Delta’s new push to Paris confronts United and shows commitment to SkyTeam amid alliance shifts

Major shifts in the three major global airline alliances during the last few weeks have triggered a bevy questions regarding the future of those tie-ups. But just as Qantas attempts to forge a broad agreement with unaligned Emriates, British Airways has convinced reluctant members to allow Qatar to join oneworld and Air France has reversed its stance to embrace Etihad and airberlin, SkyTeam partners Delta and Air France are bolstering their presence in the US-France market.

It is not clear if Delta could benefit from the new Air France-Etihad tie-up that entails codesharing on flights to Abu Dhabi, but eventually Delta's connecting customers in Paris could utlilise connections to the Middle East opened up by the new non-SkyTeam partnership.

Beginning in the northern hemisphere summer of 2013, Delta is introducing new flights from Newark Liberty International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle, and new seasonal flights from Boston to Paris. Delta also plans to add another daily flight from its Atlanta hub to Paris, which will increase to four the combined number of daily services offered by Delta and Air France on the pairing.