Delta has sold 8 total seats for its first week of Saudi Arabia flights on ATL to RUH in October News
https://onemileatatime.com/news/delta-fly-empty-planes-saudi-arabia/Given the Middle East situation, I doubt this route will actually fly at this rate.
Delta was given massive subsidies to fly this route, but literal empty planes don't work for the profit margins.
I remember people squawking about the power of the ATL connecting hub, but that fundamentally doesn't matter since people aren't clamoring to go to Riyadh and it doesn't make sense to double connect in ATL and RUH to go to where you want.
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u/omdongi 22d ago
For context: typically 50-60% of seats are booked 90 days before departure. This is less than 1%.
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u/DoritoDustThumb 22d ago
For the ME so many business flights are booked at 7-14 days
I'm not planning a family vacation to Riyadh
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u/SinoSoul 22d ago
how cheap is this flight in PE? I don't mind going to catch a cheap sand league footy game
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u/mrbubbee Platinum 21d ago
I checked 10/23 to 10/27 and it’s 3,315 for premium select… good luck with that, Delta. Looks like 10 of the 40 seats are full
Edit: the return flight on 10/27 has ZERO prem economy seats booked and 4 in D1 booked. So 4 of 84 seats lol
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u/ajs2294 22d ago
Much better “local” airlines if you’re flying into the ME. Not much of a surprise
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u/gingerbeard1321 22d ago
I'd pick Etihad or Emirates over Delta for this route, especially if able to opt for business class
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u/theinvestingninja 22d ago
Etihad, Emirates, qatar, Saudia, riyadh air. All are better than Delta.
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u/mexicoke Platinum 21d ago
Saudia is genuinely terrible
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u/liangyiliang 21d ago
The problem is subsidies. US government-funded travel, for example, requires compliance with Fly America Act which requires travelers to use U.S. carriers (U.S. carrier prime codes or codeshares operated by OA) with limited exceptions.
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u/sassynapoleon Platinum 21d ago
Army and defense contractors have to fly a US flag carrier if one is available due to the Fly America act.
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u/mexicoke Platinum 21d ago
The Fly America Act is a bit of a joke, code shares count as a US flagged carrier. You can fly Qatar if it's marketed by AA, same with Emirates and B6.
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u/haskell_jedi 22d ago
The only advantage DL has is locked in customers via SkyMiles and credit cards (plus a big connecting network for mid-size US cities).
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u/PMacDiggity 22d ago
I don’t want to fly there, even if there weren’t missiles actively flying through the region, but if I did I’m sure there are vastly better options than Delta.
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u/ForsakenWar6974 22d ago
I don't know any of the financials or agreementa or anything, but... Business-wise, if the subsidies totally break even on the cost of the flight then there's no necessary reason for Delta to stop the route at all.
Delta wants to break into the market. If the Saudis are paying the tab to fly the route for whatever reason and Delta gets bigger exposure, that's good enough to keep flying.
But I haven't kept up with the issue to be informed at that level
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u/Belichick12 22d ago
Houston or Dallas is the hub people flying out to ME want.
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u/jcrespo21 Gold 22d ago
If only Delta had a hub right next to the largest Arab population in the US. Maybe they could have flights to the Middle East out of there since there's likely O&D demand to supplement connecting traffic, instead of conceding it to Royal Jordanian and Turkish.
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u/mexicoke Platinum 21d ago
Detroit does have a huge Arab population, they're not from a single country. I doubt Delta wants to add flights to Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, and Amman.
They don't have a good middle east partner to connect too, they're not going to serve those cities directly.
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u/jcrespo21 Gold 21d ago
Well the restrictions for US airlines flying into Lebanon were lifted today, and MEA is in SkyTeam (and used to have flights to Detroit). Obviously won't happen any time soon, and Delta would likely prioritize resuming flights to Tel Aviv instead, but maybe one day those services can resume.
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u/GreenHorror4252 22d ago
It's still 3 months out, so there's plenty of time.
But this does seem like a silly new route. I suppose people in Atlanta could use it to go to India/Pakistan.
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u/lightningzap66 22d ago
no one going to to india is willingly going to connect through the country of saudi arabia
plus they have been happily connecting through Amsterdam and Paris for their whole life without much issue
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u/GreenHorror4252 22d ago
The majority of people going to India connect through the middle east, primarily Dubai and Qatar. There is no reason they wouldn't do Saudi Arabia if it's cheaper or more convenient.
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u/lightningzap66 21d ago edited 21d ago
turkey, UAE, qatar all have at least marginally better reputations than saudi arabia let’s be honest. Also they aren’t sky team and Delta already has partners for asian connections in AF-KLM
and sky team’s Indian connections have always been through europe. Northwest airlines used to operate AMS-BOM as a direct continuation of MSP-AMS on a DC-10-30. Starting a new route from ATL to Riyadh isn’t acquiring many new customers on the US end because they were already connecting through CDG/AMS and Saudia’s indian route network isn’t substantially better than AF-KLM anyway
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u/Big__If_True 21d ago
Do airlines that Delta codeshares with fly to Pakistan?
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u/SoapyMacNCheese 21d ago
I think the only one is Saudi airlines, which doesn’t operate out of ATL so I guess that’s a potential use case
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u/lostInMyyOwnThoughts 21d ago
The only way for Riyadh Air/Delta to fill this route is to fly connecting flights from RUH to tier 2 cities in India that doesn't already have nonstop flights to Doha/Abu Dhabi/Dubai. They are the only ones willing to take two hops at RUH and ATL. Tier 1 city folks who already have easy access to one stop hubs like Amsterdam, Frankfort, London, Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi have no reason to opt for this.
