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Delta Plans Daily Los Angeles-Manila Flights Starting March 2027 With Airbus A350
Delta Air Lines will launch new Los Angeles to Manila service next year, initially three times weekly before moving to daily flights in June 2027 using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
The gist
Delta to start daily LAX-Manila flights in mid-2027, returning to Philippine market with Airbus A350s after pandemic suspension.
Continuing coverage
All Delta Air Lines →- Delta pilot personally helps load bags during Atlanta delay to speed departure
- Delta to Launch Los Angeles-Manila Flights in March 2027 with Airbus A350
- Delta Passenger's Jacket Blocks Seat-Back Screen, Disrupting Neighbor's Flight
- Delta Offers $17.34 Business Class Upgrade on 15-Hour Atlanta to Seoul Flight
- Delta to launch first nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Manila in 2027
Delta Air Lines is setting plans to reintroduce direct flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila starting March 28, 2027. The airline has revealed a schedule that will initially operate three times per week, with daily service slated to begin June 7, 2027. This marks Delta’s return to the Philippines market after suspending previous regional services amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delta will operate the route using its Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft, a long-range, fuel-efficient model designed for transpacific flight. The schedule features a notably complex crossing of time zones and the International Date Line. Flights from Manila depart at 7:40 a.m. and arrive in Los Angeles at 6:05 a.m. the same day, effectively arriving before they depart due to time differences. Conversely, flights leaving Los Angeles at 11:50 p.m. reach Manila at 5:30 a.m. two days later.
This will be Delta’s first direct U.S. mainland-to-Manila service, supplementing the airline’s prior Manila operations that focused on regional markets within Asia. Before the pandemic, Delta flew between Tokyo Narita and Manila and had planned a Seoul-Manila route, both of which launched and ceased between 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic's impacts.
Los Angeles plays a strategic role in Delta’s transpacific expansion. While Seattle is the airline’s traditional Pacific gateway, intense competition from Alaska Airlines there has limited its utility as a hub. Delta has invested heavily in Los Angeles, adding Asian destinations such as Hong Kong, and is now leveraging LAX to establish a stronger presence in the Pacific market.
The decision to use the A350-900 also demonstrates Delta’s commitment to providing a competitive, modern product on this new long-haul route. The aircraft is valued for its fuel efficiency and passenger comfort, which can improve route economics and passenger appeal on such extended flights.
Schedule timing, especially the very late departure from Los Angeles, will present challenges for some passengers connecting from other U.S. cities due to the late hour. Nevertheless, the flights connect into Manila's early morning arrivals, potentially appealing to business travelers and those looking for early onward connections in Asia.
Delta’s entry into the Los Angeles to Manila market adds direct competition to Philippine Airlines and other carriers operating transpacific flights to the Philippines. Historically, Philippine Airlines has offered premium award space in premium cabins, but the arrival of Delta could diversify options for U.S. travelers to Manila and the broader Philippines region.
This new route reflects Delta’s broader strategy of expanding its Asian network from the West Coast, continuing a recovery and growth phase in its international operations disrupted by the pandemic. The airline’s ability to fill the large A350 aircraft on such a long route will be a key metric to watch, as will the competitive dynamic with other carriers serving the city pair.
Frequently asked questions
- When will Delta start flying from Los Angeles to Manila?
- Delta plans to begin flights on March 28, 2027, initially three times weekly, moving to daily service on June 7, 2027.
- What aircraft will Delta use for the Los Angeles-Manila route?
- Delta will operate the route using the Airbus A350-900, a modern widebody aircraft suitable for long-haul transpacific flights.
- Has Delta flown to Manila before this new route?
- Yes, prior to the pandemic, Delta operated flights between Manila and other Asian cities like Tokyo Narita and Seoul but suspended these services in 2020-2021.
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Delta pilot personally helps load bags during Atlanta delay to speed departure
A video is going viral on Reddit, showing a Delta Air Lines captain loading bags onto "his" plane, to get it to depart as quickly as possible during a delay. Massive kudos to this guy! Delta pilot tries his hand as a ramp agent in Atlanta Hours ago, a Reddit user shared the following: Stuck in ATL right now with a flight that has been delayed more than two hours. They only found one poor guy to load our bags, so the pilot went out to help. I've never seen anything like that! Kudos to the one ramp agent and pilot, but who's going to help us get off the gate? Edit: that is Captain Paul! Awesome team. Pilot loading bags by u/MRSRN65 in delta Then there was the following update: Update: pilot just came back on the plane to let us know they found another ramp agent to take over. He expects about another 20 minutes before we can take get off the gate. Now I wonder if there will be anyone to unload the plane at our destination when we arrive at 3 AM? Kudos to the ramp agents and aircraft crew. And then this final update (along with a video showing several ramp agents meeting the flight): Just landed! I don't think Captain Paul is going to need to help unload the bags. Huge kudos to Captain Paul, this is amazing to see! It's always so nice to see employees at an airline go above and beyond to keep the operation moving, even if something isn't specifically their job function. I'd also point out how the captain is not only helping with loading the bags, but he's doing so much more gently than most ramp agents I've seen. I'd say he has quite the career as a ramper, though I suspect that would be a slight pay downgrade for him. 😉 Anyway, while Delta definitely has the best service of the "big three" carriers, I'm not sure how much of this can be attributed to Delta's culture of shared success ( in the form of profit sharing , and aligning employees with the company's goals), vs. just this individual being awesome. I think it also has to be pointed out how good the optics of this are. When you see something like this as a passenger, you can't help but be impressed, and immediately have a lasting positive impression of the brand. Bottom line A Delta flight was delayed by hours and apparently then had a shortage of ramp workers to load bags onto the plane. So the pilot took the situation into his own hands, and went to the ramp to load bags himself. That shows an incredible amount of initiative… how cool to see!
