In early 2024, Delta Air Lines announced plans to launch a new seasonal route, which is the carrier’s longest domestic route yet. While the plan was initially for the flight to come back for a second season, that’s no longer in the cards. I guess this didn’t turn out to be a huge success, and I can’t say I’m surprised.
In this post:
Basics of Delta’s Boston to Honolulu route
Between November 21, 2024, and April 30, 2025, Delta is operating a route between Boston (BOS) and Honolulu (HNL), 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)
The 5,095-mile flight is blocked at 11hr35min westbound and 10hr10min eastbound. While Delta initially announced it would use a Boeing 767-300ER for the route, in the end, the airline actually used an Airbus A330-300.
Furthermore, while the route was initially supposed to be daily, Delta ended up reducing frequencies for much of the season to 4x weekly, obviously reflecting weaker than expected demand.
This is currently Delta’s longest domestic route, just barely beating the carrier’s 4,983-mile flight between New York and Honolulu, which previously held that title. The Boston to Honolulu route is also served 4-5x weekly by Hawaiian Airlines, on a year-round basis. That carrier uses an A330 for the route.
Delta’s Boston to Honolulu flight will be discontinued
I can’t say I’m surprised, but as reported by @IshrionA, Delta appears to be canceling its Boston to Honolulu route after just one season.
I suspected this would happen back when the route was first announced. Of course 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 made sense. Delta has continued to grow in Boston, and Boston was Delta’s only hub out of which it didn’t fly to Honolulu. That being said, there were many reasons to be skeptical:
- Hawaiian Airlines has been serving this route for a lot longer, and with fares in the market being as low as they are (often under $500 roundtrip), that’s not exactly a recipe for making money
- The Boston to Honolulu route isn’t great for connections, given the 10AM departure on the westbound sector; besides, for connections, travelers can already route through any of Delta’s other hubs
- 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
- 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
- Ultimately Hawaiian has a lower cost structure than Delta
It was a given that either Delta or Hawaiian would drop this route, since the demand levels simply didn’t warrant this service.
Bottom line
During this current season, we’ve seen Delta add a new route between Boston and Honolulu, using an Airbus A330. This was a logical winter addition to Delta’s route network, in the sense that the airline needs places to send wide body aircraft in winter, and Boston was the only hub without Honolulu service. However, the market is competitive, there’s not actually that much demand, and this route wasn’t set up for connections. So I can’t say that I’m surprised this route didn’t work.
What do you make of Delta’s Boston to Honolulu route being cut?
I would have to agree with Tim that Delta is the most profitable carrier because it only flies routes that make the most money. Perfect sense from a business perspective but it sucks for costumers. It is DL telling you that it only cares about your wallet. You can see it with its hit or miss routes by axing it after a season or two or with its limitations of lounge visits.
And yes,...
I would have to agree with Tim that Delta is the most profitable carrier because it only flies routes that make the most money. Perfect sense from a business perspective but it sucks for costumers. It is DL telling you that it only cares about your wallet. You can see it with its hit or miss routes by axing it after a season or two or with its limitations of lounge visits.
And yes, Tim all airlines are in the profit game but at least with other carriers you do see that they try to be more creative with its routes and does not limit lounge access to the extent that DL does and even to its own loyal with DL status customers. DL is weak across the Pacific. It barely flies to the Pacific on its own metal when compared to other carriers including but not limited to just UA.
Don’t get me wrong. I have lots of respect for DL as it established itself as the most profitable airline but at the cost of its customers. I used to choose to fly DL a lot but Ed Bastian came along and just made me think twice before flying DL. I will only fly it if it makes sense now.
EVERY company makes DAILY tradeoffs between their profitability and what they can offer.
This is hardly the first route that was cancelled by an airline - and won't be the last.
You and others fail to grasp that DL just announced new seasonal service to Africa - and maybe some of it will last longer.
Stop your ridiculous "Delta is weak across the Pacific nonsense". UA is twice the size of DL across the...
EVERY company makes DAILY tradeoffs between their profitability and what they can offer.
This is hardly the first route that was cancelled by an airline - and won't be the last.
You and others fail to grasp that DL just announced new seasonal service to Africa - and maybe some of it will last longer.
Stop your ridiculous "Delta is weak across the Pacific nonsense". UA is twice the size of DL across the Pacific but DL is larger than Cathay, AC, JL and NH.
