Delta Air Lines To Grow Austin Footprint Further With New Flights To Bentonville In 2027

Published Oct 31, 2026, 3:20 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. Delta Air Lines continues to expand its reach at Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), with the airline announcing that it will add domestic service from next March, operating nonstop to Bentonville (XNA). The new flight to Northwest Arkansas National Airport will become Delta's fifth destination from the Arkansas airport. Flights are set to operate once daily from March 7, on the airline's Embraer 175. Flights are already on sale and, as per the Delta website, can be purchased in economy Main Basic for a total cost of $159, Main Classic for $249, or Main Extra for $387 round-trip. Delta Air Lines Adds Bentonville From Austin For Spring Credit: Joe A. Kunzler | Shutterstock Delta will begin serving the route to Bentonville from Austin nonstop from March 7, adding to the airline's expanding network at both Austin and the Northwest Arkansas airport. Flights, which are already available to purchase, will see the service depart daily from Bentonville early in the morning, with a late-night return from Austin. Delta flight 3625 departs from Bentonville at 6:00 AM daily for the one-hour and 50-minute journey to Austin, with a scheduled arrival time of 7:50 AM. Return flights from Austin operate as DL3626, pushing back from the gate at 8:59 PM, for a 10:49 PM touchdown in Bentonville. Flights for the service are operated by the Embraer 175, operated by SkyWest Airlines under the Delta Connection brand. The aircraft is equipped with up to 76 seats onboard. Snacks and drinks are provided on the flight. Delta Aims To Capture High Business Travel Demand Credit: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock For those unaware, the world's largest retailer is based in Bentonville. Walmart is headquartered in the city, which produces huge demand for corporate air travel. This has ultimately created heavy route demand to key destinations across the US. Delta's latest route addition, with Austin coming online in March, provides more direct connectivity for both business and leisure travelers. Late last year, Delta added another route from the Arkansas airport, with a nonstop service to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). This provided travelers from the city with another nonstop service to the West Coast. What made the airline's approach unique on this route was that it proposed a 'use it or lose it' proposition, which suggested that the airline wanted travelers to make the most of the service; otherwise, if it had poor load factors, it would be dropped. A year later, the route remains. Read more about this approach here. Data from The Frequent Flyer shows Delta as the second-largest operator at the airport after American Airlines. Delta holds around 20.4% market share of all flights from the airport. During the period from May 2025 to April 2026, it carried 512,000 passengers. American, the largest operator, has a 48.5% market share, with patronage of 1.2 million annual passengers. Full details below: Ranking Airline Passengers (May 2025 to April 2026) Market Share (%) 1st American Airlines 1,216,675 48.5% 2nd Delta Air Lines 512,113 20.4% 3rd United Airlines 439,878 17.5% 4th Allegiant Air 232,636 9.3% 5th Breeze Airways 61,657 2.5% More Choice For Austin Travelers With Delta's Latest Route Addition Credit: Karolis Kavolelis | Shutterstock With Austin rumored to become Delta's tenth hub, the airline continues to expand at the Texas airport in a bid to capture high demand from local business and leisure travelers. The city has experienced rapid population and corporate business growth, as major tech companies such as Tesla, Google, and Amazon have set up offices in the city. Delta has looked to Austin as a key growth market where it could reclaim a major presence in Texas. Of the four major US carriers (others being United, American, and Southwest), all of these airlines maintain extensive Texas operations and hub operations from the state. This is where Delta comes in, as it sees Austin as a clear market and is the airport's second-largest operator after Southwest. Austin airport is undergoing a $5 billion airport redevelopment and expansion program which will continue on into the next decade. Delta is investing now, with more domestic options and a new nonstop flight to Europe, where the airline will commence services to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) from March 2027.