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ATLANTA: Delta Air Lines (NYSE:
DAL), the only U.S. network carrier to serve
Africa, today announced it will expand its service
to the African continent with the introduction of
the first and only flight between Hartsfield
Jackson Atlanta International Airport and
Monrovia's Roberts International Airport,
Liberia*. The service, which will make a stop
at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal
Island, Cape Verde*, will start in June,
2009. Passengers on the only flight
between the U.S. and Liberia will benefit from
significant time savings over other routes.
They also will be able to connect to more than 150
destinations throughout the U.S., Latin America and
the Caribbean via Delta's Atlanta
hub. "Delta is pleased to add
Monrovia to our industry-leading Africa network,"
said Glen Hauenstein, executive vice president
&endash; Network and Revenue Management.
"Passenger traffic to and from Africa continues to
grow at some of the highest rates in the world. We
are very encouraged with the response to our
flights to Africa and look forward to serving
Liberia and contributing to its trade and tourism
development efforts." Currently, Delta offers service
between the United States and six African
destinations with flights between New York's John
F. Kennedy International Airport and Accra, Ghana;
Dakar, Senegal; Cairo, Egypt; and Cape Town in
South Africa (via Dakar) and between Atlanta and
Lagos, Nigeria; and Johannesburg, South Africa (via
Dakar). Liberia is situated in West
Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to the
country's southwest. The country has strong
historical and cultural ties to the United States.
With key exports of minerals and timber, there is a
strong and growing market for business traffic
between Liberia and the U.S. In an announcement today at the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Liberia's
President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf praised Delta's
investment in her country. "I was excited to learn that
Delta Air Lines has made the commitment to provide
direct flight service to Liberia," said
Johnson-Sirleaf. "Liberia continues to
flourish and, with the commitment by companies in
the U.S. to do business in our country, there is
opportunity for continued economic growth. This
development also provides convenience for Liberians
in Diaspora to come home and to bring their skills
and talents in support of the country's
development. Delta Air Lines is providing a means
to bring business into the country and we welcome
them." Robert L. Johnson, founder and
chairman of The RLJ Companies, which owns
significant development projects in Liberia, also
commented on the flight during the
announcement. "Two years ago, while attending
the Clinton Global Initiative, I made a commitment
to mobilize $30 million for Liberia after hearing
President Sirleaf speak and appeal to the American
private sector for support," said Johnson. "I have
further committed to mobilizing funds through a
recent $100 million finance protocol with the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to
build housing, as well as to build an 84-room villa
style hotel. I applaud Delta Air Lines for making
the commitment to provide direct air service to
Liberia which will provide economic growth
opportunities to Liberia from a variety of business
sectors around the world," he added. Delta's new service between
Atlanta and Monrovia will be operated using a
Boeing 757 aircraft with up to 174 seats in a
two-cabin configuration &endash; 16 seats in
Delta's award-winning BusinessElite service and 158
seats in economy class. Delta's BusinessElite
service features all-leather sleeper seats,
innovative food offerings from celebrity chef
Michelle Bernstein and award-winning, original wine
selections chosen by Delta's Master Sommelier
Andrea Robinson. The airline's on-demand
personal in-seat entertainment boasts more than 20
first-run and popular classic movies, a variety of
TV programs, a broad range of music, and a suite of
12 video games in both classes of service.
Economy class customers also benefit from new
all-leather economy seats, amenity kits and
enhanced food offerings. Delta's service between Atlanta
and Monrovia will operate once weekly as
follows: Delta Air Lines operates service
to more worldwide destinations than any airline
with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 287
destinations in 58 countries. Delta has added more
international capacity than any major U.S. airline
during the last two years and is the leader across
the Atlantic with flights to 42 trans-Atlantic
markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta
offers 315 weekly flights to 43 destinations.
Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to
earn and redeem SkyMiles on more than 16,000
flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners.
Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global
airline alliance that provides customers with
extensive worldwide destinations, flights and
services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide
codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 500
worldwide destinations in 105 countries. Customers
can check in for flights, print boarding passes,
check bags and flight status at
delta.com.
Delta
Expands Africa Presence with First-Ever Flight
between Atlanta and Monrovia,
Liberia