In recent years, summer demand for travel between the United States and Europe has been through the roof, so we’ve seen US airlines add as much capacity there as possible. Every year, we see airlines tweak their European route network a bit, based on both capacity and demand, and announce new services.
We’re now seeing US airlines announce their plans for next summer. American recently announced its route additions for the summer of 2025, and a couple of days ago, Delta announced the routes it’ll be adding next summer.
While I first covered this on Friday, I wanted to provide an update, as these flights are now on sale. This means the schedules for the flights have been published, so I’ve updated this post to add all of those. There are some cool additions here, so let’s go over the details (as I previously wrote about, Delta is dropping its New York to Munich route next summer)…
Delta adding seven new Europe routes, one new destination
Delta has announced plans to add seven new seasonal routes to Europe next summer, which will contribute to the airline having its largest transatlantic schedule ever.
Six of the routes are to destinations already served from other hubs, while one route is to an all-new destination. Specifically, we can expect the following seasonal flights to launch next summer:
- New York (JFK) to Catania, Italy (CTA) — this will be daily service with a Boeing 767-300ER, and it’s a new destination, as Delta is the first US airline to fly there
- Atlanta (ATL) to Brussels, Belgium (BRU) — this will be 3x weekly service with a Boeing 767-300ER, and it complements Delta’s seasonal service out of New York
- Atlanta (ATL) to Naples, Italy (NAP) — this will be 3x weekly service with an Airbus A330-200, and it complements Delta’s seasonal service out of New York
- Boston (BOS) to Barcelona, Spain (BCN) — this will be 3x weekly service with a Boeing 767-300ER, and it complements Delta’s year-round service from Atlanta and New York
- Boston (BOS) to Milan, Italy (MXP) — this will be 4x weekly service with a Boeing 767-300ER, and it complements Delta’s year-round service from Atlanta and New York
- Detroit (DTW) to Dublin, Ireland (DUB) — this will be 4x weekly service with an Airbus A330-200, and it complements Delta’s year-round service from Atlanta and New York, and seasonal service from Boston and Minneapolis
- Minneapolis (MSP) to Rome, Italy (FCO) — this will be 4x weekly service with an Airbus A330-300, and it complements Delta’s year-round service from Atlanta and New York, and seasonal service from Boston and Detroit
As you can see, Delta is heavily focused on Italy here, with four of the seven new routes being to the country. I don’t think that’s too surprising, given how hot it has been with American tourists.
These are some cool route additions. The Catania service is especially fun. Historically Delta has followed United when it comes to adding destinations in Europe, but in this case, Delta is leading the way.
One thing I notice is that with the exception of the Catania service, all the other routes are less than daily. I just find that to be interesting, because often US airlines scale their transatlantic networks so that daily service works in most markets.
Delta’s New York to Catania route
As of May 22, 2025, Delta will launch daily summer seasonal service from New York to Catania. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL244 New York to Catania departing 5:25PM arriving 8:35AM (+1 day)
DL245 Catania to New York departing 10:35AM arriving 2:45PM
The 4,564-mile flight is blocked at 9hr10min eastbound and 10hr10min westbound. Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for this route.
Delta’s Atlanta to Brussels route
As of June 10, 2025, Delta will launch 3x weekly summer seasonal service from Atlanta to Brussels. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL140 Atlanta to Brussels departing 5:55PM arriving 8:40AM (+1 day)
DL141 Brussels to Atlanta departing 10:45AM arriving 2:50PM
The 4,426-mile flight is blocked at 8hr45min eastbound and 10hr5min westbound. Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for this route.The 4,426-mile flight is blocked at 8hr45min eastbound and 10hr5min westbound. Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for this route.
Delta’s Atlanta to Naples route
As of May 23, 2025, Delta will launch 4x weekly summer seasonal service from Atlanta to Naples. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL278 Atlanta to Naples departing 3:50PM arriving 7:30AM (+1 day)
DL279 Naples to Atlanta departing 9:30AM arriving 3:00PM
The 5,159-mile flight is blocked at 9hr40min eastbound and 11hr30min westbound. Delta will use an Airbus A330-200 for this route.
Delta’s Boston to Barcelona route
As of May 22, 2025, Delta will launch 3x weekly summer seasonal service from Boston to Barcelona. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL250 Boston to Barcelona departing 5:50PM arriving 7:15AM (+1 day)
DL251 Barcelona to Boston departing 9:30AM arriving 11:55AM
The 3,650-mile flight is blocked at 7hr25min eastbound and 8hr25min westbound. Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for this route.
Delta’s Boston to Milan route
As of May 23, 2025, Delta will launch 4x weekly summer seasonal service from Boston to Milan. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL186 Boston to Milan departing 5:20PM arriving 7:05AM (+1 day)
DL187 Milan to Boston departing 9:20AM arriving 11:55AM
The 3,810-mile flight is blocked at 7hr45min eastbound and 8hr35min westbound. Delta will use a Boeing 767-300ER for this route.
Delta’s Detroit to Dublin route
As of May 7, 2025, Delta will launch 4x weekly summer seasonal service from Detroit to Dublin. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL292 Detroit to Dublin departing 9:15PM arriving 9:30AM (+1 day)
DL293 Dublin to Detroit departing 11:30AM arriving 2:30PM
The 3,488-mile flight is blocked at 7hr15min eastbound and 8hr westbound. Delta will use an Airbus A330-200 for this route.
Delta’s Minneapolis to Rome route
As of May 23, 2025, Delta will launch 4x weekly summer seasonal service from Minneapolis to Rome. The flight will operate with the following schedule:
DL298 Minneapolis to Rome departing 7:25PM arriving 12:00PM (+1 day)
DL299 Rome to Minneapolis departing 12:30PM arriving 4:15PM
The 4,902-mile flight is blocked at 9hr35min eastbound and 10hr45 westbound. Delta will use an Airbus A330-300 for this route.
Delta boosting five existing European routes
In addition to adding seven new routes, Delta will also be increasing frequencies in the summer of 2025, in five existing markets. Specifically, Delta will offer the following increased flights:
- Atlanta (ATL) to Athens, Greece (ATH) will be increased to 11x weekly service
- Atlanta (ATL) to Barcelona, Spain (BCN) will be increased to 10x weekly service
- Atlanta (ATL) to Rome, Italy (FCO) will be increased to 17x weekly service
- Atlanta (ATL) to Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH) will be increased to daily service
- Detroit (DTW) to Munich, Germany (MUC) will be increased to daily service
I don’t think there are any surprises here. In particular, the focus on Atlanta makes sense, given just how much connectivity Delta has through its largest hub.
Bottom line
Delta has announced its plans across the Atlantic for next summer. The airline will launch seven new routes, with six routes being to existing destinations, and one route being to a new destination (Catania). On top of that, the airline will increase service in five existing markets, primarily out of its Atlanta hub.
The “big three” US carriers have pretty mature Europe route networks at this point, and without a huge number of new planes being delivered, there’s only so much they can grow. Delta’s route additions are definitely more interesting than American’s. Now I’m curious to see what United comes up with (though United is in a bad position with new aircraft deliveries).
What do you make of Delta’s route additions for the summer of 2025?
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