Delta Offers $17.34 Business Class Upgrade on 15-Hour Atlanta to Seoul Flight
Airlines have gotten much better at monetizing their premium cabins over the years, and that comes in a variety of forms, including increasingly selling upgrades for cash as the departure date approaches, much to the chagrin of elite members trying to take advantage of their upgrade perks. Upgrade costs can be all over the place, and in some cases, they've become pretty attractive. However, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this before… Delta charges $17.34 for business class upgrade to Asia A Reddit user shares their experience being offered — and accepting — a $17.34 upgrade from Premium Select (premium economy) to Delta One (business class) on the 15+ hour flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Seoul Incheon (ICN). https://www.reddit.com/r/delta/comments/1uz6muy/hows_this_for_an_upgrade_price/ As the person explains: The ticket was changed to the current one on 5-28-26 and flights were LGA (Main B) to ICN via ATL (PS G) and return was HKG (D1 I) to JFK via LAX (D1 I), I being capital i. Upgrade pricing was at $2390. On 7-13, pricing went north to $2661. It went down to $1812 the next day, the 14th. Some time during the evening on the 14th, I changed the HKG-JFK flight to ICN-JFK via LAX to fly on Korean Air's 747. That changed the booking codes for return flights to Z while LGA-ATL was repriced to Comfort W and ATL-ICN was repriced to PS A. Upgrade pricing at this time went down to $1671. It stayed there until this morning at 8:13am, when I went into the seat map for ATL-ICN and saw $17.34. I didn't cancel out of the screen in case it never returns. Got to the purchase confirmation screen and the charge is also showing on my card. Currently, I'm about a month and a half out from checking in and flying. I was hunting for the elusive $699 upgrade offer but I'm not complaining at all with $17.34. Book asap, celebrate later. Was this price the best deal ever, a glitch, or what? Airlines don't publish how they come up with their upgrade pricing, though they seem to take into account a massive number of factors. This may include everything from your originally booked fare, to your elite status, to how many seats are remaining and in what fare buckets, to how close to departure it is. So, was a $17.34 upgrade to Delta One a glitch, or did Delta really mean to offer such an attractive price? On the one hand, originally booked fares may factor into the upgrade cost, and as a result, it's possible (in theory) that one booked a very expensive premium economy fare, and then the upgrade cost is based on some heavily discounted business class fare. But what's more interesting is how the upgrade cost jumps around. It looks like this ticket was changed a couple of times, but then overnight the upgrade cost went from $1,671 to $17.34, so that's nearly a 99% drop in the cost of the upgrade. My speculation would be that this was a glitch of some sort, which is to say that the upgrade algorithm sorta broke, and used bad logic. Now, this should of course still be honored, since upgrade pricing is dynamic, and if you want to have a very complicated system, that can go both ways. But as a customer, talk about a huge win! It's a good reminder to frequently check upgrade pricing, because you never know what you might find. $17.34 seems like a fair deal for an upgrade! 😉 Bottom line A Delta customer was offered a $17.34 upgrade to business class on a flight from Atlanta to Seoul Incheon, which must be some sort of a record. Upgrade costs can jump around. In this case, the upgrade cost went from $1,671 to $17.34 from one minute to the next, a nearly 99% drop! What do you make of this Delta One upgrade cost? Have you ever seen anything like this before?
Delta Passenger's Jacket Blocks Seat-Back Screen, Disrupting Neighbor's Flight
One Delta passenger shared a photo of a woman whose big jacket was tied around her seat back - taking up space from the passenger behind them, and covering that passenger's screen. Coach seats can be uncomfortable, and a bit of extra padding is clever. Using your jacket for back comfort is actually an ingenious hack - except it takes away comfort from the person seated behind you.
Air China expands fleet with 15 A350-900s and 40 A320neos for Shenzhen Airlines
Chinese flag-carrier discloses agreements covering 55 aircraft. Air China has agreed to purchase 15 Airbus A350-900 while 40 A320neos will be allocated to subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines. The Chinese flag-carrier will take delivery of the A350s over the course of 2030-32. Shenzhen Airlines will begin receiving the A320neos in 2029, and its deliveries will also run to 2032. No engine selection has been disclosed for the narrowbodies. All the A350s will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWBs. Air China and its import subsidiary AIE entered the purchase agreement with Airbus on 17 July. The airline gives the list price of the A350 aircraft as $6.1 billion, and that of the A320neos as $6.35 billion. But it says Airbus has granted "considerable price concessions" in the form of credit memoranda. Air China adds that the transaction is "in line with the development plan of the company and the market demand", and will allow it to optimise the fleet and supplement capacity. Some of the aircraft are intended to meet renewal needs owing to the withdrawal of ageing airframes. Air China recently disclosed that it would contribute five A350s to Shenzhen Airlines as part of a capital increase for the carrier. This is linked to a change in the Shenzhen Airlines shareholding structure, including the introduction of a new investor. Air China agreed to acquire another 60 A320neo-family jets at the end of last year, while its A350 interest has recently extended to an increased order for the freighter variant.
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