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Delta affirms Guam pullout
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Posted on Sep 19 2017
The pullout of Delta Air Lines from its Guam-Narita service was officially announced yesterday morning—a development that still managed to surprise many.
No Delta flights from Guam are being entertained anymore, both online and via telephone bookings. Its website has also been updated, posting a notice that Delta’s Guam flights will end Jan. 8, 2018.
In its official statement, Hiroko Okada of Delta Air Lines corporate communications department said that Delta has decided to discontinue its service between Narita and Guam by January 2018, as the demand has not been strong enough to sustain the route.
Currently, there are three carriers that service the Guam-Narita route: Delta, United Airlines, and Japan Airlines.
“I am surprised to know the news of Delta pulling out from Guam,” said Tasi Tours president Masato Tezuka.
According to a Guam resident who declined to be named, the news of Delta Air Lines pulling out of Guam lessens the number of airport hubs that they can go through and get a connecting flight to the U.S. mainland and Europe. “If we want to go to the mainland or other parts of the world from Guam, we would [have to] either go to Seoul or Manila first.”
Delta Air Lines’ flight service from Narita to Saipan and Narita to Palau remain unchanged.
“The Delta flight from Narita-Saipan…is not affected by the pullout in Guam. Their service [on] Saipan has less competition, making [the] Narita-Saipan route a steady [source of] revenue,” said Tezako.
According to Tezako, Delta’s pullout from Guam will not necessarily divert more Japanese tourists to Saipan.
“I do not think the Delta pullout from Guam will support or divert more Japanese tourist to go to Saipan. Guam is negatively affected by the threat of North Korea. We can see the slight weakness in booking to Saipan, because of this reason,” he added.
