Delta Air Lines is one of the largest airlines in the world. Founded in 1925 as a crop dusting company, Delta has now grown its network to more than 290 destinations in 52 countries on six continents.
Based in Atlanta, Delta’s biggest hub is at the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
In California, Delta has a hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) but operates at several airports throughout the state.
At San Diego International Airport (SAN), Delta has the third-largest market share in December, almost evenly matched with United Airlines.
According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, the Atlanta-based carrier has 1,948 scheduled flights at SAN next month.
Southwest Airlines has the largest presence in San Diego, with nearly 5,700 flights. Alaska Airlines has nearly 4,000, and then Delta and United have similar operations.
5 Atlanta
350 frequencies
The busiest route from San Diego is to Delta’s main hub in Atlanta. There are 175 flights scheduled in each direction on the route, which breaks down to five to seven daily roundtrips. The number varies day to day.
The 1,891-mile route is operated primarily by one narrowbody, but Delta also deploys four widebodies between ATL and SAN.
The Airbus A321, with 191 seats, is scheduled on most flights next month. Delta’s older widebodies, the Boeing 767-300ER and 767-400ER, and Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 are also scheduled to operate flights.
With the use of widebodies, passengers flying Delta between SAN and ATL have access to Delta One, Delta’s most premium lie-flat product. In total, 69,193 seats are available in December.
4 Salt Lake City
322 frequencies
Delta’s second-busiest route from San Diego is to its Utah hub at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). This route is three times shorter than the flight to ATL, but Delta has a significant operation on it.
In December there are 161 flights scheduled in each direction, varying between four to five daily roundtrips.
The flight between SLC and SAN is just 626 miles and is blocked out at about two hours. Like the route to Atlanta, the A321 is the most-deployed aircraft on the SLC route.
Of the 322 total flights, 188 are on the A321, while the second most-used aircraft is the Boeing 737-800 with 50 flights.
This route has a small number of flights operated by SkyWest Airlines, the world’s largest operator of Embraer E175 aircraft. Below is the breakdown of the type of aircraft used on the route:
- Airbus A321 - 188 flights
- Boeing 737-800 - 50 flights
- Boeing 737-900ER - 28 flights
- Airbus A321neo - 26 flights
- Embraer E175 - 26 flights
- Airbus A320 - 4 flights
3 Seattle
294 frequencies
The route to Delta’s second West Coast hub, Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA), is number three. Data shows 147 flights scheduled in each direction, with more than 43,000 seats available in December.
The flight from SAN to SEA is 1,050 miles long and is blocked out at around three hours.
Delta uses three different aircraft for the flight to Seattle. The most used is the Boeing 737-800 which is scheduled to operate 196 of the 294 flights.
The other two are its Airbus A220s, the A220-100, and A220-300, which are scheduled to operate 46 and 52 flights, respectively.
Delta is one of two carriers flying between SEA and SAN, and has the smaller market share of the two.
Alaska Airlines is Delta’s competitor on the route and has 491 roundtrip flights scheduled, compared to Delta’s 294. In total, 126,253 seats are available between the two airports, on 785 flights.
2 Minneapolis
226 frequencies
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) is Delta’s largest hub in the Midwest. There are 113 flights scheduled in each direction between MSP and SAN in December.
The flight between the two airports is 1,532 miles long and is blocked out at nearly four hours.
Operations vary between three and four daily roundtrips throughout December. Unlike the first three routes mentioned, the flight between MSP and SAN is operated by only one aircraft type, the Airbus A321.
Delta’s A321s have 191 seats in a two-cabin configuration, 20 in first and 171 in economy.
In total, Delta has 226 flights scheduled and a seat offering of 43,166. Sun Country Airlines, which is headquartered in Minneapolis also operates flights on this route, but significantly less than Delta. Data shows there are just 56 flights scheduled in December.
Next month, Sun Country will operate five flights on the first week of the month, six on the second, with flights increasing to daily on the 11th. The airline will use its 186-seat Boeing 737-800s to connect the two airports.
1 Detroit
224 frequencies
The final airport on this list is also in the Midwest, over in the state of Michigan. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) is located on the state's Eastern side, on the border with Canada.In December, Delta has 112 flights scheduled in each direction, just one fewer flight than the MSP route.
Like the route to Minneapolis, Detroit also has three to four daily roundtrips from San Diego. The flight to Detroit is 1,957 miles and blocked out at about five hours going west and slightly less going east. Two aircraft types, both narrowbodies, are deployed between SAN and DTW.
The A321 is by far the most-used plane, scheduled to operate 170 of the 224 flights. The remaining 54 are scheduled to be operated by the 737-900ER.
