Ch. 5 Developing a Global Vision

Delta Airlines has developed a global vision for themselves and continues to be as innovative as possible within their multinational corporation. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry’s leading trans-atlantic venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights with 20 different airline carriers. 

The airline strives for creating one product, one message. By developing a single product, Delta Airlines market their company to people world wide the same way regardless of race or ethnicity. They do however, offer perks from flying that does appeal to different people, such as the Delta Lounge or their Delta rewards card. Unlike other products or services, airline travel is an industry that market experts don't foresee a decline in, on the contrary airline travel is expected to grow annually by 2.5%.  

Delta Airlines does not need to make product adaptions based on its location because their product is solely their airlines. It has been shown that people who use airline travel have the same expectations as others in different locations, like safety, reliability and cabin space. All other external factors such as the type of passengers that fly Delta would be out of the airlines control. 

Apart of their global vision Delta Airlines in 2015 made a $450 million dollar investment that connects two complimentary networks (Delta and China Eastern). This move marks a significant step in the airlines’ collaboration and partnership that will allow Delta and China Eastern to compete more effectively on routes between the U.S. and China, provide more travel options for customers in both countries and make joint investments in the customer experience. The chairman for China Eastern spoke about the partnership, “The cooperation between China Eastern and Delta is a strategic cooperation between two excellent airlines which connect the world’s two top economies as well as two top air transportation markets.  We’re fully confident in the prospect of the cooperation,” said Shaoyong Liu, the Chairman of China Eastern.