Ordinarily I don’t cover individual domestic route additions, but this one from Delta Air Lines is interesting and even a bit puzzling, given the competitive implications (yes, it’s another route that JonNYC predicted, of course).
Delta entering crowded Los Angeles to Chicago market
As of June 7, 2026, Delta will launch a new 3x daily service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago (ORD). The 1,744-mile flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL967 Los Angeles to Chicago departing 7:45AM arriving 2:00PM
DL670 Los Angeles to Chicago departing 11:15AM arriving 5:30PM
DL1634 Los Angeles to Chicago departing 5:30PM arriving 11:45PM
DL1556 Chicago to Los Angeles departing 7:00AM arriving 9:45AM
DL967 Chicago to Los Angeles departing 2:55PM arriving 5:40PM
DL670 Chicago to Los Angeles departing 6:30PM arriving 9:15PM
All the flights will be operated by Boeing 737-800s, featuring 160 seats. This includes 16 first class seats and 144 economy class seats (36 of which have extra legroom).
I’ve gotta say, I find it mighty strange to announce a new domestic route nearly 11 months in advance, as that’s not something you often see. If Delta saw merit to operating in this market, you’d think the service would start sooner than that, no?
The anticipated launch date is just one day after Delta is expected to start its new route from Los Angeles to Hong Kong (HKG), so perhaps long haul connectivity is one thing being factored in here.
Delta describes the Chicago and Hong Kong routes as deepening the carrier’s investment in LAX. According to Paul Baldoni, Delta’s SVP of Network Planning:
“Launching service to Hong Kong and Chicago from LAX strengthens our presence in two of the world’s most dynamic markets. As the largest global carrier at LAX, we’re continuing to invest in routes that matter to our customers and deliver the premium travel experience that they’ve come to expect from Delta.”
Should American and United be worried?
Los Angeles and Chicago are of course both major markets, so on the one hand, it’s not surprising to see Delta wanting to fly between them.
However, the competitive dynamics here are interesting, as American and United both operate this flight roughly 10x daily, so obviously Delta won’t be able to compete in terms of schedule. The route is also served by Frontier and Spirit, though I don’t think that’s of much concern to the “big three.” In terms of relative hub sizes:
- American, Delta, and United, all have hubs in Los Angeles, though neither airline is really dominant
- American and United have hubs in Chicago, and United has been gaining market share, while American has been losing market share
So, what’s Delta trying to accomplish by launching this route, and especially, by announcing it nearly a year out?
- Is this about Delta growing its presence in Los Angeles more broadly, when that seemingly hasn’t been a major focus for some time?
- Is this just some sort of a flexing competition, and Delta wants to give American and United a bit of a headache?
- Is this about adding connectivity for the transpacific network from Los Angeles, including flights to the South Pacific?
I would think that American would be more impacted by this than United. United is in a stronger financial position, has a more robust global network, and has a significant advantage in Chicago. So I don’t think Delta will be poaching too many United flyers here.
Anyway, I’m curious to see how this all plays out. I just can’t help but scratch my head at how far out this announcement is being made, and wonder if there might be some other strategic play here.
Bottom line
As of June 2026, Delta plans to launch 3x daily flights between Los Angeles and Chicago. This is a market dominated by American and United, with each airline offering roughly 10x daily flights.
I’m curious to see how this plays out, and what the real motive here is, since it’s not apparent to me. Does Delta suddenly have a renewed push in Los Angeles, does it just want to annoy its competitors a bit, or what?
What do you make of Delta launching Los Angeles to Chicago flights?
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