Recently, we have seen a flurry of new destinations be announced from the US to Europe. From WOW Air’s impressive expansion, to British Airways adding Nashville, it seems that every city in the country will soon have transAtlantic service. Not one to shy away from a show, Delta Airlines has recently announced the launch of flights from Indianapolis to Paris-CDG.

 

What to expect from the Flight?

Delta will be flying the route with one of their 767-300ER aircraft. This airplane features 25 Delta One seats, 29 Comfort+ seats, and 171 Main Cabin seats. The airline will fly the route daily, leaving Indy at 6:20pm. It will arrive at CDG at 8:45am, and depart back for Indy at 11:15am. The return flight will land at 4:35pm. The airline offers wifi, power ports and IFE on every seat of the aircraft.

Delta One 747

Delta One 747

Did you say Indianapolis?

Yeah, I did say Indianapolis. The capital of the Hoosier State is the next medium sized city to get European flights. They join the likes of St. Louis and Nashville, which previously didn’t have TATL service. I can’t seem to work the logic as to why Delta has picked Indianapolis. Well, there is one logical reason that can be inferred by this flight. The airline will get major subsidies from the city of Indianapolis as well as the state of Indiana. The amount of subsidies are in excess of $5 million for the first two years. This will make it reasonable, and feasible for the flight to operate. This will last for a few years, meaning that after the subsidies, if the flight isn’t profitable in itself, it will be cut. I think Indianapolis has a sizeable population, and has a fair amount of business to the city. However, I can’t justify the notion of every city of similar size getting a TATL flight.

 

What’s Fueling this Expansion?

In all honesty, there hasn’t been a better time to travel than now. With the expansion of TATL low cost carriers, it’s never been easier to get across the Pond. US legacy carriers are doing their best to match low fares. They are also finding themselves attacked by the ULCCs in medium sized cities, taking away traffic from their hubs to the international destinations. This, coupled with the fact of a strong economic recovery across most of the world and low fuel prices, allow for airlines to offer new routes. This massive expansion is probably a trend that will die down if oil prices increase again. I think the same could happen if there is a major world conflict. I have very strong expectations that neither of these things will happen in the near future, so we need not worry.

Delta Airlines 767-300ER

Delta Airlines 767-300ER

Landing Thoughts:

As I mentioned before, this is a continuing pattern for airlines across the Atlantic. You keep seeing airlines of all kinds add routes to the US. I expect this to continue for the foreseeable future. What upsets me about this flight is that Delta is getting subsidized by local and state governments, while they complain about the “subsidized” Gulf carriers. This is hypocrisy in a nutshell. Regardless, I am very happy for the residents of Indianapolis in scoring their first TATL flight in many years. I just hope that the next city to experience a new TATL is either Houston or my home of Puerto Rico.

What do you think? Will Delta’s IND-CDG route be successful? Who will be the next airport with TATL service? Let us know!

 

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