Delta has added a new seasonal route to its schedule, which will also be the carrier’s longest domestic flight.
In this post:
Delta will connect Boston and Honolulu with Boeing 767
Delta has announced plans to launch a new flight between Boston (BOS) and Honolulu (HNL). The daily service will operate between November 21, 2024, and April 30, 2025, with the following schedule:
DL438 Boston to Honolulu departing 10:15AM arriving 4:50PM
DL962 Honolulu to Boston departing 5:20PM arriving 8:30AM (+1 day)
For those wondering about the seeming 30-minute turn time in Honolulu, presumably Delta will be swapping aircraft in Honolulu, so a different aircraft will be flying from Boston and to Boston (since Delta has a lot of other service to Honolulu).
The 5,095-mile flight is blocked at 11hr35min westbound and 10hr10min eastbound. Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for the route, featuring 216 seats. This includes 26 business class seats, 18 premium economy seats, 21 extra legroom economy seats, and 151 economy seats.
This will be Delta’s longest domestic route ever, just barely beating the carrier’s 4,983-mile flight between New York and Honolulu, which currently holds the title. The Boston to Honolulu route is also currently served 4-5x weekly by Hawaiian Airlines, on a year-round basis. That carrier uses an A330 for the route.
My take on Delta’s new Boston to Honolulu route
The US legacy carriers need destinations to send their wide body aircraft to in winter, given that Europe demand is softer that time of year, especially with international business travel not having fully recovered.
So in that sense, Delta adding a Boston to Honolulu route makes a lot of sense. Delta has continued to grow in Boston, and Boston is Delta’s only hub out of which it could fly to Honolulu, but doesn’t. So I don’t think this route is surprising.
While this flight seems like a logical enough add, I’m not convinced it’s going to be a roaring success (which isn’t to say that it’s going to fail, though):
- Hawaiian Airlines currently serves this route, and I see fares over peak spring break dates in the coming weeks starting at just $220 one-way, which isn’t exactly a recipe for making money
- The Boston to Honolulu route won’t be great for connections, given the 10AM departure on the westbound sector
- According to data, demand between Boston and Honolulu is an average of under 200 passengers daily, so that’s not a huge amount of demand for two airlines operating in the market with 12 weekly frequencies
- Hawaiian Airlines has the advantage of having connectivity in Hawaii beyond Honolulu, while Delta has the advantage of having a loyaler customer base in Boston
I’m curious to see how this route plays out. I’m sure it’ll do okay, but based on what we know so far, I don’t think it’s a sure bet this will come back for a second season. At least I can’t imagine that both Delta and Hawaiian will maintain this many frequencies. Who knows, maybe they’ll just squeak by…
Bottom line
Delta is adding a new daily seasonal flight between Boston and Honolulu using a Boeing 767. This is a logical winter addition to Delta’s route network, given that the carrier has spare wide bodies, and Boston is the only hub out of which the airline doesn’t fly to Honolulu. However, the airline also faces competition from Hawaiian Airlines, which is already charging super low fares in the market.
What do you make of Delta’s Boston to Honolulu route? Do you think it will succeed?
Hopefully this means we can find cheap F fares on this route then!
Either HA will lower them to entice people, or DL will to get people on their birds.
I hope Ed Bastian is on these flights and gives me a sweet kiss on the lips.
you sink to new lows.
for the readers, know that Tim Dunn is only registered to one user and that person has diamond status.
It is clear that there are a whole lot of other airline's fankids that are seeing their chosen airline see new routes and growth at the hands of a much more profitable Delta.
In one press release, Delta managed to throw down the gauntlet to AA, AS, B6 and HA.
...you sink to new lows.
for the readers, know that Tim Dunn is only registered to one user and that person has diamond status.
It is clear that there are a whole lot of other airline's fankids that are seeing their chosen airline see new routes and growth at the hands of a much more profitable Delta.
In one press release, Delta managed to throw down the gauntlet to AA, AS, B6 and HA.
And just a month ago, DL ordered 20 A350-1000s with options for 20 more. As much as some want to believe otherwise, those aircraft are being acquired to fly the Pacific where they are best suited. And they are far more capable and more cost-efficient in any other US airline's fleet.
Given UA's position across the Pacific, those A350s on top of the 25 A350-900s that will be TPAC capable in the next 2 years are targeted at UA and give Delta enormous firepower to build what it wants to Asia - both S. Asia and E. Asia - as well as the S. Pacific.
