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Delta has assembled a wide coalition of businesses, trade groups, lawmakers and governors in opposition to a US government decision that stands to force Delta and Aeromexico to end their joint business. In recent days, the airlines submitted some 60 letters, from various supporters, to the US Department of Transportation. The letters urge the agency to reconsider a tentative January decision not to renew an antitrust exemption permitting the Delta-Aeromexico joint business. Delta and its supporters say the decision will force the airlines to eliminate US-Mexico flights at the expense of jobs and economic activity. The coalition of supporters includes heavy hitters, among them Airbus and automakers Ford Motor Company, General Motors and Stellantis – which say they depend on US-Mexico flights. The DOT rejected the antitrust renewal request on grounds that Mexico has repeatedly violated the US-Mexico air transport agreement by reducing capacity at Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International airport. Mexico has been forcing airlines to relocate to the new Felipe Angeles International airport, which is farther from Mexico City. Other US airlines have praised the DOT’s proposed decision, but Delta and Aeromexico want the agency to reconsider. Warning of flight cuts, they say the US government should not punish airlines, communities and consumers, but should rather take complaints directly to Mexico’s government, through arbitration if needed. ”I respectfully ask that you reconsider this proposal,” Airbus Americas CE Jeffrey Knittel says in a February letter to the DOT. Delta submitted the letter and dozens more to the agency in recent days.<br/>

Air France is adding long-haul flights this summer in response to growing demand, especially from the US, ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris. The French arm of Air France-KLM expects to offer 9% more summer capacity than last year on long-distance routes, it said Monday in a statement. It’s resuming flights between Paris and Minneapolis, starting service to Phoenix and adding frequencies to Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, the carrier said. The transatlantic push comes less than a month after Air France-KLM reported a Q4 loss and capacity for 2023 that fell short of its target. The Franco-Dutch airline group said then that geopolitical tensions kept travelers away from countries near Israel and conflict-prone parts of Africa, even as broader demand remained strong. The Paris 2024 Games run from July 26 to Aug. 11, and along with the Paralympic Games are expected to attract millions of visitors to the French capital. Air France, one of the many sponsors of the events, said it will fly to the US more than 210 times a week during summer, and is also adding flights to Abu Dhabi, Tokyo and Tanzania. Closer in, Air France said Monday that it’s introducing seasonal routes between Paris and Verona, Narvik-Lofoten in Norway, and Kalamata, Greece. The carrier also will operate two special flights between Los Angeles and Nice, on the French riviera, for the Cannes Film Festival taking place in May. <br/>