Within a week, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines have applied for flexibility on their routes to Johannesburg and Cape Town to address shifting seasonal demand.
On February 14, Delta filed an application with the US Department of Transport DOT to use two of its seven Atlanta-Johannesburg frequencies to increase its Atlanta-Cape Town flights from three to five weekly between October 26 this year and March 28 next year.
United follows suitJust seven days later, on February 21, United told the US DOT it would not object to Deltas request as long as it could enjoy similar flexibility.
United applied to reallocate one of its seven-weekly Newark-Johannesburg flights to its Newark-Cape Town route on a year-round basis and as demand warrants. This means, during peak demand season, it would operate six weekly Newark-Johannesburg flights and four weekly Newark-Cape Town flights.
United emphasised that the request does not involve any changes to its flights between Washington Dulles International Airport and Cape Town.