On December 7, Delta Air Lines announced it will be launching flights between its West Coast hub of Seattle and Taipei Taoyuan Airport in June 2024. The flights will be the airline’s first-ever non-stop connection between the US and Taiwan.
Continue reading to learn more about the route.
Delta’s Seattle – Taipei Taoyuan Route Will Launch in June 2024
Subject to government approval, Delta plans to launch its flights between Seattle and Taipei Taoyuan on June 6, 2024. The first flight from Taipei to Seattle will operate on June 7, 2024. From then on, the flights will operate daily with the following schedule:
- DL69 / Seattle – Taipei Taoyuan / 11:15AM – 3:20PM+1
- DL68 / Taipei Taoyuan – Seattle / 5:25PM – 2:05PM
Delta will use its Airbus A330-900 aircraft on the route. These are equipped with 29 Delta One staggered business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout, 28 premium economy class seats in a 2-3-2 layout, and 224 economy class seats in a 2-4-2 layout including 56 Delta Comfort+ seats with extra legroom.
Passengers in all classes will have access to USB-A charging ports and universal power outlets (shared between seats next to each other in premium economy and economy). The aircraft are also equipped with onboard wi-fi.
According to Jeff Moomaw, Delta’s Vice President – APAC, the new route to Taipei will be the airline’s seventh non-stop international market in the Pacific. The airline already flies to Auckland, Papeete, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong, Sydney, and Tokyo Haneda.
Delta Operated Tokyo Narita – Taipei Taoyuan Flights in the Past
As mentioned earlier, the Seattle – Taipei Taoyuan will be Delta Air Lines’ first-ever non-stop route between the United States and Taipei. That said, it won’t be the airline’s first-ever route to Taiwan’s capital overall.
In the past, Delta Air Lines used to have a major hub at Tokyo Narita Airport which it not only served from multiple destinations in the United States but also as a starting point for several routes to other parts of the region. Among those were flights to Manila, Shanghai, Singapore (which I had a chance to fly on in the past), and Taipei Taoyuan.
Delta’s route between Tokyo Narita and Taipei Taoyuan was operated until May 24, 2017, using Boeing 767-300ERs.
In 2020, Delta moved all of its operations from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport and it currently only operates routes to the United States out of Japan.
Four Other Airlines Connect Taipei with the United States
Once the Seattle – Taipei route is launched, Delta will become the second American airline to operate flights between the United States and Taiwan.
Currently, United Airlines operates double daily flights between San Francisco and Taipei Taoyuan. One of those is operated using the 777-300ER and the other using the 777-200ER. American Airlines (or any other US airline, for that matter) does not serve Taiwan.
On the other hand, all three major Taiwanese airlines – China Airlines (SkyTeam member), EVA Air (Star Alliance member), and Starlux Airlines – serve multiple destinations in the United States out of Taoyuan Airport.
Summary
In June 2024, Delta will be launching daily flights between Seattle and Taipei Taoyuan. It will be the first non-stop Delta connection between the United States and Taiwan. That said, it will not be the first time for the airline to operate to Taipei Taoyuan as until 2017 Delta served the airport out of Tokyo Narita.
Once launched, Delta will be the fifth airline to connect Taiwan and the United States after United Airlines and Taiwan’s three full-service carriers.
