Delta Air Lines is gearing up to reconnect Austin with international skies, marking its first foray into overseas routes from the city in over a decade. Scheduled to begin on December 20, Delta will offer daily nonstop flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Cancun, maintaining this seasonal service through mid-April 2026, as per information obtained by KXAN. This reintroduction of the AUS-CUN route, last operated by Delta in 2011, positions the airline to solidify its expanding footprint in Austin's travel market.
Amid the growing roster of routes, these new flights are only a highlight in Delta’s broader strategy, encompassing a variety of domestic connections that aim to augment its frequency of departures from Austin. According to CBS Austin, Paul Baldoni, Delta's senior vice president of network planning, detailed the increase of service to Orlando, evolving to twice-daily flights during the peak winter travel season. Delta also had recently commenced twice-daily services to New Orleans and reaffirmed plans to launch flights to Panama City, Florida.
The journey to expand Austin's connection with Cancun signifies Delta's relentless pursuit to capture a larger market share at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where it presently stands as the third-largest airline after Southwest and American. This push includes nonstop service to New Orleans that began on February 27, with the Panama City route set to take flight on March 9. Come spring, new nonstop services to Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and Memphis will launch, followed by routes to San Francisco and Tampa commencing in June. With these developments, Delta is expected to see a year-over-year increment of more than 35% in departures from Austin.
It is not only about breadth but also volume. Delta's climbing traffic through Austin, reaching over 3.3 million passengers in 2024 and grabbing about 15.3% of all passengers, forecasts an upswing from 11.6% in 2022, as reported by KXAN. This trend takes on greater significance against the backdrop of American Airlines cutting over 30 routes in recent years. With such strategic route expansions, Jamy Kazanoff, deputy chief of air service at AUS, anticipates that Delta is on the runway to surpass American as Austin's second-largest carrier by summer.
