by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:00 AM ET, Tue December 14, 2021
Delta Air Lines announced plans to expand its investment in partner airlines Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico and LATAM.
The investments are expected to bolster Delta's global platform through an enhanced network, seamless connectivity and business growth for the carrier, its employees and partners.
The airline is investing in Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico and LATAM as each carrier emerges from restructuring or recapitalization. Upon completion of their respective processes, Delta is targeting a 20 percent equity stake in Aeromexico and a 10 percent equity stake in LATAM.
In addition, Delta will maintain its 49 percent equity stake in Virgin Atlantic.
The airline's total investment will be approximately $1.2 billion.
"These strategic investments in our partners will transform our ability to improve travel for our customers, enabling us to deliver a seamless travel experience alongside offering our customers an unrivalled network between North American and premier markets worldwide," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said.
"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," Bastian continued.
Before the pandemic, Delta achieved record international growth attributed in part to its global partner network. As international travel demand returns, the connectivity, relevance and breadth of the airline's global network remains critical to success.
Delta's partnerships with Virgin Atlantic, Aeromexico and LATAM expand that growth potential, helping to fuel route additions, customer connectivity and associated job creation.
"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 Chief Financial Officer Dan Janki said.
"Similarly, investing in our partners now - even as we continue to navigate the pandemic - is the right choice to support Delta's long-term strategy," Janki continued.
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