Asks For New 'Immunity Agreements' With Northwest, KLM

With Open Skies a reality, Delta Air Lines has set forth its plan to capitalize on newfound access to London's Heathrow International Airport... and it's a doozy.

The Atlanta Business Journal reports the carrier filed its intentions with the Department of Transportation on June 28. The plan includes a complex series of airline partnerships, all with the goal of expanding the carrier's reach across Europe, and beyond.

If approved by the DOT, Delta would be allowed to integrate partners Northwest Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines into a current SkyTeam arrangement between Delta and Air France, Alitalia and Czech Airlines. The agreement -- described as an antitrust immunity -- would allow the six carriers to function as a single airline for the purposes of marketing, pricing and scheduling.

Delta hopes the arrangement will helps SkyTeam move into the big leagues, now occupied by United Airlines' Star Alliance and oneworld, which is jointly operated by American Airlines and British Airways. The deal would also give Delta additional footholds on Heathrow -- which is currently dominated by AA and BA -- and may help it better compete against European low-cost carriers like Ryanair.

Though frowned upon as anti-competitive for domestic operations, carriers often seek out such antitrust immunity deals on international runs.

David Bishko, Delta's vice president of alliances, notes the advantages of such immunity protections.

"It is very hard in the airline industry for them to merge with each other, due to regulations. Having an immunized alliance is the next step up to a full merger," he said, quickly adding Delta has no plans to merge with any of its SkyTeam partners, or anyone for that matter.

"I cannot be clearer on this point: There is no intention for any of the carriers in trying to merge," Bishko stressed. "We are very much still competitors with Northwest."

Those assertions don't quite jibe with reality, however, according to Doug Abbey. The analyst with The Velocity Group compared immunized alliances to "courting," and notes immunity "accrues the benefits [of merging] without any of the heartache."

"It will cement relations on certain levels between the companies because alliances need to be managed day to day," Abbey said. "It isn't marriage. It isn't an elopement. It's dating."

Regardless of Delta's interest in a long-term commitment, for the short term the agreements would serve to increase Delta's visibility. The proposal sent to DOT notes 24 new or expanded nonstop routes that would become a reality under the new plan, adding "4,071 city-pairs would be upgraded to two-stop service," affecting more than 3.4 million passengers.

Delta isn't looking just to Europe, either. The Atlanta-based airline hopes the partnerships will give Delta new opportunities in Africa, India and the Middle East.

FMI: www.delta.com, www.dot.gov, www.skyteam.com