Delta’s world domination…er…global expansion continues!
So today’s announcement that Delta will begin nonstop service between Los Angeles and Sydney starting in July ‘09 is probably the most exciting new service announcement of the year…for me at least.
There have been whisperings and rumors of the SYD service for more than a year on Airliners.net and FlyerTalk and the ‘land down under’ has long been one of the most requested destinations of Delta customers and Delta employees. As someone who holds U.S. and Australian citizenship, Sydney service has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be more excited!
What’s great is that DL16 and DL17 provide easy, one-stop access to and from the East Coast (Atlanta, New York/JFK) and the Midwest (Cincinnati, Detroit Memphis and Minneapolis).
And what’s even better than THAT is the aircraft we’ll be using will be a brand new 777-200LR, complete with full lie-flat sleeper suites up front and slim-line seats with a bit of extra leg room in the back. And (here’s where I plug the in-flight entertainment system) everyone on the plane gets Delta on Demand with more than 200 movies, 100 hours of HBO on demand, 100 hours of TV, a suite of games and 4,000 mp3s. That’s sure to make the 15 hour flight to Australia go by a little faster!
So with SYD announced, that means Delta is the only U.S. carrier offering service to six continents (Antarctica doesn’t yet have a landing strip that can easily accomodate a widebody commercial airliner).
Oh…and as an added incentive to check out the Southern Hemisphere, we’re offering some pretty incredible introductory fares between LAX and SYD….$499 each way.
Some cool facts about the trip:
- LAX-SYD is 7,488 statute miles
- 15 hours LAX-SYD
- 13:45 hours SYD-LAX
The 777-200LR:
- Will carry 248,000lbs (112,491 kg) of fuel Westbound
- Will weigh 733,000lbs (332,483 kg) at takeoff
- Offers comfortable leather-appointed accomodations for 278 passengers
- Has a range of 10,840 miles (17,446 km)
- Has a cruising speed of 561 mph (902km/h)
- Has the longest range of any commercial airliner in the world
Check it out:
Chris B.
Product Manager - Customer Experience
In-Flight Entertainment