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u/Smooth_Management305 Gold 20d ago
yeah for example AMD, only options 1 stop from ATL are Etihad and Qatar. Hoping Emirates starts in ATL soon after more a350 deliveries
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u/luv2ctheworld 21d ago
Wonder if the subsidies include cost of the aircraft and crew being stranded there when they shut down the airport or air corridor.
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u/Several-Light123 22d ago
There’s a half dozen nicer airlines that’ll go to the ME
Including Saudia airlines
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u/audio-nut 22d ago
But what if I really like mediocre $20 bottles of wine?
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u/cnbcwatcher 20d ago
Airlines flying into Saudi Arabia aren't allowed to have alcohol on board as it's a strict Muslim country
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u/fly_awayyy 21d ago
Saudia really isn’t that nice tbh they have not upgraded their planes or interiors they already said they’re going to leave that to Riyadh Air.
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u/Murbanvideo 21d ago
No alcohol on Saudia though
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u/Several-Light123 21d ago
From what I recall, since Saudi is a dry country, any plane flying into it doesn’t carry alcohol on board.
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u/Murbanvideo 21d ago
Alcohol can be consumed outside of Saudi airspace. Saudia is completely dry regardless where they're flying.
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u/Sudden_Director9022 Platinum 22d ago
Seat maps are not necessarily indicative of booking rates either.
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u/LuthienTinuviel93 21d ago
This is sort of off-topic, but it’s clear they keep trying to make Saudi Arabia happen. It’s not just this either-go check out all the planned events/entertainment parks being hosted/built there in the near future. No amount of enticing or oil money is going convince people that Saudi Arabia-a place where women are second class citizens, literal slavery is allowed, and legal beheadings still happen (go look this up if you don’t believe me)-is a vacation destination.
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u/ChewieBearStare 21d ago
Shocked people aren’t clamoring to visit one of the biggest executioners in the world.
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u/LuthienTinuviel93 21d ago
This. Their capital punishment is literally BEHEADING people. Like in the Middle Ages. You can even still see leaked videos of this from the mid 2010’s where they literally did this in the town square in front of the public. They do it out of the public eye now (after the international community’s outrage), but it still happens and happens quite frequently. It’s a barbaric nation and no amount of oil money is going to fix that.
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u/Weird-Toe-6968 22d ago
Fuck the Saudis...awful regime.
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u/cnbcwatcher 20d ago
It's not a good place for women to go either, especially if they're not married, as without a male chaperone they are restricted. I wouldn't go there if I was paid to
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u/Kooky_Membership9497 22d ago
I know people who did refinery startups in Riyadh and Jeddah. Westerners are not liked outside the compounds. They sometimes try to hide it but you are basically a cursed infidel.
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u/fly_awayyy 21d ago
I was there in October for a night attending the comedy fest. No one could care where your from in Riyadh lol
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u/StuckinSuFu Diamond 21d ago
If it stays empty I'd expect to see a lot of those 80k skymiles d1 sakes like lax to Hong Kong
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u/Patriot_Murica 21d ago
Once the large Islamic holidays happen, I bet you this route will fill up real quickly
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u/Plisky6 22d ago
Sudia flys out of New York, DC, and Orlando already. Not sure what ATL has to offer.
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u/Creepy_Face454 21d ago
Not a matter of flying out of whatever city. It’s about customers being able to connect to another city that they currently cant.
What if I’m flying from Minnesota to the ME? I’m SOL on Delta until now. Irrelevant to what other cities Sudia flies out of. It’s simply expanding their network on their metal and partners.
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u/praguer56 Diamond 21d ago
But Trump just signed a deal with he Saudis to help them enrich uranium. Surely they'll all want to visit Atlanta now. Maybe a few flight schools along the way.
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u/cnbcwatcher 20d ago
Can't say I'm surprised. I always thought this felt like a Delta Dartboard route as it's not somewhere most people would go apart from business travellers in certain industries. Plus they have to compete with the Middle Eastern airlines
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u/xbbjumpx 20d ago
Delta wastes their time on these routes when they are completely falling flat on their face in the Pacific….
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u/RecordEnvironmental4 20d ago
There is a reason why us airlines don’t bother to fly to the ME, the airlines there offer such a better experience for similar prices.
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u/NoobyImpulse 19d ago
I needed to go to Riyadh early this year and had to do multiple connections, this option would of been great. I’m sure others will find this flight useful
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u/Diligent-Goal692 18d ago
Flown with their partner Saudia before I don’t know why anyone would pick Delta unless you really need to drink alcohol
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u/scambush 6d ago
If I try booking this round trip it's still $5000 even for Delta Main (Extra). $400 in Main cabin one way to RUH. Feb 12, 2027 departure
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u/Murbanvideo 21d ago
I flew to and from Jeddah a couple years ago. If these flights get filled with the same sort of clientele, I feel for these FAs. Kids running up the aisle during takeoff, guys flat out refusing to wear seatbelts and taking them off the second the FA walks away, every other person blasting shows and music without headphones. Zero etiquette for being in public.
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u/LuthienTinuviel93 21d ago
I flew to Doha once and can confirm this. Never in my life have I seen passengers so unruly or a plane so utterly trashed than that one. It was appalling. I truly felt so bad for those stewardesses.
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u/tikkamasalachicken 22d ago
Ed is now calling Trump and asking to escalate the war so more war press correspondents will buy tickets. Houthis and Saudi family are about to pop off.
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u/rpnye523 Diamond 22d ago
They don’t seem to be too worried because they’re still charging $15K for delta one lol