Delta Returns To MNL

 19 July 2026

US carrier Delta Airlines (DAL) is returning to the Philippines as it resumes flight this time flying direct Los Angeles – Manila route and vice versa beginning March 28, 2027 thrice a week with Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

DAL flight will increase to daily flight two months later from 07 June 2027 and aircraft upgrade to A350-1000 beginning October 2027. It is scheduled to fly twice daily flight beginning northern summer of 2028. 

The schedule for next year is listed in the GDS as follows:
DL119 LAX2350 – 0530+2MNL 359 357
DL180 MNL0740 – 0605LAX 359 247 

Delta Airlines last flew to Manila via Incheon in South Korea until January 2021 at the height of the covid19 pandemic..

Delta Resumes PH Operations

Flight Resumes 2 January 2021 

23 November 2020

US carrier Delta Airlines (DAL) will resume its Manila to U.S. service beginning January 2, 2021. 

The airline will fly from Seattle and Atlanta to Manila via via Seoul-Incheon in South Korea with Airbus aircraft. 

The flights from Seattle will be operated by Airbus A330-900neo, while the flight from Atlanta to Manila will be operated by Airbus A350-900 aircraft. 

Delta’s Manila-Seattle flight will operate daily leaving Manila at 9:50AM arriving Seattle at 10:05AM. Its return flight will leave at 11:36AM arriving Manila at 9:35PM. 

Meanwhile Manila to Atlanta flights will also operate daily leaving Manila at 9:55AM arriving Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 5:45PM. Its return flight will depart Atlanta at 10:35AM arriving Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 9:35PM.

Delta Axes Nagoya

 Manila - Tokyo - New York Stays

2 August 2014

Delta Airlines has announced that it will be axing one of its B747-400 flights DL629/630 from Manila to Nagoya on October 26 due to poor sales. 

Steven Crowdey, General Manager for Philippines, Australia & Micronesia said the airline is eliminating unprofitable routes and downsizing aircraft on other routes to stay competitive.

Crowdey said they are also cancelling Tokyo - Hong Kong on the same date as they significantly reduce the size of its Tokyo hub at Narita International Airport.

Delta will remove Boeing 747 service from three routes in Tokyo Narita starting September 30, as the airline downgrades Atlanta-Tokyo and Los Angeles-Tokyo as it will be operated by a much smaller Boeing 777-200.  On October 26, the Detroit-Nagoya run will also be downgraded to an Airbus A330-200 service but it will no longer proceed to Manila.

Services from Manila to Tokyo onward to New York on board B747-400 aircraft will not be affected.

Currently, Delta flies almost double daily Boeing 747-400 to New York from Manila through the Tokyo-Narita hub and  five times a week from Manila to Detroit via Nagoya out of NAIA Terminal 3. 

Terminal 3 Is Done, Finally!

Clears Delta Airlines, KLM, Singapore Airlines, 
Emirates and Cathay Pacific transfer

31 July 2014

Delta Airlines will be the first airline to relocate in Terminal 3 today after the Transportation Department finally completed Terminal 3 project, 17 years after concession was awarded, amidst corruption scandal against its erstwhile benefactor Fraport AG of Germany.

DOTC said  Japan’s Takenaka Corp. would turn over the facility today making it 100 percent operational and later tonight Delta Airlines would be receiving its arriving passengers from the Terminal.

Terminal 3 had been operating at half its intended designed capacity since it opened six years ago catering mostly to LCC operators Cebu Pacific and PAL Express together with lone full service carrier ANA. 

Terminal 3 will now be able to welcome 3.5 million more passengers said Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

Abaya said the $US80 million completion work done by Takenaka can now be able to fully accommodate the relocation of five international carriers operating from Terminal 1, which also has to undergo extensive repair, retrofit, rehabilitation and upgrading works to meet future demands.

Other foreign carriers that will move to Terminal 3 are as follows:

1. Delta Airlines........................................................ July 31
2. KLM....................................................................... August 4
3. Emirates................................................................. August 15
4. Singapore Airlines................................................. September 1
5. Cathay Pacific........................................................ October 1

The transfer of the  five airlines is expected to reduce Terminal 1’s annual passenger capacity from the current 8 million down to its design capacity of 4.5 million. Terminal 3 handles 13 million passengers per annum.

