Finally Atlanta's Delta to Kenya flight is about to happen.

[Atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

JFK NBO 7360NM
ATL NBO 8054NM

JFK is within the range of the 787 8300nm

ATL is pushing the range of the 787 @ 8300NM (Not counting the The airspace that DL would not fly over and miles needed to get to Alternate airport.

The 777LongRange can do that trip, but can they fill it? From ATL on a daily or "often 5x" service. Other then daily most of the passenger would just find it as easy to connect thru EU or Middle East.

Let's not forget Delta's partnership with Kenya Airlines. I think between all the connecting flights, Atlanta populations, and Skyteam partnership with Kenya Airlines it will work.

[testa50]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

JFK NBO 7360NM
ATL NBO 8054NM

JFK is within the range of the 787 8300nm

ATL is pushing the range of the 787 @ 8300NM (Not counting the The airspace that DL would not fly over and miles needed to get to Alternate airport.

The 777LongRange can do that trip, but can they fill it? From ATL on a daily or "often 5x" service. Other then daily most of the passenger would just find it as easy to connect thru EU or Middle East.

Since Delta won't be receiving any of those airplanes in the 2015 timeframe, the 787 range isn't an issue here. 777LR would have to be it, or a stopover option in West Africa somewhere on the way.

Delta does well on ATL - JNB without any connecting traffic/feed on the JNB end. NBO is a MUCH smaller market than JNB, granted, but here's what they've got going for them:

1. By far the most convenient connection from any US city to Nairobi. Currently nearly all routings require layover in Europe, which adds many hours to the journey.
2. Double-layover service from the US to many smaller cities in Africa not currently served by AF/KLM: Addis Ababa, Livingstone (Vic Falls), and Maputo (Mozambique) being the major ones.
3. ATL - NBO local market (a whopping 20 or so people per day each way)

I'd see it being an uphill battle. Not so much due to the market (although the flight will be marginal at first, for sure), but the security situation in Kenya has been pretty terrible lately.

But then again Delta manages to make a daily 737-800 to Haiti filled almost solely by missionaries work, so who knows?

Going from JFK might work as well. The local market is about 4x larger than Atlanta's local market, so you'd be about a third of the way to filling up the plane with that instead of a tenth. But the connecting options there from other US cities are a fraction of what Atlanta offers. Delta seems to trade off its marginal, distant destinations between Atlanta and JFK.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

It will be Atlanta to Nairobi.

Awesome to the max.