Delta Air Lines announced plans to invest $1.2 billion three newly restructured airlines, two Latin American companies and one UK carrier.
According to an official statement dated December 13, 2021, Delta Air Lines plans to make investments Aeromexico, which is the flag carrier of Mexicon, Chile’s LATAM and British carrier Virgin Atlantic, as the airlines emerge from bankruptcy and restructuring.
Following the recent announcement, Delta is targeting a 20% stake in Aeromexico and a 10% equity stake in LATAM. The United States flag carrier will also maintain its 49% equity stake in Virgin Atlantic.
In the statement, Ed Bastian, chief executive officer (CEO) of Delta Air Lines, said that “strategic investments” in the three carriers will help the airline to “deliver a seamless travel experience”. Bastian also stated that the move would enable the company to further develop business between North American and “premier markets worldwide”. The Atlanta-based airline also hopes that the move will enhance its current network while waiting for the international air travel demand to return.
Bastian continued: “The work each of our partners has done to strengthen their businesses for the future makes these partnerships even more valuable and creates a new era of international travel to benefit our customers, our employees, and our investors as global travel rebounds in 2022 and beyond.”
Delta’s chief financial officer Dan Janki added: “Throughout the pandemic, Delta has continued to invest in our future, including new aircraft orders, accelerating real estate projects, and putting significant resources into health and safety measures to protect our employees and our customers.”
Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico forged a partnership in 2017 when both parties signed a Joint Cooperation Agreement. As a result, Delta has benefited from a wide international network of more than 40 business and leisure travel routes. The carrier has also been in a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic since 2013. This partnership provided the American carrier with the opportunity to offer customers key routes connecting the US and the UK. This includes a route between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, and Heathrow Airport (LHR), London, which is extremely popular for business travelers.