Delta Air Lines To Bring Back Los Angeles-London Flights By 2029, But Hopes For 2028 Olympics

Published Aug 27, 2026, 4:37 PM EDT Journalist – Aaron is an aviation and travel journalist with 14 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. His background spans airport operations, aviation infrastructure, and travel consulting, having worked with global organizations across New Zealand, Europe, and North America. Combining industry expertise with firsthand travel experience across more than 52 countries and five continents, Aaron covers airlines, airports, aviation policy, and the wider travel sector. He is based in Canterbury, New Zealand. His work has been published in Simple Flying and featured by MSN, SAM CHUI Aviation & Travel, EIN News, Pakistan Defence, and Climate Depot. SkyTeam carrier Delta Air Lines is considering a restart of nonstop flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR), with plans to have these airborne by 2029. Delta's Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Joe Esposito, mentioned the airline's ambitions to resume services since its exit in 2024. Esposito noted that while the airline plans to deploy its Airbus A330-900 by 2029, it could bring this earlier to be in time for the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics, being hosted in Los Angeles, California, between July 14 and 30. Delta previously served the route until May 2024, when it opted to withdraw as part of a joint-venture agreement that left Virgin Atlantic operating up to three daily flights to Heathrow. Reconnecting Los Angeles To London Heathrow Credit: Shutterstock Flights between Los Angeles and London Heathrow are currently operated by American Airlines, British Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. From Los Angeles, London Heathrow is the biggest international market, and according to UK CAA statistics, flights between Los Angeles and London are the eighth-largest market from the British capital. In 2025, more than 1.45 million passengers flew between the two cities. Currently, Delta operates nonstop services from Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, New York–JFK, Salt Lake City, and Seattle/Tacoma to London Heathrow. Delta already suggested that it was reconsidering reconnecting Los Angeles and London, as reported by Simple Flying back in May. This came as the airline looked at its LAX strategy, where the airline looks to continue building its network, with future Asia expansion and extending its capacity for premium travelers. Nonstop Flights To The British Capital Just In Time For the 2028 Summer Olympics Credit: GCMap When Delta stopped flying to London from Los Angeles in May 2024, it left the route to its joint-venture partner Virgin. This move at the time made sense, with several other legacy carriers saturating the market. Virgin maintains three daily services on the route, and Delta can still participate in a commercial sense by codesharing, instead of deploying its own metal. Delta has outlined that should it return to London, it would look to utilize its A330-900, with a premium heavy configuration. This would see up to 60 Delta One seats, as suggested by Esposito, with 70% of the aircraft's capacity ringfenced for the premium passenger. Between both Delta and United, LAX has become a battleground as both airlines compete for premium corporate traffic. Last year, Delta remained the largest carrier at the airport, with 13.9 million passengers, and holds a 19% market share. United sits just behind this at 11.8 million passengers with a 16% share. A Look At Delta's Long-Haul Network From Los Angeles Credit: Shutterstock Delta maintains a modest long-haul network from Los Angeles and is one of two West Coast gateways to destinations in Asia and Oceania. A full list is detailed below: Asia Hong Kong, Manila, Shanghai Pudong, Tokyo Haneda Europe Paris Charles de Gaulle Oceania Melbourne, Sydney (year-round), Auckland, Brisbane (seasonal) Other international routes from LAX, albeit short- to medium-haul, include Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, San José (CR), Vancouver, Liberia (CR), and Mexico City–Benito Juárez. During Esposito's Delta Insights meeting, the airline's Vice President also suggested that the airline is actively considering several other new long-haul international routes from the US West Coast, with Singapore high on the airline's radar. Esposito expects that Singapore will be next; however, he has not outlined whether this will operate from Seattle to Los Angeles. Several other future Asia destinations are also being analyzed for viability, with Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) (SGN), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), Osaka International Airport (KIX), Beijing Capital Airport (PEK), and other cities in India, but this will only be once Russian overflight restrictions are lifted. Additionally, it is expected that next month will see a 'big domestic announcement' for services from Los Angeles, with a range of the largest domestic business destinations expected to be spotlighted.