Delta cuts 2 Las Vegas routes, grows premium transcon offerings
Quick summary
- Delta is introducing premium economy seating on select flights between New York (JFK) and San Francisco (SFO) starting Nov. 9, using Boeing 767 aircraft.
- The airline will discontinue service from Las Vegas (LAS) to Sacramento (SMF) and San Jose (SJC) after Jan. 11, 2026, due to shifting demand.
- Delta plans to increase its overall seat capacity by 2% in the second half of 2025 compared to the previous year, with new routes launching to Australia and Peru.
- Premium economy seats offer a mid-tier option, providing more space than standard economy but less than business class.
What to consider
- Premium economy will only be available on certain JFK-SFO flights operated with specific aircraft types.
- The discontinued Las Vegas routes were previously served with smaller regional jets and faced strong competition from other carriers.
- Visitor numbers to Las Vegas have declined, influencing route decisions to better match consumer demand.
What you'll miss from the article
- Details on how Delta's premium economy compares to other airlines' offerings and insight into broader trends in U.S. leisure travel demand.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Delta Air Lines is tweaking its schedule out west, adding more premium seats, but fewer flights, to California.
The SkyTeam alliance carrier will add its popular premium economy seats — Premium Select — to flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) from Nov. 9, a Delta spokesperson said. Premium Select will be available on certain flights operated with Boeing 767 aircraft.
Additionally, Delta is canceling two California routes from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas: Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC). The airline's last flights on the routes will operate Jan. 11, 2026.
The changes come amid overall growth at Delta. The airline will grow seats by 2% in the second half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows.
And that growth comes with some exciting new routes. In November, Delta will connect Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Denver International Airport (DEN) as part of a broader expansion at AUS. In December, the airline will also debut its first-ever service to Melbourne Airport (MEL) in Australia and service between Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, Peru.
Premium Select expansion
Delta's expansion of premium economy to the JFK-SFO route comes as airlines step up their game to woo premium travelers on transcontinental routes. The airline already offers lie-flat business-class seats and its extra-legroom Comfort+ product in the market, and the addition of Premium Select will give travelers a mid-tier premium option.
Premium Select seats are comparable to Delta's domestic first-class recliner seats. They are wider, with more legroom and recline than standard economy seats, but they aren't as spacious or private as business-class suites.
Delta already offers premium economy on select flights between JFK and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and American Airlines will also begin offering premium economy on select JFK-LAX flights in October. American plans to expand its premium transcontinental offerings with the debut of its first Airbus A321XLRs later this year.
United Airlines offers premium economy on select flights between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and both LAX and SFO, its website shows. The carrier does not serve JFK but plans to return to the airport in 2027.
Alaska Airlines and JetBlue also fly the JFK-SFO route, but neither offers a premium economy cabin.
Las Vegas slowdown
Delta's expansion at LAS since 2023 was opportunistic. The airport is neither a major crew base nor a focus city for the airline, and competition to both SJC and SMF is fierce — Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines also fly both routes, Cirium schedules show.
The decision to cut the routes, however, may be less about competition — Delta is known for not shying away from a fight — and instead more a reflection of the state of Sin City tourism.
The number of visitors to Las Vegas fell 7% year over year to 19.6 million during the first half of 2025 compared to last year, data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority shows.
Courtney Miller, managing director at aviation advisers Visual Approach Analytics, wrote in a report earlier in August that the drop may signal a broader slowdown in U.S. leisure travel.
"When the belt gets tightened as travelers consider a slowdown, Vegas is one of the first places that feels the pain," he wrote. Excluding the COVID-19 pandemic, the city has not seen such a dramatic drop in visitor numbers since it began collecting data in 1970, he added.
A Delta spokesperson said the route cuts from LAS were to better "align with consumer demand."
Delta offered up to three daily flights to SJC from LAS and two daily flights to SMF, Cirium schedules show. Both routes are flown with up to 76-seat Embraer E175s.
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