Delta Air Lines continues to expand its global footprint. Not long after announcing a massive European expansion, the carrier has revealed plans to resume transpacific service from Salt Lake City.

SLC to Seoul

For the first time in its history, Delta will operate nonstop service from its Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC) hub to Seoul Incheon, South Korea (ICN).

This 5,904-mile route will commence on June 12th, 2025 and operate daily using the airline's flagship Airbus A350-900. It will be the only nonstop link between Salt Lake City and Asia. 

Tickets will go on sale starting September 30th and while Delta has not disclosed the exact flight numbers, the schedule for the new route is as follows:

• SLC-ICN | Departs 11:05am, Arrives 3:20pm (+1)
• ICN-SLC | Departs 7:40pm, Arrives 5:20pm

Salt Lake City to Seoul is blocked at 13 hours and 15 minutes flying time while the return flight will be a shorter 12 hours and 40 minutes.

Delta hopes that the new service will provide easy connections across Asia for travelers across the Mountain West and Southwestern U.S. regions. Joe Esposito, Delta's Senior VP for Network Planning, commented this about the new route:

"The launch of Salt Lake City to Seoul service offers customers convenient access to Delta's growing global network and ensures that virtually all U.S. demand is connected to Seoul via nonstop or one-stop service.

"As Salt Lake City continues to grow as a vital Delta hub, our strong joint venture with Korean Air allows us to offer unmatched connectivity between the U.S. and Asia, leveraging strong hubs on both sides. This ensures that customers, including those in the interior U.S., have access not just to Seoul but to key destinations across Asia."

Local leaders are very excited about the route as well. Utah's Governor, Spencer J. Cox, said:

"As we open this new gateway to Asia, I am excited to expand Utah's global reach and foster new cultural and business partnerships. Delta's commitment to our state underscores Utah's growing role on the world stage. I was delighted to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol and discuss how this new route will deepen connections between Utah and Korea."

Furthermore, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall commented on the global impact the new service will have connecting the city to more places in Asia, contributing to expanding the community's global reach.

Growing in SLC

This new route shows Delta's commitment to Salt Lake City. After playing a massive role in the completion of the airport's brand-new terminal, Delta hopes to grow capacity at SLC by 7% from 2024 to 2025.

The airline currently operates around 250 peak-day departures to over 90 destinations worldwide from Salt Lake City. Despite the new terminal being completed in 2020, Delta hopes to add even more gates by 2027 to further solidify SLC's position as an important gateway.

It's worth noting that SLC-ICN will be the tenth international destination that Delta serves from Salt Lake City and the first one to use the A350. All of the other long-haul routes use either the A330 or 767.

The last time Delta had transpacific service from Salt Lake City was 2011 when the airline operated a route to Tokyo Narita (NRT).