The airline announced plans to launch daily nonstop service between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and San José Mineta International Airport in California’s Bay Area this fall. Service begins Oct. 6 and will operate year-round.
The flights will operate on Delta’s Airbus A319 aircraft, which seats 132 passengers and feature Wi-Fi, in-seat power outlets and seatback video screens.
The San José route is the second Bay Area destination from Austin for the airline, which already flies nonstop to San Francisco International Airport. Delta’s launch also brings competition to the route, which is currently served by Austin market leader Southwest Airlines.
Southwest and United Airlines also fly nonstop to San Francisco, and Southwest additionally flies to Oakland.
The new San José flight opens up “a direct link between two major tech hubs,” Delta said in a news release. San José airport is located in the South Bay and is the closest commercial airport to Silicon Valley.
The Atlanta-based airline will also bolster service to Orlando, adding a third daily flight on the route.
“Whether it’s families heading to Orlando or business travelers moving between two innovation centers, Delta is giving Austin customers more ways to stay connected,” the news release reads.
Delta began year-round service to Columbus, Ohio, and Kansas City, Mo., and seasonal service to Asheville, N.C., Bozeman, Mont., and Kalispell, Mont. earlier this month. It will launch twice-daily service to Phoenix in July.
Austin is a focus city for the airline, which also opened a flight attendant base here in October.
The growth comes amid the largest expansion in the airport’s history, which will add a new concourse, 32 new gates and an expanded arrivals and departures hall by the early 2030s. Once renovations and additions are complete, Delta will anchor the existing concourse, controlling 15 gates.