Historically, Delta Air Lines has shied away from ultra long haul flights, with a limited number of exceptions. However, that’s slowly starting to change. Delta recently launched flights to Hong Kong (HKG), and Riyadh (RUH) flights are expected soon as well.
A few months back, Delta revealed in a regulatory filing that it plans to launch yet another route to Asia. Last week I wrote about how an announcement was imminent. Well, that has now been confirmed, as Delta has today unveiled details of its newest long haul route.
Delta confirms March 2027 launch for flights to Manila
Delta plans to launch nonstop flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Manila (MNL) as of March 27, 2027. The flight will initially operate 3x weekly, before switching to daily as of June 7, 2027. Specifically, the flight is expected to operate with the following schedule:
DL181 Los Angeles to Manila departing 11:50PM arriving 5:30AM (+2 days)
DL180 Manila to Los Angeles departing 7:40AM arriving 6:05AM
The 7,305-mile flight will be operated by an Airbus A350-900, featuring the carrier’s latest cabin products. The flight is blocked at 14hr40min westbound and 13hr25min eastbound.
We’ve officially had a clue that this route would be added since October 2025, when a Delta executive revealed to employees internally that the airline plans to add flights to Singapore (SIN) and Manila (MNL). So while the Singapore service remains to be seen, the Manila flights are becoming a reality.
I’m curious to see how Delta’s Asia growth strategy plays out
It’s an interesting time for Delta when it comes to its Asia network:
- Historically, Delta’s Asia network has been based so heavily around routing passengers through Seoul Incheon (ICN) with connections on joint venture partner Korean Air, which means Delta’s actual list of nonstop Asia destinations has been very limited
- With Delta now taking delivery of a good number of long haul planes, including new “flagship” Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, the airline has big growth aspirations for the plane
- Delta’s West Coast strategy has been a challenge — for a while we saw the airline growing in Seattle (SEA), setting that up as a transpacific gateway, but that airport is pretty maxed out in terms of capacity, and Delta is in the number two spot behind Alaska; now we’re seeing Delta try to grow greatly in Los Angeles (LAX), which the airline sees as a “once in a generation” opportunity
- Los Angeles is probably the most competitive West Coast market among Asian carriers, and capacity is seemingly endless, and as a result, yields can be really rough; that’s why none of the “big three” carriers have been able to achieve a dominant position at the airport
I’m excited to see Delta’s long haul network get more interesting, but there’s no denying this strategy also faces some challenges. For one, US carriers have among the highest operating costs in the world for ultra long haul flights, given labor costs at US airlines.
Beyond that, it’s hard for Delta to be the leader across the Pacific, when they’re competing against United, which not only has a very well established network, but also has a mega hub in San Francisco (SFO), which has a scale that Delta simply can’t replicate in Los Angeles or Seattle.
The Manila route specifically is also interesting, given that Philippine Airlines is joining the oneworld alliance, so might become a more competitive option for some. For that matter, the airline is also improving its passenger experience in premium cabins, with new planes and seats. United also added San Francisco to Manila flights in late 2023, though United is also a lot further along when it comes to the size of its Asia route network, and San Francisco is also a much bigger hub for the airline.
So we’ll see how this situation evolves. Admittedly airline economics have changed over the years, and routes no longer need to be wildly profitable directly, but instead, loyalty programs are also a big consideration. But still, I’m curious to see how this whole Asia network growth plays out for Delta.
Bottom line
Delta plans to launch nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Manila as of late March 2027. The flight will initially operate 3x weekly, before moving to daily within a few weeks. Delta will use an Airbus A350 for the service, as it does for all of its Asia routes.
Frankly, I’m excited to see Delta grow across the Pacific, given that United basically had Asia to itself among the “big three” US carriers, in terms of the size of its network. However, I’m just not convinced that Delta has a winning strategy here, at least in terms of this being profitable in the long run.
What do you make of Delta’s Manila plans?
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