Delta Air Lines has increasingly been announcing some ultra long haul flying in recent times, including plans to launch flights to Hong Kong (HKG), Riyadh (RUH), and more. A senior Delta executive has revealed internally what the carrier’s expansion plans for Asia are, and it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
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Expect Delta to expand considerably in Asia
As Delta executives view it, the airline is pretty maxed out in terms of its European potential, and in the long run, the airline sees the most long haul growth potential in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. So, what kind of expansion should we expect?
- Delta plans to fly to both Singapore (SIN) and Manila (MNL), though hasn’t revealed out of which airports those services would operate
- Delta also wants to connect its Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK) hubs to Seoul Incheon (ICN), which is the hub of joint venture partner Korean Air, as Delta loves routing most of its Asia traffic through there
We don’t have a specific timeline for these services launching, though it’s clear that these are all routes that are in the pipeline. Obviously this expansion relies on Delta taking delivery of more Airbus A350 aircraft, since those are the planes that Delta uses across the Pacific. Delta has six A350-900s still on order, in addition to 20 A350-1000s, which will be Delta’s new flagship aircraft.
My take on Delta’s Asia expansion plans
I don’t think any of these four potential new routes are terribly surprising. Obviously Delta is massively playing catch up with United when it comes to its Asia network, given that it’s an area where United dominates, among the “big three” carriers, in terms of the depth of its network.
With the new Singapore and Manila service, I’m curious if those routes will be operated out of Seattle or Los Angeles. Up until recently, I would’ve assumed they’d be operated out of Seattle, given that it’s a hub that Delta has been trying to build up, and there’s a geographical advantage across the Pacific. Furthermore, none of the “big three” US carriers have actually ever been able to “win” in Los Angeles.
However, Delta recently announced its return to Hong Kong would be out of Los Angeles rather than out of Seattle, so who knows, at this point.
Regarding the two additional hub routes to Seoul Incheon, those also make perfect sense. It’s kind of embarrassing that Delta doesn’t have any service from New York to Asia, despite having such a big presence there. Similarly, not being able to fly on Delta metal from Los Angeles to Seoul Incheon in order to connect to Korean Air has also been a gap in Delta’s network.
Admittedly Delta and Korean Air have a joint venture, so there’s supposed to be metal neutrality, in terms of placing Delta customers on Korean Air flights. However, there’s no denying that the experiences offered are quite different. I know many Delta flyers don’t want to take Korean Air on a long haul flight — I mean, the airline doesn’t even have Wi-Fi on a vast majority of its long haul fleet.
Now, it’ll be interesting to see how these Asia routes perform financially. Obviously the markets have the potential to be lucrative, but US airline labor costs are also really high, and Delta has historically shied away from ultra long haul flying (especially to non-joint venture hubs), unless there are obvious subsidies at play.
Bottom line
While we’ll see the timeline with which this happens, Delta sees a lot of growth potential in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The airline has already announced flights to Hong Kong and Riyadh, and it sounds like Singapore and Manila will be among the two next destinations. On top of that, we’ll see new routes to Seoul Incheon, from Los Angeles and New York.
I don’t think any of those routes are terribly surprising, as Asia is the obvious area where Delta could grow. I’m curious if this flying proves lucrative, given Delta’s hesitation in this area, at least historically.
What do you make of Delta’s Asia expansion plans?
It's not an expansion. It's a return. Delta abandoned Asia after 2017 when Tokyo-Narita stopped being a hub. Delta used to fly to Singapore. I believe Delta even briefly resumed Manila service just before the pandemic from Seoul. There used to be lounges in Guam, Manila, etc.
I miss the ATL-NRT direct flight and DL service from there to ROR. I know service to Palau is not coming back, but I am hopeful the expansion will allow us to catch a partner airline from Manila or Seoul into Koror soon. The wife is fine with United, but I do not like the multiple stops including the mad dash in HNL to make the connection.
Delta has been nicely expanding their Asian network. Does it match United, no, but good to see the gradual continued expansion.
They have a good European network.
This is really showing how weak American is!!
I'm actually a little surprised that DL doesn't already serve LAX-ICN. It seems like a no brainer.
As for routing Asia traffic via SEA, there's a limit to that as the local O&D market is much smaller than the likes of LAX (or SFO for that matter). So, SEA is fine for connecting traffic to main Asian centers. But some other routes are not as good a fit. HKG maybe one of those, Manila is...
I'm actually a little surprised that DL doesn't already serve LAX-ICN. It seems like a no brainer.
As for routing Asia traffic via SEA, there's a limit to that as the local O&D market is much smaller than the likes of LAX (or SFO for that matter). So, SEA is fine for connecting traffic to main Asian centers. But some other routes are not as good a fit. HKG maybe one of those, Manila is another and I wouldn't be surprised if that service is out of LAX as well. Lots of demand in that region and it's a logical hub route.
Does DL still have NW’s dormant fifth freedom rights from Tokyo to Singapore? I didn’t think the 35Ks had the range for direct service to Singapore from the US with a standard passenger load.
They wouldn't be able to get slots from HND so this would be a non-starter.
SEA-SIN, factoring in airspace closures, would be about 8500 miles or so... just barely within the operational range of the 35K.
Of course, DL could take a page from UA's playbook and set up a scissor hub in Guam :)
Delta still has a large in-house contact center in Singapore.
Would be good news for the workers there who can then non-rev again from home on their “own” airline.
I thought they closed the Singapore call center?
I don't get a hat tip for constantly mentioning Manila all these years?! lol j/k
Manila will be from LAX with their new A35Ks and they still have the rights, they're just waiting for their desired slot time.
Hopefully I'll get a hap tip if/when they eventually start service lol :p
I have been saying this all and more would come.
DL was the largest carrier across the Pacific for years as a result of the NW acquisition.
But NW lost money and DL tried to restructure its network including moving its NRT-US services to HND and its connecting traffic to ICN.
UA took over as the largest airline across the Pacific but just broke even for the years pre covid.
Covid happened, KE has...
I have been saying this all and more would come.
DL was the largest carrier across the Pacific for years as a result of the NW acquisition.
But NW lost money and DL tried to restructure its network including moving its NRT-US services to HND and its connecting traffic to ICN.
UA took over as the largest airline across the Pacific but just broke even for the years pre covid.
Covid happened, KE has had to work through its merger and DL is waiting for its A350-1000s which will be the most capable and longest range aircraft in the US carrier fleet.
So, yes, DL fly these routes and more.
and DL has consistently been more profitable per ASM than UA even at TPAC half the size.
“But NW lost money.”
Both companies did a pretty great job losing money the year they merged. Northwest was in a stronger position than Delta when the merger closed (due to them coming out of bankruptcy earlier). Lastly, the Delta we all know today was shaped by an ex-Northwest CEO.
As Miranda Priestly would say, “Groundbreaking.”
American falls further and further behind, unfortunately.
Would be even more interesting to see DL bring back the intra-Asia flights but that would be insane given how conservative DL is now.
Delta I bet will fly from Tokyo to Manila and Singapore.
Hahaha