Delta Air Lines is continuing its aggressive expansion in Austin with the addition of five new routes. This is the latest chapter in the saga that began when Delta added flights to McAllen, Midland/Odessa, and Nashville late last year.
The carrier announced that Austin was set to become a focus city pre-pandemic but those plans stalled out for a while. However, since the initial expansion, Delta has built Austin into a bona-fide mini-hub. In addition to flights from Austin to all of its domestic hubs and focus cities, the carrier has added routes to Harlingen, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and Orlando.
Now, as first reported by IshrionA, the Atlanta based carrier is adding five new routes from the Texas capitol, two of which will be operated using mainline aircraft. This is the best indication yet of Delta’s commitment to expansion as most new routes are being operated by SkyWest Embraer E175s.
Beginning in the spring of 2025, Delta will operate daily, nonstop flights between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and the following destinations:
- Indianapolis International Airport (IND) – begins May 7th, 2025
- Memphis International Airport (MEM) – begins May 7th, 2025
- Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) – begins March 9th, 2025
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – begins June 8th, 2025
- Tampa International Airport (TPA) – begins June 8th, 2025
With the exception of San Francisco and Tampa, which will utilize Airbus A220-300 aircraft, the new flights will operate using Embraer E175s under the Delta Connection banner.
While some of these routes make a ton of sense (looking at you Northwest Florida and Tampa), some are real head scratchers (who is flying between Austin and Memphis?). Some of these routes are ones that American recently abandoned as it killed its Austin focus city. Either Delta thought American was leaving money on the table or, Delta is willing to lose money in the short term as it builds up a robust operation in Austin.
Either way, as an Austinite, it’s always nice to see more direct options from my home airport. Though, I’m not sure how the airline has any capacity to add flights at the airport given the current gate constraints.
Summary
Over the past year, Delta has announced ten new routes from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with the newest five being Indianapolis, Memphis, Northwest Florida, San Francisco and Tampa. It’s clear that the airline sees long-term growth potential in the Texas capital and, if these recent announcements are any indication, there will be more to come.