Atlanta-based legacy carrier Delta Air Lines has decided to continue doubling down on its Hawaiian network for the winter of 2025-2026, in a move that continues to demonstrate the airline's interest in becoming a leading player in the world of premium leisure travel.
While once an airline focused almost exclusively on business travel (using leisure routes to support its strong business traveler-oriented network), Delta today is a carrier that focuses equally on business travelers and premium leisure travelers.
Boosted schedules from Salt Lake City
The carrier has elected to launch a new route this upcoming winter that will operate a nonstop service between Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Kona International Airport (KOA), one of the airline's many expansion routes that serve destinations in Hawaii beyond Honolulu.
This flight will operate daily starting on December 19, 2025, and it will be served by a Boeing 767-300ER.
In addition to this new service, Delta Air Lines has elected to add a second daily flight from Salt Lake City International Airport to Kahului Airport (OGG) on the island of Maui.
This service will be a short-lived capacity addition for the peak winter travel period, only operating between December 19th and January 5th. The airline will be using the Boeing 767-300ER for both of the daily flights between SLC and OGG, according to the Delta Air Lines website.
The airline has also elected to add a second daily flight from its principal hub at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) in Honolulu.
The carrier is currently planning on using the Airbus A330-300 for its existing frequency on this route, which it will supplement with the Boeing 767-300ER for its new services.
A deeper breakdown of these routes
Delta's new frequencies between SLC and OGG will give passengers a second travel option. This offers passengers increased flexibility, and it allows the airline to connect more passengers.
This offers the carrier exceptional operational flexibility. The new route schedules will be as follows:
|
Flight Number: |
Departure Time: |
Arrival Time: |
|---|---|---|
|
Delta Air Lines Flight 623 |
11:15 AM |
3:08 PM |
|
Delta Air Lines Flight 397 |
3:35 PM |
7:25 PM |
The airline is doing something relatively similar for its second daily frequency from Atlanta to Honolulu. As the carrier's largest and most important connecting hub (quite literally by a factor of four), it is unsurprising that the airline wants to add connecting capacity to this route. The new schedule, which starts on December 19, will be as follows:
|
Flight Number: |
Departure Time: |
Arrival Time: |
|---|---|---|
|
Delta Air Lines Flight 837 |
9:55 AM |
3:14 PM |
|
Delta Air Lines Flight 8803 |
12:15 PM |
5:20 PM |
The bottom line
As previously mentioned, the most obvious takeaway from Delta's decision to launch these new routes is that the services demonstrate the airline's willingness to cater to a high-spending leisure travel demographic.
The most interesting thing to note is the extremely short period that these flights will be operating.
During the roughly three-week period in which these flights will operate, Delta is removing some Boeing 767-300ER jets from service elsewhere, likely as a result of lower business travel demand existing in transatlantic markets during the holiday period.
Furthermore, the new route from SLC to OGG demonstrates the airline's continued commitment to developing a diverse network that offers passengers as many flights as possible to exactly where they want to go.
