Delta Intends To Expand in Asia With New Routes and Increased Capacity

Updated: June 8, 2026, 6:56am CDT

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Delta Plans an Expansion in Asia
Final Thoughts

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Delta Air Lines is planning an expansion in Asia, with new flights to Manila (MNL) in the Philippines and Singapore (SIN), as well as an increase in flights to Seoul (ICN), South Korea.

We don’t have all the details yet, but let’s take a look at what we do know.

Delta Plans an Expansion in Asia

One Mile at a Time reports that a “senior Delta executive” has revealed internal plans showing the Atlanta-based carrier intends to add flights to Manila and Singapore, as well as additional capacity to Seoul.

Delta has served both Manila and Singapore before, from its former hub at Tokyo-Narita (NRT), but has since relied on its joint venture partner Korean Air to connect Delta passengers to their intended destinations via its mega-hub at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport.

As for the additional Seoul service, the airline wants to add flights from both New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX). This is especially notable because Delta currently doesn’t serve any Asian destinations from its base in New York.

Singapore Gardens by the Bay — Delta plans to return to Singapore as part of an upcoming Asia expansion. Image Credit: Nick Ellis

There’s still much more to learn about this plan, however. First, we don’t know the timing of any of this new service, which is contingent upon the airline receiving more of its flagship Airbus A350 aircraft, of which it has 6 of the -900 and 20 of the -1000 variants on order.

Plus, we don’t know from which hub(s) Delta will launch Manila and Singapore services. The frontrunners are likely Los Angeles and Seattle (SEA). The latter has been Delta’s go-to hub for launching Asia flights in recent years, though the carrier recently announced Hong Kong (HKG) service from the former, so at this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to which hub will host the new flights.

Upgraded Points contacted Delta, but an airline spokesperson declined to comment.

Hot Tip:

In addition to Delta’s recently announced return to Hong Kong, the carrier will start a brand-new route between Atlanta (ATL) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RUH) in October of next year.

Final Thoughts

While Delta has launched a slew of new European service, the carrier has fallen behind competitor United when it comes to its Asian network.

There’s still a lot to learn about this plan, but it appears Delta is ready to expand again in Asia. In addition to the announced Hong Kong flights, the airline wants to add Seoul flights from New York and Los Angeles and return to Manila and Singapore.

We’ll certainly be hearing more about this soon, and we’ll update our coverage as soon as we do.