KE was larger than DL before acquiring Asiana but is now 80% of the size of UA.
and DL made 80% of the profits that UA made flying the Pacific in 2024 because DL simply does not fly stuff to boost market share or because something is "strategically important" as BOTH AA and UA do and have done across the Pacific.
and BOS-HNL is a DOMESTIC route. DL carries $1 billion PER QUARTER more revenue than UA and makes 30% more domestic profits than UA, twice as much as UA, and multiples of times more than WN.
No company exists for you or anyone else other than their owners. The sooner you and others get that concept through your head, the sooner you can accurately understand what happens not just in the airline industry but throughout business.
@Tim Are you an owner of a business or are you a shareholder of DL? You seem to only care about the bottom line, numbers, etc. and not care at all about how Ed Bastian gave a particularly offensive finger to its customers. He is just holding one hand with AMEX while his other hand is touching all of the cash that he milked from the customers.
are you truly this ignorant about the way businesses operate?
no, I don't currently own any airline stocks other than as part of mutual funds.
As long as you think that making a business decision is an offense to you, you will not only never be happy but no business will ever satisfy your expectations.
It's a waste of resources to operate nonstops between the East Coast and Hawai'i when there are so many Caribbean destinations that are closer and more affordable.
The widebodies can be deployed on higher-yield domestic hub-to-hub routes.
Maybe they took a chance to try to force Hawaiian out and didn’t pan out. They gambled a season
This is a big win for HA. They can now raise prices. The demand from the east coast is not to Hawaii but to the Caribbean for warm weather get aways. DL isn’t strong there either, but AA is.
Do that many people still go to Hawaii? Seems like it’s not nearly as popular as it once was.
This isn't tough.
HA pushed Delta out of the market. truly only the world's foremost idiot could take this a different spin. Delta LOST here. Make no mistake here.
To AS/HA.
Delta lost to HA and AS. But it's not surprise. Delta is pretty weak outside core hubs. and shows it via drops like premium routes like LAX-LHR or dropping BOS-HNL to what should be a non competitor like HA. Delta isn't the...
This isn't tough.
HA pushed Delta out of the market. truly only the world's foremost idiot could take this a different spin. Delta LOST here. Make no mistake here.
To AS/HA.
Delta lost to HA and AS. But it's not surprise. Delta is pretty weak outside core hubs. and shows it via drops like premium routes like LAX-LHR or dropping BOS-HNL to what should be a non competitor like HA. Delta isn't the big bully people think they are. They're weak outside ATL/DTW/MSP/SLC. It's why nothing outside those four hubs lasts like LHR-LAX or why UA is bigger than DL on TpAC despite a certain someone telling all of us how awesome DL would be.
But bottom line, HA was easily able to push DL out of BOS-HNL because DL isn't actually very strong in BOS. They're just ever so slightly better than b6, Which is a low bar.. But it shouldn't surprise anyone.
But it's a story of delta going forward > AS/HA telling delta to get lost with the oneworld network behind them.Delta as a partner network, is a joke. but today. Delta confirmed that AS/HA is supreme and DL cant' compete.
Give it a rest
You do realize HA walked away from NRT HNL so AS could try it from SEA? Against 3 other well established carriers on Tokyo to Seattle?
Live in your fantasy land,son. Delta plays the long game. In Boston DL has cleaned house with B6
HNL doesn’t move the needle for anyone from Boston
Delta is actually strong at JFK, which isn't ATL/SLC/MSP/DTW. Their JFK market share has grown very significantly, and they sit at a very comfortable #1 spot. They also dominate the largest premium transcon market JFK-LAX, which is also their most profitable route.
It takes time to grow and mature competitive hubs. JFK was a money pit not too long ago, but DL has turned it around. Currently, DL is weak at its other coastal hubs...
Delta is actually strong at JFK, which isn't ATL/SLC/MSP/DTW. Their JFK market share has grown very significantly, and they sit at a very comfortable #1 spot. They also dominate the largest premium transcon market JFK-LAX, which is also their most profitable route.
It takes time to grow and mature competitive hubs. JFK was a money pit not too long ago, but DL has turned it around. Currently, DL is weak at its other coastal hubs like LAX/SEA/BOS, but it's most definitely possible for DL or any airline to rise up to the occasion.
Delta is printing money at BOS and LAX and SEA. You are beyond naive if you think DL commits as many resources to its coastal hubs if it didn't make money.
they might be little dollar bills in SEA but I would bet DL makes higher margins that AA and WN make on their entire systems. BOS and LAX generate margins similar to what UA delivers on a systemwide basis - which means not quite ATL/DTW/MSP/SLC but still fairly respectable
Not at all surprising. The market could never support two daily nonstops and on a route that is pure leisure.