Delta makes an Emergency Landing

August 2, 2010

A Delta Airlines flight (DL 280) from Singapore bound for Tokyo and Los Angeles made an emergency landing around 9 am at Ninoy Aquino International Airport this morning after one of its passenger suffered a heart attack.

The Boeing 777-200LR plane (N707DN) left Changi for Narita Airport at 5:45 a.m. and was expected to arrive Tokyo around 2p.m. when the captain decided to divert its flight to Manila on grounds of medical emergency.

NAIA air traffic controllers received the emergency call at around 8:50 a.m. from the pilot of Flight DL 280, telling them that one of their passenger, Australian Johanne Brons, 55, appeared to have suffered a heart attack and was being revived by a doctor on board.

A Japanese doctor who treated Brons told medical staff at the airport that the patient passed out in flight but was revived after a few minutes.

"The patient admitted to the Japanese doctor that he had been suffering from diarrhea during the last two days, and that he had not been eating properly, which might have caused him to lose consciousness,” said Dr. Caridad Nuas, airport's medical officer.

She added that Brons is taking medicine for hypertension. He was taken to the Makati Medical Center for treatment.

The flight continued to Tokyo at 10 am after dropping off the ill passenger and its baggage at NAIA's terminal 1. The plane arrived at Narita at 4:41 pm without further issues.

Delta Airlines open RP Branch

Finalized consolidation of its Northwest subsidiary
January 12, 2010

Manila- Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, Inc. has recently set up shop in the Philippines as it consolidates its foothold in the country after acquiring Northwest Airlines for $2.8 billion in stock share swap in October 2008 to become the world's biggest airline.

The Philippine's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has allowed the biggest airline in the world to transact business and to establish a branch in the Philippines with office address at the 10th floor of Philamlife Tower in Makati City. The office will be engaged in “international air transportation services.”

The airline's Philippine office has an initial capital of USD $200,000 equivalent to 9.4 million pesos, consisting of 1.5 billion common shares and 500,000 preferred share at a par value of $0.0001 apiece.

Delta plans to fully integrate the operations of Northwest Manila office in Delta within the first quarter of this year after it received government permission (US FAA Certification) to operate its namesake service and its Northwest Airlines subsidiary as a single carrier, a Delta executive said.

More than 80 percent of pre-merger Northwest aircraft have already been painted over with the Delta livery. Employees of Delta and Northwest are already wearing the same uniforms, and the two carriers' frequent-flier programs have also been combined under the Delta SkyMiles brand.

"Initially, the two carriers have been kept separate while Delta sought the FAA certificate" says Richard Anderson, Delta chief executive.

The single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration allows Delta to put its code on Northwest flights and phase out the Northwest name. That process will be completed in the first quarter. For now, travelers won't notice anything different.

“The airline industry faces a very difficult economic environment around the world and this merger gives Delta increased flexibility to adapt to the economic challenges ahead,” Anderson said in a statement.

Delta plans to operate Northwest-coded flights until all seats and fares are consolidated in Delta's reservations system. Once that occurs, it will remove the distinction for passengers of purchasing on Delta or Northwest, and the Northwest Web site will be folded into Delta's.

The merger is expected to give Delta Air Lines $2 billion in annual revenue and a more comprehensive and diversified route system. It already operates an extensive domestic and international network that has a flight to every continent except Antarctica.

It has massive hubs in Amsterdam, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita.

Northwest hits turbulence

45 hurt as US-bound plane hits turbulence over Japan

February 20, 2009

TOKYO — Forty-five people were injured, at least three seriously, when a Northwest Airlines Boeing 747 hit turbulence on the Manila-Tokyo leg of a US-bound flight, according to airport officials.

Ambulances took the injured to local hospitals after the jet with 408 passengers and 14 crew landed at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo at 12:19 pm local time (0319 GMT) on Friday, an airport official said.

The flight had been set to continue on to Los Angeles after a stopover.

"The latest information we have is that 39 passengers were injured in addition to six crew members," said Toshiaki Nohara, a spokesman for Narita Airport Authority, which runs the airport.

A middle-aged woman passenger, speaking in accented Japanese, told the TBS television network: "The person in front of me flew up to the ceiling. The person behind me collapsed and looked unconscious."

A young man, also speaking in halting Japanese, said: "I was really scared. I thought I would die. The plane shook so much, and my whole body hovered up in the air. Inside the cabin, everybody was screaming loudly."

