Delta is running a “Route Race” where they say they’re letting SkyMiles members and their employees vote on one European island that will be added as a summer 2026 destination.
- Ibiza (IBZ)
- Malta (MLA)
- Olbia, Sardinia (OLB)
Voting takes place 7 a.m. Eastern August 25 – August 29 5 p.m. Eastern through the Delta app . Voting happens in the Fly Delta app only. Results to be announced 30 days after voting closes (so late September). The winning destination is based on the cumulative vote of SkyMiles members and employees.
They don’t mention origin city by it’s almost certainly New York JFk and a Boeing 767 (so inferior business class product, but routes with no competition so they’ll figure this matters less).
It’s odd to pre-announce route plans – and to outsource network planning – so I have to wonder if this is just engagement farming.
- Delta will select all three, “we discovered our members really like all of these destinations!”
- They already know how the vote will go, or they’ll tilt the scales to their preferred outcome.
- All of these are marginal anyway, a crapshoot, so who cares and they really can just roll the dice?
Ultimately summer Europe is something that usually does well, except when American flew to Bologna. Non-stop secondary Europe is just something you try at this point. I like Malta – I’ve actually never been (!) and this was the first trip I cancelled at the start of the pandemic. I think of Ibiza as too many lower end package holidays to match the premium demand that would make this work. As for Sardinia, Italy has been hot and more or less anywhere U.S. carriers fly non-stop has been working. Will that last?
Letting members vote does get app downloads, sign‑ins and push‑opt‑ins (Delta explicitly reserves the right to market to you based on your vote). They get coverage now and again in late September. On the other hand they’re not actually obligated to do anything here. The flight may not be daily over summer!
Regardless, I’m going to guess around a 10 p.m. departure on a Boeing 767 from JFK, arrive Europe around 11 a.m. to Noon, with a return from Europe scheduled two hours later and landing back in the states late afternoon. This maximizes connectivity on the U.S. side as well as timing arrivals to hotel check-in/check-out in Europe.
And if I had to pick I’d say Costa Smeralda is the most premium, with greatest chance to sell out business class, while Ibiza would be best to fill the back cabin.
Oh, yeah, they’ve definitely already decided (probably Ibiza), and this is totally ‘engagement bait.’ (Gary should know, he’s the king of ‘engagement bait.’) Oh, the thought of a publicly-traded company in 2025 using ‘direct democracy’ for its business decisions; psh, what is this Ancient Athens? It’s all about ‘profits’ and nothing to do with what passengers want. @Tim Dunn, beg to differ?
Ibiza by a mile.
Oh boy, the times I have had there. What happens in Ibiza… never happened.
the bigger point is that southern Europe intends to be a red hot place to spend a few 767s for 4-5 months of very peak demand – which is also why the 767 is a good choice; they can be deployed on domestic routes for the rest of the year.
DL is probably trolling UA with these route choices who can’t stand to see DL start anything that UA doesn’t serve.
Let’s see premium Delta try to serve Hong Kong, Taipei Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, etc.
What ever happened to northern Europe, like Hanover, Gothenburg, etc.
@Tim Dunn — Shots fired! Where’s @MaxPower with the rebuttal? And don’t sell yourself short, friend; DL also sends them to central and northern Europe as well. See ARN and PRG as unique examples. Plus, that new SkyTeam partner SAS helps… oh, who’d were they with before? Ouch again, United…
Sardinia for the toffs.
Ibiza for the party animals and druggies.
Malta for the history buffs.
Btw all are major destinations for Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizz..
derek,
in case you missed it, HA was the last remaining carrier to several of those Japanese cities and they are dropping more of their Japanese network from HA
and DL does serve TPE and is restarting HKG in direct competition w/ UA
and KLM does quite well to Northern Europe and, as noted, SAS and CPH will only strengthen that role. I would bet part of the reason for delaying SK’s admission to the JV is that DL needs more widebodies to add not just SK but also the added capacity that will come from KE’s merger with Asiana.
and jr,
low cost carriers have heavily taken over leisure routes within Europe. Most of the southern European routes that are flown by US carriers are leisure routes that happen to have a premium component of people that are willing to pay for nicer service; there are ground resources to create a decent experience even in leisure locations.
@Tim Dunn — Can’t blame @derek for wanting to go to SIN and FUK.
@Mike
What happens in Ibiza stays in Ibiza. Except if you’re an Austrian politician…
@ Tim — A crappy destination is the perfect to place to deploy a crappy DL 763.
Gene,
you still haven’t figured out that DL is a business. and they clearly will deploy their assets where people will pay for their services. Doesn’t matter what you think.
DL has been consistently the most profitable US airline including across the Atlantic for more than a decade. They know what what they are doing.
@Thomas — That’s a deep cut; others may not get your reference, but I did. If I recall correctly, it was far-right leader Strache’s ‘meetup’ with niece of a Russian oligarch seeking control of an Austrian newspaper; led to his resignation, snap elections, before the pandemic. (Yet another reminder that we, the free peoples’ of the world, have been under attack by war criminal Putin this whole time.)
