Delta Air Lines and Aer Lingus announced yesterday they are putting into operation a new sharing arrangement on transatlantic services.
Under the new "code share and block space" agreement Delta will purchase some seats for its passengers on the daily Aer Lingus Airbus from Dublin and Shannon to JFK airport in New York, starting on May 1st.
For Aer Lingus the advantage will be a new link up in New York with Delta's extensive network of services throughout North America, enabling Aer Lingus to market extensive destinations beyond its own existing flight services to New York and Boston.
Selling seats to Delta will also overcome some of the off peak problems of the highly seasonal transatlantic market.
Delta already serves the south eastern and west coast US markets with its flights to Atlanta.
The airlines said they will also discuss other areas to enhance cooperation, particularly in service operations and joint use of facilities.