Delta Air Lines, WestJet Partnership Gets Canadian Sign Off
Delta Air Lines and WestJet's proposed joint venture has been approved by Canadian officials, a key step towards implementing the partnership.
The Canadian Competition Bureau (CCB) will not challenge the tie-up, leaving US regulators the final big hurdle for the partnership, the carriers say in a joint statement today.
CCB spokesperson Jayme Albert confirms that the bureau will not challenge the proposed joint venture, but adds that a challenge can be filed against the tie-up within a year of implementation.
"Today's clearance by the CCB is an important step towards satisfying the conditions necessary to implement the proposed WestJet-Delta transborder joint venture," says Ed Sims, CEO at Calgary-based WestJet, in a statement.
The joint venture, first announced in 2017 and finalized last July, would allow Delta and WestJet to act as essentially a single airline between Canada the USA. With antitrust immunity, the companies could coordinate schedules and fares, jointly market flights and align their US-Canada operations in other ways.
"The joint venture between Delta and WestJet will create an expanded network with more frequencies and destinations, improved airport connections and significantly enhanced frequent flyer benefits," says Ed Bastian, CEO of Atlanta-based Delta, in a statement.
In 2018, the airlines carried nearly 8.4 million passengers between Canada and the USA, or 27% of the market, DOT data provided by Diio by Cirium shows.
Delta and WestJet plan to grow transborder capacity by 20%, including launching six new routes, under the partnership, they said in their application to the US Department of Transportation in October 2018. They anticipate the pact could generate at least $241 million in consumer benefits, including the additional service and improved access to their combined networks for passengers.
WestJet has already launched a number of new transborder routes from its Calgary base this year. Flights began to Delta's core Atlanta hub in March; Portland, Oregon, in April; and Delta's focus city in Austin, Texas, in June, according to Diio.
Delta plans to grow transborder capacity by 4.6% in 2019, while WestJet is keeping capacity flat, the data shows.
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month