More enhancements to Hawaii travel are coming with this replacement aircraft. Delta will upgrade its aged Boeing 767 widebody to newer Airbus A330-300 planes on the Salt Lake City to Honolulu route. That service competes directly with widebody service offered by Hawaiian Airlines.
Starting April 15, 2025, the updated daily schedule will feature departures from Salt Lake City at 11:45 AM, arriving in Honolulu at 2:33 PM, with return flights leaving Honolulu at 7:10 PM and arriving in Salt Lake City the following morning.
The Airbus A330-300 offers significant improvements compared with the older Boeing 767, including enhanced seating, modern inflight amenities, and increased efficiency. The aircraft, on average half the age of Delta’s 30-year-old 767 fleet, accommodates 282 passengers across four cabins: 34 Delta One lie-flat seats, 21 Delta Premium Select seats, 24 Delta Comfort+ seats, and 203 Main Cabin seats.
Passengers will also enjoy updated inflight entertainment, including personal video screens, USB charging ports, in-seat power outlets, and Wi-Fi across all cabins. Additionally, the A330-300 offers increased luggage capacity and is more fuel-efficient per seat than the Boeing 767-300ER, contributing to Delta’s sustainability goals.
Hawaiian Airlines also operates Airbus A330 aircraft, specifically the smaller A330-200 variant. While the A330-300 features a longer fuselage, offering greater passenger and cargo capacity, the A330-200 provides exceptional range, making it well-suited for Hawaiian Airlines’ long-haul operations from the islands.
Both aircraft models are highly regarded for their quiet cabins and advanced technology, enhancing the travel experience for Hawaii-bound passengers.
This upgrade reflects a broader trend among airlines to deploy more efficient and comfortable widebody aircraft on Hawaii routes, offering travelers improved comfort and convenience.
Delta unveils technology-driven enhancements.
In addition to aircraft changes, Delta announced several technological upgrades during its CES 2025 presentation. Starting next year, passengers will have Bluetooth connectivity across all cabins, allowing them to pair wireless headphones with seatback entertainment systems, a feature also being adopted by United and other airlines.
New 4K HDR QLED screens will provide a theater-like viewing experience, enhanced by an ad-free YouTube streaming partnership. A “Do Not Disturb” feature will allow passengers to manage interactions with flight attendants, similar to options available on United flights. At the same time, automatic translation services will help non-English-speaking travelers hear announcements in their preferred language.
The race to dominate island skies.
Hawaii’s skies have become a battleground for airlines vying to attract passengers with better amenities and more comfortable planes. With wide-body aircraft like Delta’s A330 making a return, carriers are raising the stakes to meet growing expectations. Airlines including Alaska-Hawaiian, Delta, Southwest and United are all competing for dominance, each offering their own blend of services, loyalty programs, and perks.
This intensifying competition benefits travelers, who are now seeing significant improvements coming to in-flight experiences. From more premium seating options across the board to enhanced in-flight entertainment, airlines are going beyond just getting passengers to the islands—they’re striving to make the journey a more memorable part of the trip. As newer planes replace aging fleets, the push for comfort, convenience, and technology will redefine Hawaii travel.
What this means for Hawaii-bound travelers.
With the return of this upgraded wide-body aircraft and new technology-driven amenities, Delta is stepping up its game and commitment to Hawaii travel. The Airbus A330-300 offers greater capacity, more options, and comfort. It also addresses the growing demand for premium services Delta perceives are needed on routes to Hawaii.
These changes are helping to position Delta as a strong competitor in the Hawaii travel market both from Salt Lake City and the Pacific Northwest, where they and Alaska/Hawaiian battling to excel in meeting passenger expectations for quality, convenience, and loyalty.
Are you on board with these Delta changes coming this spring?
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American (One World) actually threw down the gauntlet when they encouraged (assisted) Alaska’s purchase of Hawaiian. HA was always neutral, offering first and coach seats to fellow airlines’ frequent flyers. Now, rather than share Hawaii access, it is everyone for themselves to protect their sand (IE; turf)!
Good for SLC passengers, they are probably going to have some lower fare options. That is a lot of seats now on the SLC-HNL route. Not sure it will be sustainable, but good luck to DL and HA.
Are we sure which A330-300s Delta will actually use on thus route? They have a number of older models that have Northwest Airlines registrations. DeltaOne cabins on those planes aren’t much different from newer planes except there are no doors for each seat (like on the A330-900neo and A350). However, the other sections of these planes are not all that comfortable, with very small overhead bins to boot. Unless you are in D1, I am not sure these planes offer much difference from a single aisle plane.
I just came back on united to hawaii isl on dec 31 2024, lax to koa, an hour into the flt it was announced to plane had to return to lax due to tech difficulties, we arrived into koa 7 hrs later. Both aircrafts had no internet no screen to watch anykind of movies, so I would like to see what kind of upgrades they are proposing.
Isn’t 767 a widebody aircraft as well? Don’t appear that anyone is replacing narrowbody planes with widebodies. Just swapping equipment
Airlines need to convert to the wide body vs use of the smaller 737 and a321s those lack the level of comfort for all passengers and the extra features like lie flats in 1st .. the airlines not offering it will see luxury seeking fliers opting to seek those amenities out, I know I will be willing to fly a small regional partner to location say lax sfo Las or even slc to have the extra comfort of the wide body and the overall security of a larger aircraft out over the water and into sometimes turbulent air vs a smaller aircraft that can be severely batted around. Southwest should look at acquiring a larger Boeing model too if it wants to stick with one brand of aircraft ie 777 or 787