6 hours Ago By Mia Ping-Chieh Chen
Later this year, Delta Air Lines plans to launch additional direct flights from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Melbourne Airport (MEL), completing its expanding list of overseas destinations. The move significantly improves Melbourne's international connections and represents a substantial expansion for Delta, one of the biggest airlines in the world. Delta's premium A350 serves this route Beginning in early December 2025, the new route will run three times a week at first, with plans to enhance the frequency as Delta's fleet expands to include more long-haul Airbus A350 planes.
This is the first-ever non-stop flight between Melbourne and the US featuring the state-of-the-art Airbus A350 . The 275-seat aircraft will offer 40 Delta One suites with fully flat beds, part of the airline's newly designed four-class cabin layout. Delta's website shows that the configuration of "35H" features 40 Delta One Suites, 40 Premium Select recliners, 36 Comfort+ extra-legroom seats, and 159 standard economy seats.
Local officials celebrate Delta's expansion Local officials are thrilled about the development, and Lorie Argus, CEO of Melbourne Airport, has expressed her joy about the new service. She described the launch as a tremendous vote of confidence in Victoria's economy, with significant potential for both tourists and business, highlighting the positive impact the service would have on Victoria’s tourism sector. " The new services will help bring hundreds of extra visitors to our state each week, which will help support Victoria’s world-class tourism, dining, and hospitality venues, " Argus said in a statement.
" North America is an incredibly important inbound market for us, and we're proud to be partnering with Visit Victoria to help restore capacity on the Los Angeles route and incentivize North American tourists to make Melbourne their first stop. " Airbus and Delta Air Lines have agreed on a multi-decade partnership focused on innovative and sustainable advancements in the aviation industry. In addition to the tourism benefits, the new flights will also support local businesses, particularly those looking to connect with North America.
Furthermore, the additional cargo capacity on the flights is expected to benefit Victorian exporters, allowing them to ship high-value goods directly to North America without the added cost of transiting through Sydney. According to the statement from Melbourne Airport, Delta's new service between Los Angeles and Melbourne will operate three times a week. Flights will depart Los Angeles at 21:25 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, arriving in Melbourne at 08:15 (+2) local time.
Return flights will depart Melbourne at 10:25 on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, landing in Los Angeles at 06:10 local time on the same day. The flights aren't immediately available on Delta's booking platform yet. Competition heats up with United and Qantas While Delta's new service brings significant advantages, the route will face competition from other major carriers.
Both United Airlines and Qantas currently offer daily flights between Los Angeles and Melbourne. Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows that United operates flights using its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with 3,341 seats and 26,460,720 available seat miles (ASMs) . Qantas deploys both the Boeing 787-9 and the Airbus A380 on the route, providing near 9,600 seats and around 75 million ASMs.
In October 2025, United's website shows that the carrier will run 13 flights per month on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while Qantas will offer daily flights with a rotation of two aircraft. Starting the last week of October and continuing into November, United will operate flights on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The competition will intensify in December 2025 when Delta joins.
United also increases their monthly frequencies to 31 flights per month, while Qantas continues with a similar number. Several major airports are getting new lounges or expanding and upgrading existing lounges. Among the airline’s longest flights The Los Angeles-Melbourne route is one of Delta's longest, covering 7,920 miles in each direction, according to Cirium data.
This makes it one of the airline’s most significant international routes, comparable to Delta’s other long-haul flights, such as its services between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Johannesburg Airport , which is around 8,433 miles, and between Atlanta and Cape Town, around 8,127 miles..
