Delta Air Lines is now betting big on Hawaii travel

While any growth to Hawaii would compete with carriers starting from Hawaiian Airways to United Airways (UAL) and Southwest (LUV) , Delta Air Traces (DAL) is doubling down on its plans for charge spanking new flights to the bid for the arrival year.

On Dec. 19, it will delivery operating a brand new nonstop flight between Salt Lake City Global Airport (SLC) and Kona Global Airport (KOA) on the Big Island while also upping frequencies to between Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Global Airport (ATL) and the Daniel K. Inouye Global Airport (HNL) in Honolulu.

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Delta's will give a boost to its network to Hawaii this  cold climate

Apart from to the new Salt Lake City-Kona route, Delta will also expand the frequency of its route from the Utah capital to Maui's Kahului Airport (OGG) to twice a day for the busy holiday duration between Dec. 19 and Jan. 5. The main flight to Kahlui will move within the morning and return on Oct. 6, while the second one departing at 3:35 p.m. may be added in December.

Both will drag on a Boeing 767-300ER (BA) alongside the Atlanta-Honolulu seasonal flight. All are seasonal routes for the cold climate sun-searching out for duration and should yet all over again be retired for the year approach March 2026.

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"We're excited to present a boost to Delta's network to Hawaii this cold climate with the addition of new and expanded carrier, including our new route between Salt Lake City and Kona," Delta stated in a press delivery. "With a 10% expand in seats in contrast to last year, we’re giving customers more ways to ride the Hawaiian Islands at some level of the holiday season — whether they're returning to a well-liked island or discovering a brand new one for the main time."

Delta, Southwest and American are all eying Hawaii for 2026

Kona Global Airport also place out a put up announcing that "the Big Island may be more accessible than ever, gorgeous in time for the holidays" on its Instagram (META) tale.

However at the same time because it turned into planning this recent push to magnify its Hawaii presence, Delta no longer too prolonged ago scrapped the Boston-Honolulu flight it launched in November 2024; the 5,095-mile route earned Delta the title of operating the longest domestic flight within the U.S.

With a identical 11-hour boom flight already offered from New York's JFK Airport, the Boston flight turned out to no longer be as profitable as Delta had hoped.

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In February 2025, Southwest Airways also started operating its first red-judge about flights to Honolulu from Las Vegas and Phoenix, Kona to Las Vegas and Kahului to Las Vegas and Phoenix. And American Airways (AAL) gorgeous launched it's bringing advantage a discontinued flight to Honolulu from Chicago's O'Hare Global Airport (ORD) — a route that competitor United already runs 11 times everyday

All three airlines are attempting to faucet into the compare for the Aloha Impart from holidayers but threat operating into the typical misfortune of oversaturation; smaller cities, in particular, usually stop no longer level to to be virtually as profitable as on the origin anticipated when talking to vocal locals with Hawaii fever.

"The five new flights will expand connectivity from the Hawaiian Islands to dozens of Southwest destinations," the airline says of the new routes.

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