Delta Air Lines is launching flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Melbourne Airport (MEL) beginning December 3, 2025.
The route will operate 3x weekly during the winter season using Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Delta is utilizing its premium heavy A350s on the route, outfitted with 40 Delta One Suites (Business Class), 40 Delta Premium Select (Premium Economy), 36 Delta Comfort+, and 159 Economy seats.
The flight will operate westbound on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and eastbound on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Flights will operate on the following schedule:
| Flight | Departs | Arrives |
|---|---|---|
| DL11 (LAX-MEL) | 9:25p | 8:15a (+2 days) |
| DL12 (MEL-LAX) | 10:25a | 6:10a |
With the new service, Delta will compete directly with United and Qantas on the route, both of which use Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on the route. The launch of this service by Delta will give all three major airline alliances a direct connection between Los Angeles and Melbourne.
SkyTeam has historically been the weakest of the big 3 airline alliances when it comes to flights between the United States and Australia. Qantas, and its partner American Airlines, are part of OneWorld while United and Air New Zealand are members of Star Alliance. Delta doesn’t have a major partner in Australia so it will likely have to rely on O&D traffic in Melbourne to make these flights work.
Summary
Delta Air Lines is launching flights between Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia in December. The winter seasonal flight will operate 3x weekly using a premium-heavy Airbus A350 aircraft. Delta will compete directly with United and Qantas on the route. Tickets are not yet on sale but I expect to see them loaded into the system shortly. Once loaded, tickets will be available for purchase via the Delta website.
(Image courtesy Delta Air Lines)