Is this possible? PERFECT airlines don't cancel flights. Everything they fly has to automatically be profitable.
perfection is admitting that not all markets work, so, yes, perfection does involve walking away from less than ideal routes.
@Tim So, the former DL flights between Hong Kong and the U.S. were less than ideal flights? Is that just for DL or across the board? You can say what DL management and @DesertGhost are saying: these unprofitable routes for DL.
I didn’t say they were unprofitable because we don’t know.
They were less profitable than other flights
There are lots of reasons why delta consistently posts the highest profits
was always mildly funny that they thought they'd take on HA on this route
it is laughable that AS now thinks it can take on DL in the SEA longhaul international market.
DL doesn't need to fly BOS-HNL in order to remain the largest carrier at BOS.
AS has no choice but to beat DL not just a little but all the way to the bone in the SEA international market.
Let's see how SEA international plays out for AS but their success is far from assured.
word from some is that AS' international bookings on SEA-NRT and ICN are not terribly strong.
AS hasn't fixed their pricing algorithm.
They have smaller J cabins, yet 50 to 70% higher prices than JAL. No one is going to book AS/HA over JAL upfront.
And ICN was supposed to be launched at some point soon, unclear if it'll even happen. It's not very wise to take on 3 carriers that are all cooperating at this point.
"it is laughable that AS now thinks it can take on DL in the SEA longhaul international market."
Oh yes... that awful place in the market when you're twice the size of your competitor and hope your superior OneWorld membership works out for you out of a natural oneWorld market. Poor alaska. lol
Reality beckons, Tim.
yolo gets it and Max doesn't.
Having twice the size and share doesn't make anyone a stronger competitor.
AS' margins for years were lower than DL's and it is very likely because AS has felt an incessant need to throw capacity into SEA to gain as much space as it can but has only managed to muck up the airport for everyone incuding itself. DL's operation at SEA runs far more reliably than AS and...
yolo gets it and Max doesn't.
Having twice the size and share doesn't make anyone a stronger competitor.
AS' margins for years were lower than DL's and it is very likely because AS has felt an incessant need to throw capacity into SEA to gain as much space as it can but has only managed to muck up the airport for everyone incuding itself. DL's operation at SEA runs far more reliably than AS and AS' on-time has steadily been falling.
DL still carries 70% of the local SEA market revenue that AS carries because DL does so much better than AS in longhaul domestic and international markets.
oneworld has yet to deliver a significant boost to AS. If they get into an ATI/JV with a few carriers, that might be true but all of the individual codeshare arrangements that AS has are what they see value in.. it is DL that has the JVs.
and as yolo notes, the notion that AS will succeed against 3 airlines to ICN that are either in a JV or owned by the same company is laughable.
the pricing insight from yolo is interesting. all of that is part of playing with the big boys.
being bigger than DL in the domestic market but not getting a real fare advantage is one thing....not being able to compete in the international marketplace because of structural issues is a whole different animal and one that is much harder to overcome.
Wow, sorry Tim, I didn't mean to get you all worked up here. In any event, I don't think I'm quite following why you're going on about DL's struggling SEA operation in response to my comment about BOS-HNL? No biggie, though, just curious!
I love how you spend 8 paragraphs saying nothing in response since I live in your head and you have to respond when called out by me about your idiotic responses. Keep dreaming, Tim
Yeah; Delta's diminutive position in SEA vs AS does matter, even though I agree with Digital... how you got on this tangent is beyond amusing but hardly surprising
See Trump sucking Elon’s toes video and insert TD for Orangeface and Ed B for Heil arm saluter
I’m sorry…you can’t have it both ways. You of all people, endlessly harps on about market share in competitive markets like LAX, ORD, NYC, and even AUS. But now all of a sudden DL is the stronger player in SEA?
If a company can be #2 in a market and be successful, then that is a valid strategy.
There are very few markets where there are 2 or more hubs.
DL gave up its hub at DFW because they couldn't compete with AA. They moved their resources to ATL and NYC and easily overtook AA and B6 and at least in terms of flights have done so with UA.
WN was the largest...
If a company can be #2 in a market and be successful, then that is a valid strategy.
There are very few markets where there are 2 or more hubs.
DL gave up its hub at DFW because they couldn't compete with AA. They moved their resources to ATL and NYC and easily overtook AA and B6 and at least in terms of flights have done so with UA.
WN was the largest carrier of local traffic from DEN for years, UA woke up and is fighting back.
