NEWS ntic traffic. The airline’s new head of operations in Europe, Matteo Curcio, speaks to Ian Taylor
Carrier invests in digital transformation, fleet replacement and airport facilities
Delta’s commitment to the trade continues alongside its digital transformation. Curcio explained: “Digital is key. Personalisation is
the way we’re going, enabling employees to recognise customers and offering customers privileged access to dedicated, personalised content.” The carrier has a substantial base to build on. Curcio
noted: “Delta is the fifth-largest e-commerce retailer in the US, after Amazon, Walmart, eBay and Apple. The equivalent of almost 1% of US GDP is transacted on the Delta-American Express credit card.” He added: “The Delta app is recognised as one
of the best in travel. More than 85% of transactions can be self-serviced via the app, triple the proportion in 2019. It allows the customer to be in charge. You can rebook or refund yourself. “We were the first airline to announce free Wi-Fi
for every passenger, and 100 of our aircraft now offer next-generation personalised content.” But digital technology is not the only area of
investment. Curcio explained: “We took advantage of the pandemic to accelerate our product development, fleet replacement and investment at airports. “We spent more than $12 billion on airport facilities,
with new terminals at Los Angeles, New York-JFK, Seattle and Salt Lake City airports. It would not have been possible to invest in [construction at] these airports when lots of passengers were flying.” The carrier “accelerated our programme of
transformation” in other areas, retiring older aircraft and replacing them with new-generation, more fuel-efficient Airbus A330-900neos and A321neos. Delta also looked to enhance its premium offering,
Delta check-in
kiosks at Los Angeles International Airport
comprising Delta One and Delta One Suites, Premium Select (premium economy) and Comfort Plus (extra leg-room economy seats). Curcio noted: “We looked to our premium products to generate $10 billion in revenue in 2014. We’re looking at double that in 2023.”
important to us – Curcio
in New Distribution Capability (NDC) to facilitate internet-style retailing through agents. But Delta does not propose to follow British Airways’ partner American Airlines in withholding fares from GDSs to drive bookings via NDC. Curcio confirmed: “We’re looking at
NDC.” But he said: “Agents and TMCs are an important part of our footprint. We want to help them display our product in the best way. “We’re sensitive to agency partners’
needs and strive to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary in our approach to NDC, ensuring benefits for shareholders. “We won’t introduce new technology unless it adds value to all.”
‘We’re in a leadership position in sector’s drive for net zero’
Matteo Curcio is optimistic about Delta hitting its sustainability targets in the near and longer terms. “We’re deploying more and more new-generation
aircraft,” he said. “Only 10% of our [long-haul] fleet were new-generation in 2019. By next year it will be 40%.” Delta already operates the new Airbus A330-900 to
Heathrow, which is 15%-25% more fuel-efficient than the Boeing 767s it is replacing and offers 66 extra seats. Curcio said: “You’ll see more A330-900s coming
to Europe, and Virgin Atlantic is undertaking an important renovation of its fleet. “We’re removing single-use plastics from our aircraft
and working on electric ground handling. We have a target of 10% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use by 2030 and are working hard to increase the supply of SAF.” There is currently not enough SAF produced in the
world to run a fleet the size of Delta’s for a single day. But the carrier has agreements in place to meet half its
travelweekly.co.uk
SAF requirements by 2030, or 200 million gallons a year. Asked if he is confident aviation can hit Iata’s
target of net-zero flying by 2050, Curcio said: “I’m confident we’ll do everything we can as an industry to get there. We’re all investing. At Delta, we have an entire organisation dedicated to this. We’re stepping up as an industry and Delta is in a leadership position on it.”
6 JULY 2023 11
PICTURES: Shutterstock/VanderWolf Images; Chris Rank/Rank Studios
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