@Tim Dunn — Exactly. Delta knows what it’s doing. So, with that in mind, which is it Tim? Ibiza?
DL has created a certain amount of expectation by mentioning any city.
I wouldn’t be surprised if part of the calculus is negotiations that are going on at each of those locations.
and, if all things are equal, even though they rarely are, DL could serve all 3 on a less-than-daily basis.
adding 3 new dots not just to A US carrier route map but not served by ANY US airline would be a bid deal esp. since DL is not going to use domestic configured narrowbodies as UA has done to add a number of its recent route map dots.
@Tim Dunn — That’s actually a hilarious possibility… Delta in a month: ‘Gotcha, we’re flying to all three!’ Oh, and ‘sick burn’ going after UA for flying old 757s on EWR/ORD-DUB, EDI, etc., (even though Delta still does, too, like MSP/DTW-KEF, etc.), and at least those have the old 2-2 Polaris lie-flat. Though, if everyone gets A321XLR, then the ‘big three’ should pull a ‘jetBlue’ and fly more single-aisle to smaller airports across the Atlantic.
Ibiza, Malta, Sardinia – all lovely. Really could care less if DL flies those routes…specially if I’m paying. I’ll fly AF or LH for the same price as Delta and experience a far superior business class product than Delta’s sad, sad, sad 764’s.
We retired to Malta six years ago. Fantastic choice on our part. Our cost of living has dropped by 40%, condo fee dropped from $800 per month to €330/year. No property tax. People are great. Food is excellent. The local wine can compare favorably with other countries. Dual language country: Maltese and English. History goes back 7,000 years.
The airport is hopelessly overcrowded. If you can find a seat, you win an award. The waiting area is a large rectangle, with 12 gates, all designed to help you stay fit. Bus takes you to plane, so that you can climb up stairs. This is especially great when the downpours come when your flight lands or boards. Oh, as for clubs, there is one La Valette. It is a private club on the second floor. Many of the airlines have their business class flyers go there. An ok club.
For a city the size of Seattle, with 600, 000 citizens/residents, they currently host 2,000,000 tourists a year; expected to go to 4,000,000 in two or three years(with or without Delta). The crane is the national bird, with construction going from 7am to 7pm, all year. Bring a mask, not for COVID, but construction dust.
A warm to hot summer, with temps. from high 80’s to high 90’s, will make you head to the beach. Not many sandy beaches(polluted or not). The Maltese love swimming. They get up every morning, even before work, to climb over the rocks to get to the water. As I said, sandy beaches in short supply.
If you are in your 20’s to 40’s,you can head to Paceville to party all nite. You can join the Brits as they barf, day and nite.
Oh, and summer is when all villages hold their festas. Very enjoyable and different. If you like the 4th of July fireworks, you will love how each village tries to outdo each other. Each village has fireworks every day, for a week. As a special treat, every village launches aerial rockets at 7 AM for seven days. Reminds me of Vietnam. I no longer dive under the bed.
Trust me, aside from these inconveniences, Malta is a great place to visit if you want to explore a country with a fantastic history. Just remember, it is nothing like Ibiza or Sardinia.
As I said, we love it here. Since we are not big on the beach, we love exploring the country. For foodies, there are six Michelin one-star restaurants. Their average price is about 30% cheaper than on continental Europe. Oh, and Malta is in the EU.
Oh, and if Tim comes, we probably won’t be here. As usual, we fly to our condo in Helsinki for half of July and August. To avoid the heat, which is getting hotter each year. But enjoy.
1990
the domestic 757s that DL flies to Iceland are not marketed as Delta One. the domestic first class cabin is sold as premium select.
DL doesn’t fly its 757s any further east than Iceland. UA flies its 2X2 Polaris 757s to continental Europe.
DL like AA flies all widebodies to Ireland and beyond.
the 321XLR will have a nice cabin for business class but only 1/3 of the passengers in economy will have direct aisle access. on the 767, it is almost 60%; on the 330, it is 50%.
of course, on 9 breast 3X3X3 aircraft, only 44% of people get an aisle and it is 40% for 10 abreast 777s.
your best chance of aisle is and will be with Delta regardless of the cabin you are in and where you fly to.
@AlanZ — As usual, you’re making me want to return to Malta! Great recommendations.
@Tim Dunn — This is why I like engaging on here with you, Tim. You bring the receipts! While nobody prefers a ‘middle’ and I will miss the ‘2-3-2’ and ‘2-4-2’ which are nice, especially when traveling as a couple, I still think the a321XLR will bring interesting route potentials for the big three and foreign carriers alike. Think instead of connecting through MAD, AMS, CDG, or LHR, you can fly nonstop from JFK, BOS, or PHL to OPO, MLA, or BGO, and using less fuel, etc. Ah, one can dream.