Every day from LA: Delta Air Lines begins direct flights to Melbourne with Airbus A350
December 5, 2025
Melbourne Airport in the Australian state of Victoria has seen a third carrier enter the route between the airport and Los Angeles in California.
Delta Air Lines has joined United Airlines and Qantas on the route, operating a daily A350-900 offering 275 seats every day in each direction between the two cities.
Delta begins daily Los Angeles-Melbourne flights
The morning of 5 December saw the arrival of Delta’s first flight in Melbourne after its 7,921-mile (12,673km) journey from Los Angeles. For the inaugural flight, Delta sent its special centenary-liveried Airbus A350-900, registered as N572DN, to open the new route.
According to data from Flightradar24, the first flight (DL11) departed from Los Angeles International Airport at 21:17 on the evening of 3 December for its transpacific flight.
After 15 hours and 13 minutes in the air, the aircraft touched down in Melbourne at 07:30 local time on the morning of 5 December (due to the flight crossing the International Date Line heading westwards).
Upon its arrival at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport (MEL), the aircraft was met with a traditional water cannon salute by the airport fire service. Additionally, an arrival committee comprising local indigenous dancers met the aircraft as it taxied onto its parking stand.
At the time of writing, the return leg (DL12) is already heading back across the Pacific and is expected to land back in Los Angeles at 05:37 Pacific Time on 5 December.
America's Delta Airlines has touched down at Tullamarine with its first direct LA to Melbourne flight. The Delta Airbus A350-900 landed after a 15-hour non-stop journey and will operate three similar services every week. @AvaCashmore #deltaairlines #aviation #LA #melbourne pic.twitter.com/1RettHMKbe
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) December 5, 2025
The airport said that the inbound flight number DL11 and outbound flight number DL12 were chosen to honour Melbourne tram routes 11 and 12, which serve some of the city’s most famous precincts, including St Kilda, Collins Street, Spring Street, Brunswick Street and Victoria Street.
Delta flights will boost a busy summer at Melbourne Airport
The airport said in a statement that the start of Delta’s daily services to Los Angeles heralded the start of what’s expected to be a record summer for international passenger numbers at Melbourne Airport.
“Delta’s arrival in Melbourne means better connections between Victoria and North America, more choice for local travellers and exporters as well as more seats to bring American tourists into our state,” said Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus.
“Melbourne Airport is expecting its busiest summer on record for international travel, thanks in part to the additional capacity provided by Delta to the important North American market.”
The airport is expecting more than seven million travellers to use the gateway across December and January, including more than 2.5 million international passengers.
Melbourne Airport welcomes Delta to Victoria
Argus added the arrival of Delta’s first Melbourne service was an exciting moment for both Victorian businesses and travellers.
“Delta is one of the largest airlines in the world, and its network opens up incredible opportunities for trade and travel in both North and South America,” she said.
“This new service will help bring hundreds of extra visitors to our state each week, which will help support Victoria’s world-class tourism, dining and hospitality venues.
Welcome to Melbourne Delta pic.twitter.com/uiIf2NkiB0
— PoliticalPilot (@PilotPoli) December 4, 2025
“North America is an incredibly important market for us, and we know that simply by being on Delta’s route map, more American tourists will be inclined to make Melbourne their first stop in Australia.
“Having Delta flying across the Pacific will also make it easier for Victorian businesses to connect with one of our key trading partners and Victorian families wanting to travel to Disneyland or North American ski fields.
Delta joins two other carriers on the route
According to data from Cirium, with Delta starting on the route between Los Angeles and Melbourne, the route will now see an impressive 6,123 seats on offer in each direction every week throughout the Southern Hemisphere summer 2025/26.
Qantas also operates daily between the two cities using a combination of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and 485-seat Airbus A380s. Meanwhile, United Airlines flies daily using 257-seat 787-9s.
Delta is the only airline using the A350 on the route. Its A350-900s, of which the carrier has 39 in its fleet, accommodate 40 passengers in business class (branded as ‘Delta One Suites), 40 in premium economy and 195 passengers in economy.
The new flights will feed into Delta’s busy Los Angeles hub, where the airline is the largest premium carrier and provides convenient onward connections to more than 40 cities across the United States.
Melbourne Airport is planning for runway expansion
Melbourne Airport has become increasingly popular among international airlines since the pandemic, with a total of 39 international airlines now serving the airport.
Destinations across China have seen the most growth, with no less than nine Chinese airlines now serving the airport, which also receives service from six Australian-based carriers.
Despite this recent growth, Melbourne remains keen to attract new international carriers to its facilities as the airport is currently undergoing a consultation period about the construction of a third runway at the site. According to airport documents, the third runway is scheduled to open in 2031 and will support 37,000 additional jobs by 2046.
The project, which is backed by several local stakeholders, is currently running a consultation with local residents about possible noise pollution that the new runway might generate.
Depending on the outcome of that consultation, the airport operators, along with the local planning authorities, will decide on the next actions to be taken regarding building another runway at the airport.
“We’re building the infrastructure we need to support growth from airlines like Delta, including our third runway, which is due to open in 2031,” concluded the airport’s statement.
Featured image: YuDiao1118 / Wikimedia Commons
