Delta Air Lines Expands Services to Melbourne, Australia
Delta Air Lines is significantly increasing its service to Melbourne, Australia. The airline first began flying to Melbourne Airport in late 2025, operating three times a week from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Starting October 13, 2026, the frequency will increase to four times per week, then to five times per week on October 27. By December 22, Delta will operate daily flights. After March 27, the frequency will be adjusted but will remain at five times per week, which is higher than current levels.
Delta is competing against Qantas and United Airlines, but it uses the Airbus A350-900 on this route, unlike its competitors who use Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. While United dominates the Pacific, Delta is expanding its services to Asia, growing its A350 fleet, and boosting flights to Oceania. Notably, demand in Oceania has seen some softening, which further validates Delta’s strategy of maintaining capacity despite market challenges.
Delta Air Lines’ Services To Australia
Delta has long operated flights from LAX to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, a key route for a US legacy carrier. Currently, the airline operates this route 11 times per week, using the Airbus A350-900. This is one of Delta’s longest routes and requires the use of its 280-ton or 283-ton A350s. On this route, Delta competes against American’s daily Boeing 777-300ER, United’s daily Boeing 787-9, and Qantas’s Airbus A380.
In 2024, Delta launched nonstop services from LAX to Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city, which was not served by any US airline pre-COVID. Recent years have seen Brisbane Airport offering lucrative subsidies for new services. American now operates winter seasonal flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, while United serves Brisbane from San Francisco, both using the 787. Delta serves Brisbane thrice weekly from LAX during the winter season with the A350-900.
Melbourne Airport is Delta’s third destination in Australia. Again, it uses the Airbus A350-900, but unlike Brisbane, this route is flown year-round. American Airlines does not serve Melbourne, while United Airlines flies to Melbourne from both LAX and San Francisco with the Boeing 787-9. Qantas also connects Melbourne and LAX with the 787-9. Delta is the only airline connecting the two cities with the Airbus A350 or using the A350 to connect North America with Oceania.
US Airlines’ Oceania Strategies
After the COVID-19 pandemic, recovery in travel demand to Asia lagged behind demand to Europe. However, demand to most European cities is highest during the summer season, leading to significant cuts in capacity during the winter. American, Delta, and United need to either redeploy expensive widebodies to other destinations or reduce aircraft utilization.
Demand to Australia and New Zealand is generally highest during the northern winter season, making it an attractive region to redeploy excess widebody capacity when European demand is lowest. Subsidies from Brisbane Airport have attracted all three legacy carriers, and subsidies from Adelaide Airport have led United Airlines to commence nonstop flights from SFO. In addition to Australia, the legacy carriers have also boosted service to New Zealand.
United Airlines added the most capacity to Australia and New Zealand out of the three, partly due to the strength of its San Francisco hub. However, the surge in capacity led to lower load factors and trashed United’s yields, prompting the carrier to pull back capacity. Delta had to cut its Sydney route from double daily to 11 times per week. The increased capacity on Delta’s new route from LAX to Melbourne signals positive performance.
Delta Air Lines’ Transpacific Strategy
Delta has traditionally relied heavily on its joint venture partners for long-haul service. In Europe, it’s Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, while in South America, it’s LATAM. Delta’s Asian joint venture partner is Korean Air, while it formerly operated a joint venture with Virgin Australia. This agreement ended in 2022, with Virgin Australia now partnering with United Airlines. With a metal-neutral joint venture, the two partners essentially act as one airline.
For Delta, this has allowed it to reduce costs and risks by serving fewer routes with expensive widebodies. This strategy is bad for Delta’s staff, specifically its pilots, and so the carrier’s latest labor agreement with its pilots specifies new scope requirements for global widebody flying. Delta must ensure one-for-one widebody flying with its joint venture partners, with minimums for each region, and each joint venture is subject to a single set of guidelines.
This gives Delta more flexibility to optimize widebody flying, while the pilot workgroup benefits from increases in long-haul flying and growth in the carrier’s widebody fleet, as widebodies are the highest-laying and most desirable aircraft. With Delta flying more long-haul routes with its own metal, it’s now looking to expand into new markets. Delta holds a strong position in Europe, but across the Pacific, United Airlines is the undisputed leader.
Delta faces a lack of brand awareness in many markets, but this hasn’t stopped the Atlanta-based carrier from trying. This includes new services to Brisbane and Melbourne, along with new services to Taipei and Hong Kong. Additionally, Delta is planning to serve Manila and Singapore. Furthermore, Delta is planning to return to India and will begin serving Riyadh in October 2026.
The Advantages Of The Airbus A350-900
From LAX to Melbourne, Delta flies the A350-900, whereas United and Qantas fly the 787-9. Delta does not fly the Boeing 787-9, although it does hold orders for the larger, but shorter-ranged Boeing 787-10. The A350-900 is also Delta’s longest-ranged aircraft, with A350-1000s set to begin arriving in 2027. United and Qantas are not currently A350 operators, relying on the Boeing 787-9 for ultra-long-haul routes, although both carriers hold orders for the A350.
At 6,883 NM (12,748 km), this route comes close to the limits of what the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 can do. The Boeing 787-9 burns less fuel than the Airbus A350-900 as it’s smaller and lighter, and is therefore a cheaper, less risky aircraft to operate. The A350-900, however, is still remarkably efficient, and its main benefit over the Boeing 787 is that it’s larger with more interior room, more cargo capacity, more payload capacity, and a longer range. While it costs slightly more to operate, it also offers far more revenue opportunities for airlines.
With 275 seats on its A350-900, Delta is selling more seats onboard each flight to Melbourne than United with its 257-seat 787-9, or Qantas with its 236-seat 787-9. Delta Air Lines can also carry more cargo than its competitors, while only paying a small operating cost premium. The difference in operating cost can also be offset by favorable purchase terms. With the A350, Delta is essentially flying the same plane as its competitors, but more capable and with added potential revenue.
Inside Delta Air Lines’ Airbus A350-900
Delta Air Lines currently operates two subfleets of Airbus A350-900, with one coded as ‘359’ and the other as ’35H.’ For all of its routes to Oceania, the carrier deploys aircraft in the newer 35H subfleet, which feature 275 seats in a three-class layout: 40 Delta One seats, 40 Delta Premium Select seats, and 195 economy seats (of which 36 are Delta Comfort+ seats). The denser 359 layout has 306 seats, including only 32 DeltaOne seats along with 48 Delta Premium Select seats, and is being phased out.
The Airbus A350-900 debuted DeltaOne Suites in 2017. These seats, based on the Thompson Vantage XL (formerly the Thompson Vantage XL+, with the + denoting the presence of a door), offer a fully flat bed, direct aisle access, as well as a privacy door. The Thompson Vantage XL is a staggered seat, and unlike some staggered seat models, the center suites are all equal distance from one another. This means that there are no ‘honeymoon’ seats (close center pairs) available.
The A350-900 was also the first aircraft to debut Delta Premium Select, its premium economy product. Delta uses the Collins Aerospace MiQ, a popular seat model for premium economy and short-haul first/business class. These are the same seat models used for Premium Select on the rest of Delta’s widebody fleet, as well as Delta First on some narrowbody aircraft. Meanwhile, Delta uses the Recaro CL3710 for economy on the Airbus A350: it is the only aircraft type in Delta’s fleet with this model.
