Delta bolsters 2025 plans in Europe, Asia with 2 new international routes
Delta Air Lines will launch two new overseas routes in 2025. One will take passengers to Europe and the other to Asia.
On the transatlantic front, the Atlanta-based carrier will build on plans for its largest-ever summer schedule to Europe with a new nonstop from its Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) hub to Copenhagen Airport (CPH).
Delta said the move is helped in large part by its recent codeshare agreement with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), following that carrier's shift from the Star Alliance to SkyTeam in September.
Meanwhile, Delta will resume nonstop service next summer from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This will bolster the limited air service between the U.S. and China that remains well below 2019 levels.
Here's what to know about this new service.
New service between MSP and Denmark
Delta's first flight from its MSP hub to CPH will take off in May 2025, the carrier shared Friday.
The airline will fly the route three times each week with an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, retrofitted with its three-cabin configuration featuring Delta One suites and its Premium Select product.
SAS ties bolstered
In announcing the new service, Delta executives pointed to the recent tie-up between the airline and SAS. SAS officially became a SkyTeam partner in September after Air France-KLM group acquired a minority stake in the company.
"This route creates an invaluable connection between two major SkyTeam partner hubs, providing unrivaled connectivity and travel options for customers traveling between Scandinavia and North America," Delta senior vice president of network planning Joe Esposito said in a statement Friday.
Since joining SkyTeam, SAS has increased its presence at major Delta hubs, including new service from New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and a return to the Pacific Northwest.
Plus, you can now book SAS award flights using Delta SkyMiles.
Big summer 2025 Europe plans
This Copenhagen route will also bolster Delta's already packed summer 2025 transatlantic plans.
Minneapolis-to-Copenhagen will give Delta seven European nonstops from the hub city next summer. This includes flights to Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO), which Delta revealed during the recent unveiling of its busiest-ever summer schedule for 2025.
Between June and August next year, Delta will operate about 5% more seats to Europe than it did in an already busy 2024, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Delta slowly adds back China service
Delta said Friday that, pending government approval, its service from LA to Shanghai will return sometime next June.
Delta hasn't flown the route since the early days of 2020, after operating well over 300 round trips between the two cities in 2019.
The dropoff in service to China goes beyond just Delta, though.
Air service to China lags below 2019 levels
Air service between the U.S. and China has remained far beneath pre-pandemic levels. That's because of a combination of geopolitical uncertainty, lower demand and logistical challenges that arise from airlines needing to avoid Russian airspace amid that country's war in Ukraine.
In 2024, the total number of seats between the U.S. and China — among all airlines — is down 75% versus 2019 levels, Cirium data shows.
Uptick in 2025
However, additional service is coming. In the first half of 2025, seats to China on Delta, American Airlines and United Airlines will be up more than 90%, year-over-year, per Cirium.
Delta's only China service in recent years has included nonstop flights to Shanghai from Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport (DTW) and Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
This new route will give the carrier a third connection between the U.S. and China and a total of 17 weekly flights between the two countries.
LAX-PVG details
Delta plans to fly the route three times each week with an Airbus A350. Delta One passengers on those flights will be eligible to use the exclusive, brand-new Delta One Lounge inside Terminal 3 at LAX, which just opened on Thursday.
The 10,000-square-foot facility features a dedicated check-in lounge and Transportation Security Administration checkpoint.
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