LOS ANGELES- Atlanta-based carrier, Delta Air Lines (DL) will discontinue its service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Papeete (PPT) in French Polynesia after June 7, 2025.
The airline has removed all inventory for flights beyond this date, effectively canceling the route that was previously scheduled to resume on October 7, 2025, JonNYC reported.
Photo: Prague AirportDelta Cuts Los Angeles to Tahiti Flight
The seasonal service, which launched in December 2022, operated three times weekly with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.
- Flights followed a consistent schedule with DL119 departing Los Angeles at 11:40AM and arriving in Tahiti at 6:40PM.
- While the return flight DL118 left Tahiti at 8:40PM and reached Los Angeles at 7:20AM the following day.
The 4,095-mile journey typically took 9 hours westbound and 8 hours and 40 minutes eastbound. Despite operating for three consecutive seasons, the route will not continue past mid-2025, flagged OMAAT.
Following this cancellation, Delta’s long-haul network from Los Angeles will include year-round services to Paris (CDG), Sydney (SYD), and Tokyo (HND), along with seasonal routes to Auckland (AKL) and Brisbane (BNE).
The airline plans to expand its international presence with new flights to Shanghai (PVG) beginning June 2025 and Melbourne (MEL) starting December 2025.
Photo: By Lasse Fuss – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19825411Competitive Market Pressures
The competitive landscape for Tahiti service from the United States remains robust despite Delta’s exit. SkyTeam partner Air France (AF) maintains service between Los Angeles and Tahiti as part of its Paris route network.
Air Tahiti Nui (TN) serves both Los Angeles and Seattle, operating with partnership agreements with Alaska Airlines and American Airlines despite lacking formal alliance membership.
United Airlines offers year-round service between San Francisco and Tahiti, while French Bee, an ultra-low-cost carrier, connects San Francisco to Tahiti via Paris.
Delta’s decision reflects its strategic challenges on the West Coast, where it lacks the fortress hub advantage that competitors like United enjoy in San Francisco. United’s extensive connectivity from its San Francisco hub provides sufficient feed traffic to sustain its Tahiti service year-round. Delta cannot replicate this network effect in Los Angeles, limiting the route’s viability.
The redundancy with Air France’s existing service likely influenced Delta’s decision. Air France offers a superior passenger experience on the route plus connectivity options from Paris, reducing the incremental value of Delta’s separate operation.
This partnership through the SkyTeam alliance means Delta customers will still have access to French Polynesia through codeshare arrangements, minimizing the impact of the route cancellation.
Feature Image by Clément Alloing | Flickr
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