Add in Delta's growth in S. America alongside Latam and DL is clearly planning to use some of its "windfall profits" to challenge established hub strength not just in N. America but worldwide.
The only question is how no other airline has managed to duplicate DL's profitability even while making its employees the highest paid in the industry. and the obvious question is how any of DL's competitors cope with such a beast.
lol
Well played Guest user, tim. And a 7 paragraph temper tantrum response too! Well done!
Those that inhabit the gutter know their fellow inhabitants.
none of which changes that Delta is doing what you could only wish that AA or UA or anyone else could do which is to drop one press release and target half of the industry with a half dozen new flights only weeks after targeting another quarter of the industry with their new aircraft announcement.
Some people including you would rather play in the gutter rather...
Those that inhabit the gutter know their fellow inhabitants.
none of which changes that Delta is doing what you could only wish that AA or UA or anyone else could do which is to drop one press release and target half of the industry with a half dozen new flights only weeks after targeting another quarter of the industry with their new aircraft announcement.
Some people including you would rather play in the gutter rather than admit that I was right all along - Delta has a plan to grow its dominance and there is nobody that is getting in its way or no hub or route that is not afraid to take on at the appropriate time. and there is little anyone can do to stop them.
lol.
Your insults are so childish and lame. Go back to your lonely life. You spent your entire Saturday defending a company you don’t even work for from casual observation by strangers.
You need mental life coaching and a life.
I don’t even know what you’re talking about half the time. I’m upset that “my airline” doesn’t add routes in a glorious 4-route format?
Who’s my airline? lol. Grow up
You’re an absolute hypocrite praising someone else’s gutter behavior and then jumping on your high horse to act holy. I got it right the first time.
You’re here because of your own loyalties and no one is confused otherwise
Not sure how you got “jumping on my high horse” by me saying you’re sad, lonely, and need mental help… but ok. You spent your entire Saturday writing and replying to comments in a blogs article about a route to Honolulu and Miami as though it was the bravest thing any airline has ever done and every other airline should run in fear. I don’t think anyone understands the depths your mind has sunk to...
Not sure how you got “jumping on my high horse” by me saying you’re sad, lonely, and need mental help… but ok. You spent your entire Saturday writing and replying to comments in a blogs article about a route to Honolulu and Miami as though it was the bravest thing any airline has ever done and every other airline should run in fear. I don’t think anyone understands the depths your mind has sunk to write all this about a public for profit company that fired you.
Don’t spend your life writing Nazi-like propaganda for Delta then be surprised when you become a joke to others.
Give your fake name a reputation boost for a few weeks by thinking before you type and planning fun things to do for a Saturday that aren’t so lame.
My only mistake was hoping for one nanosecond that you were here to actually contribute to the discussion but you stooped to your usual lows in confirming that you are here for nothing more than for character assassination and personal attacks.
I have just one question for you, son.
How does someone that thinks so highly of themselves to call themselves Max anything (other than deranged) become so consumed w/ what someone on the...
My only mistake was hoping for one nanosecond that you were here to actually contribute to the discussion but you stooped to your usual lows in confirming that you are here for nothing more than for character assassination and personal attacks.
I have just one question for you, son.
How does someone that thinks so highly of themselves to call themselves Max anything (other than deranged) become so consumed w/ what someone on the internet that you don't even know write or do?
and then you create your own image of that person based on lies because you can't accept that someone else can actually carry on a conversation the subject.
If your life is so devoid of meaning that you get wrapped up by what someone else does, esp. on the internet, you seriously need to drag yourself out of the gutter and get help.
You clearly aren't here to discuss the content.
Go ahead and bang the keyboard all night long w/ your personal attacks and lies.
The rest of us have real lives to lead and are too busy to worry about what anonymous people we don't even know do or write.
Maybe people would take you seriously if you toned down the fandom.
there's no shortage of fandom on the internet.
I'm not here to be taken seriously.
I am here to post facts and have good discussion w/ those that are capable of it.
I also have to admit that I do get a kick out of seeing some people get wound up and Max proves that he is one of those people.
It is not healthy for someone to come out of...
there's no shortage of fandom on the internet.
I'm not here to be taken seriously.
I am here to post facts and have good discussion w/ those that are capable of it.
I also have to admit that I do get a kick out of seeing some people get wound up and Max proves that he is one of those people.
It is not healthy for someone to come out of the woodwork to post and then come unglued about a person that you don't even know and then carry on endlessly about a fact-devoid image of that person that you create in your own head.
