Delta expands Pacific map from LAX, adds nonstop Philippines route for 2027

Delta Air Lines hopes to beef up its presence in the skies over the Pacific Ocean. Now, the carrier is sharing its newest route.

Next spring, Delta will launch nonstop service from Los Angeles to Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

The new flight will mark the Atlanta-based carrier's first nonstop service between the U.S. mainland and the Philippines.

The route is set to launch on March 28 and should give SkyMiles loyalists an enticing new destination in the South Pacific.

Delta's transpacific vision

This new flight is just the latest in a series of long-haul routes Delta has added from its Southern California hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

Last month, the carrier launched flights from LA to Hong Kong. Its new nonstop service to Melbourne, Australia, launched last December.

Expect more where that came from: Delta executives last week said transpacific service represented one of the airline's biggest growth opportunities in the coming years.

"A lot of it is looking at our customers who have a high demand to go to those destinations that we don't fly to," chief commercial officer Joe Esposito said, speaking on the airline's July 10 earnings call.

"Like Hong Kong — that we just started — or Melbourne, or other places in South Pacific and Southeast Asia," he added.

Delta's return to Manila

Interestingly, this isn't technically Delta's first foray into the Philippines.

The carrier once operated fifth-freedom service to Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) from Seoul's Incheon International Airport (ICN), after previously serving the Philippine capital from Tokyo's Narita International Airport (NRT). Those routes ended during the COVID-19 pandemic and never returned.

Now, Delta is making its return to Manila with nonstop flights from the U.S. West Coast, where it'll be the second airline — but the first U.S. carrier — to link LA with Manila.

Already a fixture on the LA-Manila route is flag carrier Philippine Airlines (which, by the way, is expected to become the next member of the Oneworld alliance).

Now, with Delta joining the mix and United Airlines already boasting existing service to MNL from its San Francisco International Airport (SFO) hub, travelers' options for getting to the South Pacific destination on points and miles are rapidly expanding.

"The addition of Manila builds on the world-class travel experience our customers have come to expect from Delta while strengthening our position as LAX's leading global carrier and premier West Coast hub," Delta vice president of network planning Jeff Arinder said in a statement announcing the news Friday.

Route details

Delta plans to fly the LAX-MNL route with an Airbus A350-900, which, depending on the cabin configuration, can boast as many as 40 Delta One suites.

The reveal of this newest Pacific route comes weeks after the airline cut the ribbon on its newest upscale Delta One Lounge at LAX — its second at the hub and the fifth in its network.

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