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Delta to Trim Flights to South Korea Under Coronavirus Scare

Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL will temporarily reduce the number of flight services to and from South Korea as the deadly coronavirus spreads rapidly across the globe with a large number of fresh cases being reported in Italy, Iran and South Korea. Having announced 334 new cases only on Thursday, South Korea currently has 1,595 confirmed cases of the infection.

The Atlanta-GA based airline will be suspending service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Seoul-Incheon effective Feb 29, 2020 through Apr 30. Additionally, the airline will reduce flights connecting Seoul with Atlanta and that connecting Detroit with Seattle to five times weekly through Apr 30. With these fight cancellations, Delta will operate 15 flights weekly from the United States to Korea compared with its usual 28 flights. Further, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) airline is postponing the launch of its new service between Seoul-Incheon and Manila to May 1, from its previous scheduled date of Mar 29. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

U.S Airlines Suspend Flights Amid Persistent Drop in Demand

Following low travel demand in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, U.S airlines are resorting to temporary flight suspensions to and from mainland China and Hong Kong. Effective Mar 2, 2020, Hawaiian Airlines, the wholly owned subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., will also suspend its five-time weekly flights connecting Honolulu with Seoul-Incheon. These flight suspensions will run through Apr 30.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. Price
Delta Air Lines, Inc. Price

Citing a persistent drop in demand, United Airlines UAL suspended flights between the United States and Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai as well as Hong Kong through Apr 24, 2020. In the wake of this epidemic, near-term demand for travel to China is almost wiped out while demand for other trans-Pacific routes plunged nearly 75%, the airline management stated. Consequently, the carrier withdrew its 2020 view.

Delta and American Airlines AAL also suspended all flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong.

JetBlue Waives Change and Cancel Fees as Outbreak Intensifies

In the wake of the widespread health-crisis, JetBlue Airways JBLU wants to give its customers “some peace of mind”. Consequently, the carrier announced a suspension in change and cancel fees for all new flight bookings. Effective Feb 27, passengers can avail of the privileges on bookings through Mar 11 for travel completed by Jun 1, 2020. These benefits are applicable to all fares offered by JetBlue. Blue Basic, under which changes or cancellations are usually not allowed, too will not be devoid of this benefit.

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Click to get this free report JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU) : Free Stock Analysis Report Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.