Virgin Blue and Delta amend proposed trans-Pacific JV

Australia's Virgin Blue Holdings and US' Delta Air Lines have pledged to operate up to 21 weekly services between Australia and the US in a bid to allay concerns by the US Department of Transportation about their proposed trans-Pacific alliance, which the DOT rejected in Sep-2010 (AAP, 17-Apr-2011). In their latest submission to the department, the airlines pledged to maintain a "historic level of trans-Pacific services" for at least two years. For Delta, that represents seven weekly peak-season services between Australia and the US, and six in off-peak times. V Australia would operate 14 weekly peak-season services, and 11 weekly services during off-peak periods.