Northwest Airlines spokesman Masashi Takahashi said: "Air turbulence is believed to be the cause. The turbulence occurred 25 to 30 minutes before landing, when the seat belt light was on."

"During the flight, we received a message from the pilot saying two or three people were injured. But (the pilot) probably assessed that an emergency landing was not necessary," Takahashi told AFP.

"It is possible that the people injured did not have their seatbelts on, otherwise all of the 422 (people aboard) would have been injured as well."

Television images in Japan showed medical workers carrying two passengers off the plane, one on a stretcher and one in a wheelchair, while one young girl could be seen wearing a bandage around her head.

Among the most seriously injured were three Philippine nationals, two men and one women, Jiji news agency reported, quoting local police.

A 55-year-old US passenger said he heard screams when the plane suddenly descended before rising again, some 30 minutes before landing, the Kyodo news agency reported without naming the man.

Some people who did not have their seatbelts fastened hit their heads on the ceiling and injured their necks, he reportedly said.

The accident occurred while the Boeing 747-400 aircraft was circling over waters off Japan's Chiba Prefecture awaiting permission to land at Narita airport, officials said.

Delta to reduce Manila frequencies

Written by Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
Special to the Business Mirror

Monday, 03 February 2009



DELTA Air Lines Inc. will keep the Manila route it inherited from its merger with Northwest Airlines, but reduce its frequencies.

Maria Schnabel, external publicist of the Atlanta-based airline, said: “Delta/Northwest plans on maintaining the [Manila] service from both Narita and Nagoya [Japan].”

But flight frequencies between Manila and Nagoya will be reduced from seven to five times weekly starting on Tuesday. According to Hiroko Tanaka, manager for Pacific corporate communications of Northwest Airlines, the Manila-Nagoya flights are now available on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, while Nagoya-Manila flights are on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “The Narita-Manila flights remain daily,” she stressed.

Reductions are also imminent for Delta Air’s other Asian markets, Schnabel said, “to adjust to the new economic outlook and its effect on air travel. Other Asian markets will experience reductions in gauge or frequency.” The World Tourism Organization has projected international travel to grow between zero and 2 percent this year.

Continental Airlines and Hawaii Airlines are the other US carriers, which fly to Manila from Guam, and Honolulu, respectively.

Delta Air merged with Northwest in October 2008, with the former as the surviving entity. Complete integration of both carriers’ systems is seen lasting until the end of 2009. With the merger, Delta Air is now considered the largest carrier in the world.

About 6,000 jobs were cut after the merger last year, with Delta Air eyeing another 2,000 by the end of February. Delta Air announced last week that it would be decreasing its flight capacity to 8 percent this year by eliminating about 50 aircraft from its fleet. Travel demand is projected to slacken this year as the global economic crisis deepens.

Schnabel said the Manila office of Northwest, which Delta Air will takeover, is not expected to be affected by any ongoing staff cuts. “While full integration of Northwest into Delta will take time and will be completed through a thoughtful integration process over the next 12 to 24 months, Delta does not anticipate the need for involuntary furloughs of current Northwest employees in Manila as a result of the merger.” There are 200 employees in Northwest’s offices in Manila.

Pending the complete integration, Delta Air and Northwest will continue to operate as separate airline systems, with their own web sites, reservation systems and mileage membership clubs.

“During the integration period, Delta and Northwest will continue to operate their own branded aircraft until the integration process is complete,” said Tanaka.

For her part, Schnabel assures Northwest’s Philippine customers that “it’s business as usual, as we combine to create a premier global airline with a leading presence in the world’s major markets and a best-in-class loyalty program. We’re working hard to ensure that the merger is smooth, seamless and delivers even more benefits to [our passengers].”

She added: “Delta Air is very pleased with the current Manila-Narita and Manila-Nagoya flights. Besides Manila-Nagoya going to five times weekly, Manila customers should not expect major changes to the flight schedule or fleet in the short term.”

According to Delta Air’s web site, Northwest’s frequent flyer program called WorldPerks will continue to operate separately from Delta Air’s SkyMiles, but “will eventually be consolidated into one best-in-class loyalty program by the end of 2009.”

Schnabel said the merger is expected to boost Delta’s edge over other US carriers operating in Asia. “Delta is committed to growing our number one position in Asia [among US carriers],” adding that the carrier “has an accelerated timetable to implement network changes in the Asia-Pacific region. Most gauge changes will take place between April and June.”