Summary
- Delta Air Lines will delay the relaunch of its LAX-PVG route until July 12, 2024, offering four flights per week on an Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
- Prior to the pandemic, Delta operated the LAX-PVG route frequently, but it was operated by a retired Boeing 777.
- Delta recently expanded its operations in China, offering flights to Shanghai from Detroit and Seattle, utilizing Airbus A350-900 and A330NEO aircraft respectively.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based airline Delta Air Lines will no longer begin its service connecting Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) in March of next year. Instead, the airline will push back the relaunch of this service until July 12 of next year. The service connecting these two major airports will still be offered four times a week.
Relaunching routes to China
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta operated the LAX-PVG route frequently. Specifically, in December 2019, Delta had 330 flights scheduled between China and the United States. All of these flights went along six routes and only went to two cities in China, which were Shanghai and Beijing. However, this route was previously operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft, which Delta has since retired.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Earlier this year, in August, Delta Air Lines announced it would begin expanding its operations in China this winter. The airline announced it would expand its offerings to Shanghai from both Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DET) and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). The service from Detroit would be offered three times a week and would utilize an Airbus A350-900. The service from Seattle would operate daily and would utilize an Airbus A330NEO. Both of these route expansions began on October 29.
In addition to expanding these two established routes, Delta Air Lines also announced it would begin its service connecting LAX and PVG once again. The initial start date was set for March 2024. However, according to data provided by Cirium, Delta has now postponed the beginning of the service.
Postponing LAX service
The new service is set to begin on July 12, 2024. This route will still be offered four times per week and will still utilize one of Delta’s Airbus A350-900 variants. This aircraft holds a total of 306 passengers in four classes. There are 32 spots in Delta One Suites, 48 seats in Delta Premium Select, 36 seats in Delta Comfort+, and the remaining 190 seats are in the main cabin.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying
The LAX to PVG service is set to operate on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The flight is currently scheduled to depart from Los Angeles at approximately 9:30 local time and arrive at 14:45 in Shanghai the following day. The return flight, from PVG to LAX, will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This flight will take off from Shanghai at 16:45 local time and arrive in Los Angeles at approximately 13:45 local time.
Several other airlines already currently operate this route. China Eastern Airlines currently has an LAX-PVG service that flies three times per week. This service is operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. United Airlines is also set to begin a LAX-PVG route. Beginning in mid-February 2024, United will operate a daily flight from LAX-PVG. This route, however, will be flown by one of the airlines’ Boeing 737-9 aircraft. At this time, United will also restart a service connecting Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Shanghai and a service connecting Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Shanghai. It will also expand its service from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Shanghai with another daily service.