Several weeks ago, Delta asked SkyMiles members and employees to vote on which island destination in Europe the airline should add flights to for the summer of 2026. The results are in, and the airline has now announced which flights it will be adding. Unsurprisingly, the airline isn’t adding just one route…
Continue reading: Delta Launching New York To Malta & Sardinia Flights In 2026: Surprising?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Well now we why Brussels service is terminated!! Gotta to get a slot and plane from somewhere.
With European summer demand flattening, is this all the increase in service from delta we should expect for next year, given they have already announced a very sizable expansion from Boston?
Looks like Delta will be maintaining other service levels from JFK.
And Atlanta to Athens will go from 11 to 13 times per week, a modest boost .
I think the reason they choose Malta over Sardinia or Ibiza (the employees at least) is because of super cheap confirmed and ZED options for them to get to Ibiza from other destinations easily like Barcelona. Employees many times vote where they would rather non-rev to that they can't get too easily right now.
Sardinia is absolutely stunning but you definitely have to have a very high budget to spend time there in the summer (at least around Olbia/Porto Cervo). Good luck finding hotels with points (there are some but almost zero availability in the peak season) so be prepared to pay €2k+ per night for a hotel room and overpriced meals at restaurants.
I did vote for Malta in their polls, but not planning any European trip next year.
This is why BRU got axed, which is exactly what I said in the previous article about it.
JFK is all about min-maxing. A route can be doing fine, but with the limited slots at JFK, any route that can do better will get replaced. DL's JFK-BRU was actually outperforming SN's by load factors (no idea about yields).
These flights are likely to print money in the summer as Europe often does.
I was there in August. Rented a nice condo with friends in between Olbia and Porto Cervo for a reasonable rate and had amazing meals in many towns (stayed away from Porto Cervo) and enjoyed the beaches. It's wonderful and there are tons of options. the hotels are very expensive but it's easy to stay away from them.
I visited Sardinia many times traveling all over the island and been to Porto Cervo twice. Renting a house with more people maybe 30-45 minutes from Porto Cervo is the way to go as you can reduce the cost per person when compared to hotels. As you said, you can have the best meals of your life in Sardinia but you have to get out of Olbia and Porto Cervo which many Americans won't do it. You have to rent a car to get out but that area is very tricky to drive. It is very windy, roads are very narrow and super curvy and you will have to drive at very low speeds. Again, it is definitely not a place to get a pick up from the airport and spend time at a resort.
Hmm… First, let’s not try to twist facts. They are not dropping BRU just because they want to fly MLA and OLB. BRU was simply not performing well, hence it’s getting chopped. There are numerous other routes served multiple times daily including domestic that could’ve ben reduced to squeeze 1 daily worth of flights.
ATL to ATH was already flying 13 times per week this year. So nothing new there.
And wouldn't that be a similar reason for non-employee/revenue pax as well, accessibility & desirability ?
( just asking for a friend... ) .. lol
Unless there’s a strong cruise component, I don’t see this lasting beyond a single season. Malta is charming, but it’s small, has fairly average beaches, and doesn’t offer much that isn’t already found elsewhere along the Mediterranean coast. You can drive the whole country in a few hours, at this is all small one lane roads!
That said, perhaps it’s aimed at the Americans who relocated for the Golden Visa and still want an easy way back to visit their kids during the summer. 🙂
Wife and I retired and moved from States to Malta six years ago. For us, a great move. Maltese are great people and we fit right in. For us, our expense per month dropped between 40 and 50%.
Tourism is another story. The government and hotel assoc. Go out of their way to attract the cheapest tourists they can. Ryanair is top dog. Overall, the tourists are young, big on partying and low spending.
My suggestion for those with an eye on history, not non-stop partying, Malta is a treasure. The country and ruins go back 5,000 years. Recent discoveries point out that it actually goes back 7,000 years. You won't find better place for exploring history than Malta. Local Maltese wine is excellent. Because of limited production, very little exported.
Some restaurants are world class. Six are Michelin starred. 20-30% cheaper than continental starred ones. Cuisine tends towards southern European.
One downer is that beaches(white sand) are few. Many 4 and 5 star hotels.