AA was at least at parity w/ UA at ORD but decided it couldn't sustain it so walked away, UA pounced and AA is trying - likely w/o success - to claw back what it lost.
AA was at the top of the heap at LAX but pulled back because it really wasn't that profitable, DL jumped ahead but AA and UA are about tied in share but both are probably both profitable in line with their system margins.
DL's formula at SEA was never to be the largest. It has been to offer what AS cannot - and that is exactly where DL's strength comes. They can still break even in the west in markets where AS is larger - but that doens't mean they lose money.
DL is the largest airline by revenue from SEA to the eastern US and also on international routes.
SEA, as much as some want to believe otherwise, is a split market not much different from LAX or even BOS.
and in BOS, the subject of this discussion, DL has handedly overtaken B6 in total revenue and flights and it is doubtful that B6 can ever grow to parity with DL again. DL simply is too large in international markets and to its own hubs. B6' dominance of routes to Florida just doesn't ensure success
This flight was a play to use widebodies during the winter but makes little sense given that it overflies a half dozen other DL hubs that also have Hawaii flights.
It requires a widebody which can be better used for other purposes - which is why we just saw the new Africa flights.
and DL still has handedly pushed by B6 as the largest carrier at BOS.
Can this possible? PERFECT airlines don't cancel flights. Everything they fly has to automatically be profitable.
Handedly pushed. Hmm.
Also - Hawaii isn't comparable to the Caribbean and/or Mexico (as someone that likes all of these destinations). Cuisine, looks of the destination, etc are just different. Hawaii frankly is a bit more of a special place, to me. But to each his/her own
Overall there is a lot of capacity to Hawaii from a lot of airports - but we need more east coast capacity. Maybe two BOS-HNL flights are too much, so I hope my JFK-OGG idea (or something similar) comes to fruition
Few comments here
1) The "natives" aren't racist - Hawaiians have always been friendly when I visit. Those that claim racism are probably just snowflakes
2) There is some business travel from NYC to HNL (mainly banking and real estate) to help fill that route for DL and others. I am guessing there is less of that from BOS.
3) I would like to see DAL try another east coast flight to OGG this...
Few comments here
1) The "natives" aren't racist - Hawaiians have always been friendly when I visit. Those that claim racism are probably just snowflakes
2) There is some business travel from NYC to HNL (mainly banking and real estate) to help fill that route for DL and others. I am guessing there is less of that from BOS.
3) I would like to see DAL try another east coast flight to OGG this winter. They are already bringing back ATL to OGG. Why not also launch JFK to OGG or even DTW/MSP to OGG. ATL is already timed for connections (leaving at noon), so you could maybe do an earlier JFK to OGG flight (10 or 9 AM) to allow for people to arrive earlier.
Delta is serving this route from JFK daily, even in the summer.
I don’t see how they could route that many connections through Boston, without cannabilizing JFK.
Further, while Hawaii seems like a nice place to visit, it’s brutal sitting for 10.5 hrs to get to the beach, when you can do the same for 4 hrs and get to Mexico from Boston
The thing about Hawaii, other than the natives being shockingly racist, is that it’s so far from the East coast as to make no sense for leisure travel. You can take a shorter flight from Boston to Europe, or a much shorter flight from Boston to the Bahamas or Cayman Islands if you want to chill on an island.
No such thing as a "native" Hawaiian, and I'm betting that they're probably not racist, whoever claimed it was likely just being an obnoxious tourist.
As for the latter, oft-repeated on aviation forums nonsense:
Why go to London, when NYC is right there?
Why go to Disney when there's probably a closer SixFlags?
Why go to Ruth's Chris when Chili's has steak too?
The answer to all the above, is because...
No such thing as a "native" Hawaiian, and I'm betting that they're probably not racist, whoever claimed it was likely just being an obnoxious tourist.
As for the latter, oft-repeated on aviation forums nonsense:
Why go to London, when NYC is right there?
Why go to Disney when there's probably a closer SixFlags?
Why go to Ruth's Chris when Chili's has steak too?
The answer to all the above, is because the experiences are different, and there'll always be people who will pay/endure more, for that experiences. Maybe not as many as an airline would sometimes hope, but still.
Surprised to see it axed. The DELTA ONE cabin was typically sold out months in advance with fares at $3000++.
They need to consider putting a premium heavy aircraft on this route.
Delta isn’t too serious about D1 experience in BOS. Arriving D1 customers typically get in before 4pm which is when the D1 restaurant “lounge” opens. Going through that yesterday found it to be a let down. Add to that the awful connection between E and A, makes it an airport to truly avoid.