It is pathological, plain and simple.
none of which changes that Delta just announced a half dozen routes that step on half of the airlines in the US airline industry, half of them are from a hub that the internet has concluded is unprofitable.
Half of my "joy" is blowing up people's preconceived notions.
Perhaps laying off the inventions about the industry that are clearly devoid of facts might lead to a little less "rubbing in in"
Delta: This flight is 5,095-miles and 11hr35min.
Flying Blue: Best I can do is 2 XP.
The biggest factor that favors Delta on this route is that Hawaii is a heavily frequent flyer market and the mainland-based airlines have an advantage because that is where people accumulate miles.
A big reason why WN needed to add Hawaii is to add value to its loyalty program. Even before DL merged with Western, its Hawaii routes were mostly from the eastern US.
DL's Hawaii routes now reflect its nationwide hub system...
The biggest factor that favors Delta on this route is that Hawaii is a heavily frequent flyer market and the mainland-based airlines have an advantage because that is where people accumulate miles.
A big reason why WN needed to add Hawaii is to add value to its loyalty program. Even before DL merged with Western, its Hawaii routes were mostly from the eastern US.
DL's Hawaii routes now reflect its nationwide hub system and all of DL's hubs will have at least winter seasonal service to Hawaii.
I don't think AA or UA have Hawaii from every one of their hubs.
United does and has for years.
Always confuses me why US Airlines didn't add capacity to South America/Australia/NZ until quite recently. Seems only natural that some Americans would want to go somewhere warmer during the winter
S. America is not as good as a vacation destination as the Caribbean and Central America are - which the US carriers fly to alot.
And the economy to S. America is very cyclical so airlines travel when the demand is there for the locals down there.
Will it be a shiny new B767? Asking Timmy.
While the number of daily passengers originating BOS may be low, a number of DL's other flights into BOS might feed this one; there are several direct flights to BOS in the earlier morning from other spots on the East Coast: CLE, PHL (AA doesn't have a non-stop out of here), RDU, RIC, CVG, CMH, IND, DCA, and LGA (though there is a JFK-HNL option). DL's HNL flights originating from MSP, ATL, DTW, and JFK...
While the number of daily passengers originating BOS may be low, a number of DL's other flights into BOS might feed this one; there are several direct flights to BOS in the earlier morning from other spots on the East Coast: CLE, PHL (AA doesn't have a non-stop out of here), RDU, RIC, CVG, CMH, IND, DCA, and LGA (though there is a JFK-HNL option). DL's HNL flights originating from MSP, ATL, DTW, and JFK (and itineraries with a single connection through these hubs) command very high fares, and they usually sell out (ATL-HNL, in particular, is hard to book under $4,000 if you don't grab it 6+ months in advance). If they see the demand, this might actually make them money...
Hawaiian serves you two “meals” on this flight even in economy. Delta going to throw you a couple of bags of pretzels.
Delta currently serves meals on its eastern US to Hawaii flights. No reason why BOS-HNL should be different
All of the major airlines serve at least 1 meal on central and eastern time zone to Hawaii flights
That is a lot of fuel and pilot hours if you cant generate the yield to cover the high cost. Still waiting for DL to add SNA-JFK service to my town.
Could someone explain why there is no regular service BOS-BCN , served only by lowcost Level 3-4 times a week…
Because Barcelona is a dump?
Spoken like someone whose Barcelona experience was drinking Sangria on The Rambla for a hour before getting back on a tour bus or cruise ship.
It is shocking. Problem is Boston is a lite but growing Delta hub and the major Spanish Airlines are all based in Madrid, but I agree it seems like an obvious route. Wonder if Jetblue has an opportunity here.
Your question is essentially: why is a route only served by the airline most likely to serve it.....
Nice to see ATL to OGG added back. I understand why they cancelled it last winter, as demand was soft, but travelers need to get back to Maui.
Also - routes like BOS to HNL are the kind where I wonder how DL will ultimately replace the 767. It's a perfect 767 route; the D1 A321 Neos won't have enough D1 capacity for the route, and increasing frequency doesn't really work. Maybe A330s will be used on these routes...
This route is only part of a larger announcement of additional service from SEA and SLC to HNL, the latter of which HA has has announced it will fly and DL has flown for years. DL is also adding SEA-MIA and and re-adding ATL-OGG, also on a 767-300ER.