Forget about renting a car( they drive on left side). Traffic jams day and nite. Hire an E-cab, uber, or bolt. Not expensive.
Tipping is minimal, usually for excellent service (10%).
Airport is absolutely jammed in the summer. Only one airport lounge: LA Vallette. Entry is normally for all airlines biz class customers. It's OK. And great views of the runway.
Every village has a Festa. Most are in the summer. Although religious in origin, they are big on partying. And the main attraction are the fireworks. They try to outdo each other. In our village of Naxxar, they have various fireworks for Seven nites. The main one lasts for two hours. Nothing comes close in the States.
If you have asthma, bring your medication. So much construction here that dust and air pollution can be hard on you. Should calamity befall you here, and you need hospitalization, Mater Dei is an excellent hospital. Their specialists are trained at the best hospitals in Europe and the States.
One last item, Malta's constitution stipulates two national languages: Malti and English( the kings English). Virtually everyone can speak English. Try a few words in Malti and the locals won't give you the evil eye
Malta is HOT with traveller's no surprise there maybe two years ago it started to get very fashionable.
Ibiza attracts a crowd that can be difficult when working in the airport. Some people trying to start the party early. I’m sure employee were not excited to have that kind of headache
Better manage your expectations. There are two Curio that are about 1 hour from Olbia and it nothing special and not easy to find with points. The other Hilton properties are far away. The Conrad is fantastic and I stayed there a few times but like 5 hours drive from Olbia on the other side of the island.
and DL's number of flights to BRU in the summer is not decreasing. It just will all be from ATL
Porto Cervo is a super high-end destination. The rest of Sardinia is actually good value most of the time, especially since you can get to some of the worlds best beaches. The island is massive though, so don’t underestimate driving distances.
It was a given that more than one city would be launched and these are two solid choices.
Let's also be clear that DL just said that JFK-LAX is currently its highest profit route and it is flown with, wait, wait, 767s, most of which are 763s
Apparently real passengers see the 767 as still a very viable aircraft.
It happens to do very well when competing against UA 757s - which DL does often from JFK compared to UA 757s, against UA's domestic configured 777s, and to start new routes like this.
great adds to the US carrier route system; it is esp. gratifying to see DL add new dots to the US carrier route map.
The only surprise to me is that they didn’t add all three destinations. Just makes the voting thing seem cheap and disingenuous.
Italian should be a national language of Malta, and btw nobody asked for a history class.
A 5-6 hour domestic flight with limited competition is different than a transatlantic flight with many more airlines to choose from. Those headed to these islands from NY might prefer the nonstop on the ratty old 767. Anyone not based in NY will have to connect somewhere anyway and hopefully would choose a better product.
I love Malta but would rather it stay under the radar tbh. That said more cruise ships are sailing to/from Malta beyond one port day stop so likely tied with cruise ship air offerings flying from U.S. now for pre/post days as well.
Uhh domestic flight with limited competition? NYC to LAX is one of the busiest routes in the US, if not the single busiest. Certainly the busiest transcontinental route.
It's actually the European flights that have less competition.
"Those headed to these islands from NY might prefer the nonstop on the ratty old 767. Anyone not based in NY will have to connect somewhere anyway and hopefully would choose a better product."
What data backs this up?
And no, your personal opinion about things you've likely never done/places you've never been, doesn't count.
As someone who lives in Ibiza - I'm releived I don't have to fly on those old Delta 767's. What a relief.
I went to Malta 20 years ago - before the crowds, parties, traffic and air pollution - and it was probably the least impressive Mediterranean island for me. Would I go there today? Hard. Pass.
I'm surprised that Las Palmas was not considered. Unlike the other islands mentioned, it has close to 1 million inhabitants, so could generate traffic originating in Europe as well as the USA.
MLA likely won't work. Most Americans have no clue where it is, and it's a fairly small island, and a bit challenging to connect to other places in Europe from it (there are plenty of flights, but it's more of a cruise stopover for Americans than a P2P destination). Olbia makes a bit more sense. Either way, both of these routes will be flown on ratty, 60 year old 767s with worn out, unpleasant interiors. I'd sooner take a connection on a Europe-based carrier.
Sardinia has way more than that, and they're fairly high-income, plus all the diaspora.
