Delta Air Lines' Pacific transition will take time to bear fruit

The first half of 2020 is a key time for Delta Air Lines in its Asia Pacific operations as it moves operations from Tokyo Narita to Haneda and begins operating from Beijing's new airport, Daxing. Although Delta believes those moves are critical for its long term success in the region, the airline is warning that the transition could create some short term uncertainty in its Pacific operations.

Delta could get some reprieve from tough conditions in the Asia Pacific out of the first phase of a new trade truce between the US and China, but there is still uncertainty about the effect that the tenuous agreement will have on overall global economic activity.

Concurrently, Delta appears to be indicating that it could take some time for the transitions occurring in its trans Pacific operations to reach their full potential.