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US legacy carriers such as 
Delta Air Lines are built on a complex network of hubs that spread their capacity around the country. However, focus cities also play an important role in expanding an airline’s footprint, as evidenced by Delta’s recent growth at Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS), where it has the airport’s second-largest market share by flights.
According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, Delta has scheduled 14% more seats from AUS this year than it did last year. This makes Austin the carrier’s fastest-growing focus city, ahead of Raleigh–Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina. It has also added nine new routes from AUS.
Impressive Growth
This year, Delta will add flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC). Elsewhere, Florida has two new additions: Miami and Destin-Fort Walton Beach.
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Looking northwest, Delta’s new destinations from Austin this year include Bozeman, Denver, and Kalispell, while its northeast expansion beyond its Texas focus city adds Columbus and Kansas City to the roster. Delta said back in September that, with its new routes, it “now serves nearly 30 destinations from AUS.” Network Planning SVP Paul Baldoni spoke about the carrier’s presence in Austin.
“Delta is building on a strong foundation in Austin and creating more ways for our customers to get where they want to go. It’s another step in delivering the network, convenience, and premium experience that sets Delta apart.”
Austin’s Second-Largest Airline
This month, Delta has scheduled a grand total of 1,798 nonstop departures from Austin. Of these, 1,151 are mainline flights, with the remainder being regional feeder services operated under the Delta Connection brand by its partners SkyWest Airlines (560 flights) and Endeavor Air (87 flights). Correspondingly, the Embraer E175 is the most commonly used jet on Delta’s Austin flights.
With 560 services penciled in, it accounts for almost 31.15% of the monthly total of 1,798 flights. However, it ranks only second by seats, as the Airbus A321 offers 48,896 seats across 256 flights, compared to the E175’s 42,560. Other popular aircraft types for Delta’s Austin flights include the A319 (315 flights), the Boeing 737-800 (190 flights), the A220-300 (142 flights), and the A320 (125 flights).
Delta’s June totals of 1,798 scheduled nonstop departures and 230,134 seats mean it currently has the second-largest market share in Austin. Indeed, it sits only behind Southwest Airlines, with 3,537 flights and 571,209 seats. Still, it ranks ahead of its big three US legacy rivals, American Airlines and United Airlines, which respectively have 1,255 flights and 181,648 seats and 981 flights and 143,801 seats.
Delta Has 3 Focus Cities — But Only 1 Is Getting The Love
Delta is growing in all three focus cities, but the Lone Star State is where the real push is happening.
How Has Delta’s Presence In Austin Evolved Over The Years?
Cirium’s historical scheduling data paints an interesting picture as far as Delta’s evolving presence in Austin is concerned. Indeed, its records go back to 2004, when 5,951 Delta-marketed nonstop flights were scheduled to depart from Austin. Thereafter, the total fell gradually, hitting a low of 2,853 in 2009 amid the financial crisis. It then grew steadily, reaching a pre-pandemic peak of 8,790 in 2019.
Naturally, the onset of the global health crisis brought this growth to a screeching halt, and in 2020, the total fell by almost half to just 4,886. With that being said, Delta bounced back quickly, scheduling a new high of 8,945 nonstop flights from Austin in 2021. Since then, it has grown at an impressive rate, reaching 18,314 flights in 2025. This year will see it hit another new record, with a total of 21,405.