Diaspora? It's not that big. This route is focused on US point of sale, premium leisure, largely originating in NYC. Sardinia ain't Naples.
Agreed, Canaries is a budget holiday destination for Europeans. New Yorkers want to go somewhere that has White Lotus vibes.
A very helpful post Alan, it is such a shame that the gimmers and hoggets do not have the intellectual capacity to appreciate it.
Yes, thank you Alan - it's so sad that people are rude to someone who took the time to share knowledge.
One hint from a Brit: "King's English"
Perhaps the reason for Sardinia currently seeing the least traffic is precisely because there has been no direct route?
Sardinia an ultra high end destination?
Rubbish! Hundreds of thousands European families arrive in Sardnia by ferry each season and have a normal vacation at normal Mediterranean prices.
The tag „ultra high end“ fits Porto Cervo and the surrounding Costa Smeralda only.
This blog is terribly biased towards American (international) chain hotels which are part of the points carousel.
They cater for a mainly American clientele and yes in places like Sardinia or Mykonos, these are vastly overpriced, especially in season.
Europeans don’t typically book these when going on vacation in Europe.
Most Americans have no clue where ANYTHING is in Europe, so Malta doesn’t really stand out in that respect.
And Malta is much better connected to the rest of Europe than Sardinia, which may require an extra stop on the Italian mainland for your connection.
But I like the remark about DL using some grotty equipment on these new routes, so one really has to have a close look at the pricing to see if this is competitive.
There would be virtually zero local demand for travel from LPA to the US.
A few individual leisure travelers perhaps.
Historically the Canarios emigrated to South America when things went hard.
IB once had one-stop services from MAD via TFS to CCS to cater for that.
And I don’t think LPA offers the type of vacation most Americans are looking for.
And virtually no international chain hotels …
With all the construction going on today you would like it less. And tons of cheap fares are attracting teens and 20 somethings to only to drink, party, barf, and repea
Only fashionable with teens and 20 somethings. Very cheap, plentiful flights from all over Europe. They come to drink cheap booze, party, barf, and repeat. If that is your idea of fashionable. So, that's your idea of fashionable. Government has attracted, by design, that kind of "tourist".
I guess you have to read my posts below. Sardinia as a whole is not an ultra high end destination BUT when you arrive in Olbia, you are stuck at Costa Esmeralda and Porto Cervo which is an ultra high end place. Italians do not like that area as it is man made and looks like Ibiza and there is nothing that reminds Sardinia about it. There are billionaires everywhere on the most amazing yachts you can imagine, an open air ultra high end mall, extremely expensive hotels and restaurants, night clubs, etc... Now, if you travel 2 to 3 hours outside that area then you are in the real Sardinia where prices will be reasonable, beaches are amazing and you can eat like a king for almost nothing. But again, you have to drive 2 to 3 hours in tiny curvy roads to experience real Sardinia. So yes, landing in Olbia means you are in a billionaire bubble and will pay billionaire prices.
Wow, travel 2-3 hours outside of the Richie rich area. You can go back and forth from one end of Malta and back, and still have 1 1/2 hours left. Unless you go during the weekday rush hour, and then will take all of the three hours. Malta is one of the smallest countries in the world, with one of the highest population densities.
Worse still. It was Golden PASSPORT. Most of those sold by Muscat went to Russian Oligarchs and Chinese billionaires. They never spent more than one or two nite's there. It was the key to the EU.
Have you been to Sardinia? It is as big as the state of Vermont or New Hampshire. It has 3 commercial airports so not a small island. You have some nice highways from Cagliari to some destinations but if you arrive in Olbia all you have are very small and curvy roads so driving at very low speeds will take you a few hours to reach other desired destinations.
"Most Americans have no clue where it is"
Well THAT'S hardly a standard for anything. "Most Americans" probably couldn't find Paris, on an unlabeled map.
"Both routes will be operated by Delta’s vintage and well utilized Boeing 767-300ERs..." - was waiting for that line lmao... Sure does take away the excitement of new routes on Delta when you inevitably find this out.
I visited Malta as part of my two countries trip in September 2025. Malta was just awesome! Yes I agreed a lot of younger people there. Good fit though.