Seattle-based Alaska and Hawaiian have betrothed to marry each other so DL's route additions are particularly interesting in light of DL's SEA rivalry with AS.
The...
This route is only part of a larger announcement of additional service from SEA and SLC to HNL, the latter of which HA has has announced it will fly and DL has flown for years. DL is also adding SEA-MIA and and re-adding ATL-OGG, also on a 767-300ER.
Seattle-based Alaska and Hawaiian have betrothed to marry each other so DL's route additions are particularly interesting in light of DL's SEA rivalry with AS.
The popular internet legend (whether true or not doesn't matter) is that DL loses money at SEA so this seems like a major doubling down on a strategy to make life miserable not just for AS but now HA.
Add in SEA-MIA on top of SEA-DFW which DL is adding this summer and DL seems to have a hard on for half of the industry - AA, AS and HA. Don't forget recent MIA adds including to DCA and DL directly has all 3 airlines in view.
Since B6 and HA have a partnership, the BOS-HNL route is a stick in B6' eye which is, to put it nicely, rudderless.
But then financial results for 2023 are in the books and DL earned $2 billion more profits than UA, the next most profitable airline, almost $4 billion more than AA, and HA lost money while AS managed to squeeze out a profit at much smaller margins than DL.
Either DL really does have good strategic reasons for expansion in all of these markets where other carriers - except for SLC-HNL - are larger OR DL just has way too much money to burn and is being the industry's pain in the backside.
And, if it is the latter, you still have to ask the question why DL can manage to make so much money, just days after paying its employees more profit sharing the rest of the US industry COMBINED.
Thanks Timmy. My hope is that SEA gets some D1 A321neos when they're released. SEA is the only West Coast hub that doesn't get a premium transcon experience outside of JetBlue.
That SEA-MIA route is going to be very long, along w/ SEA-JFK and SEA-BOS. If Delta truly means to develop BOS and SEA as a hub, then D1 A321neos will be a differentiator, especially w/ the new SEA SkyClub
the obvious answer is that AS does not offer lie flat premium cabins and even though B6 does, DL has still managed to become the largest airline at BOS both by number of flights - even if only domestic is counted and also by total revenue, including only if domestic revenue is included.
DL hasn't announced any new routes where the premium configured D1 A321NEOs will fly so don't lose any sleep that neither...
the obvious answer is that AS does not offer lie flat premium cabins and even though B6 does, DL has still managed to become the largest airline at BOS both by number of flights - even if only domestic is counted and also by total revenue, including only if domestic revenue is included.
DL hasn't announced any new routes where the premium configured D1 A321NEOs will fly so don't lose any sleep that neither BOS or SEA will see them but they will put them where they are strategically necessary and also where they will help DL make the most money.
Given that DL keeps adding flights - domestically and --internationally - to both BOS and SEA and they are building new facilities in both hubs, they clearly are comfortable with how well those hubs are doing and intend to take even larger shares of those markets.
But that's exactly my point, DL is playing 2nd to AS in SEA, so they need to do something different in order to overtake them. Seems like a good opportunity to differentiate as a truly premium airline, no? If it was the opposite, where DL is leading AS in SEA, then by all means maintain the status quo.
Many fly Alaska along the West Coast and B6 transcon, but if Delta did offer a substantially better product like their D1 A321neos, then others will switch over.
DL is larger than AS to BOS and NYC and most other major eastern US destinations.
AS offers destinations like CMH that DL just doesn't see the need to match
But AS doesn't offer lie flats.
Your statement shows that you don't understand the reason SEA exists for AS or for DL.
SEA is AS' home and its only major hub.
SEA is one of DL's 9 hubs in 8 cities (LGA...
DL is larger than AS to BOS and NYC and most other major eastern US destinations.
AS offers destinations like CMH that DL just doesn't see the need to match
But AS doesn't offer lie flats.
Your statement shows that you don't understand the reason SEA exists for AS or for DL.
SEA is AS' home and its only major hub.
SEA is one of DL's 9 hubs in 8 cities (LGA and JFK are both hubs).
DL doesn't need to have as large of a presence in SEA - the corner of the country - as AS.
DL is doing just fine in SEA and growing its network there which is possible either because they make money there or they have so much money to burn from their other hubs that they can afford to keep adding flights that the internet all thinks won't make money.
Other than DL's competitors, in this case, AS, no one loses.
"...given the 10AM departure on the eastbound sector"
@Ben I assume you mean west bound sector?