Delta’s Pacific Challenge to United Runs Deeper Than Rivalry

Delta Air Lines president Peter Carter stood at the IATA annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro on June 7 and told CNBC his airline intends to dethrone United Airlines as the top U.S. carrier across the Pacific. The exchange, captured in Carter and Kirby’s IATA exchange in Rio, drew an instant retort from United chief executive Scott Kirby. The two carriers sit on opposite sides of a trans-Pacific revenue gap measured in the billions, and Carter named that gap as the contest. United’s response was a single word, and the answer was ‘Everything.’

Behind the rival taunts is a structural story. A December mega-merger in South Korea, a Los Angeles gateway fight, and a cargo revenue layer that did not exist in 2018 are redrawing the U.S.-Asia network. The IATA stage named the rivalry. The lever behind the contest sits in Seoul, in the joint venture.

A $4 Billion Pacific Gap, and the Race to Close It

Delta’s trans-Pacific business generated $2.79 billion in revenue in 2025, against United’s $6.89 billion, according to company filings cited by CNBC. The gap runs across the most premium-heavy cabins in commercial aviation, where long-haul fares and dozens of business-class seats drive per-flight revenue well above domestic averages. Delta is the more profitable U.S. airline overall, posting a 2025 pre-tax profit of $5 billion, while United earned about $3.35 billion. The U.S. domestic market is mature, and both carriers have shifted their attention to international. As Carter put it, the future is all about international.

Both airlines are growing fast into the same ocean. In 2024, Delta’s Pacific capacity rose 32% year over year, and United’s rose 31%, according to Octus analyst Meredith Dixon.

The gap sets the terms of the contest. Carter’s argument is that Delta can convert its overall profitability and its brand premium into Pacific share over the next several years. Kirby told Bloomberg at the IATA event that international has just been gang busters for United, framing the contest in his own terms. The exchange ended with both airlines claiming room to grow.

• Delta 2025 passengers: more than 200 million
• United 2025 passengers: 175 million
• Delta 2025 MRO revenue growth: 25% year over year
• Delta Q1 2026 pre-tax income (non-GAAP): $532 million
• Delta Boeing 787-10 order: 30 firm plus 30 options, deliveries from 2031

Korean Air Is the Hidden Lever

The spine of Delta’s Asia reach is its joint venture with Korean Air, and the joint venture is bigger than the IATA banter acknowledged. Together, the two carriers connect through the Delta-Korean Air joint venture’s 290-city scope, with 290 destinations in the Americas and more than 80 in Asia. Korean Air alone operates nearly 100 weekly flights to 10 U.S. gateways, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Atlanta, and New York Kennedy.

The bigger lever arrives on December 17, 2026, when the December 17, 2026 Korean Air-Asiana integration retires the Asiana brand and folds Asiana’s network, slots, and feed into Korean Air’s certificate. Carter told CNBC that some of Delta’s Pacific growth will come from the joint venture, which he framed as the primary lever. Asiana’s Southeast Asian connections in particular will move to Incheon, already co-located with Delta in Terminal 2. The Asian anchor for Delta metal and the combined Korean Air group sits in Seoul. From Seoul, Delta and Korean Air together reach more than 80 Asian cities without Delta having to operate every route itself.

LAX Becomes the Pacific Battleground

If United owns San Francisco as the Pacific fortress, the only place Delta can credibly attack is Los Angeles. The June 6 launch of LAX-Hong Kong service was the opening move.

Delta is already the largest carrier at LAX. From January through May 2025, the airline held a 19.48 percent share of passengers, against United’s 15.49% and American’s 15.21%, according to airport statistics cited by Forbes. Delta’s senior vice president of network planning Paul Baldoni said in a press release that the airline is investing in routes that matter to its customers. Peter Carter’s role leading Delta’s enterprise strategy is now anchored on converting that LAX position into a trans-Pacific hub to rival United’s SFO.

The December schedule is where the bet lands. Delta will add LAX-Shanghai and LAX-Melbourne service in December, the airline has announced. The pattern is consistent with Baldoni’s framing of LAX as Delta’s premium gateway. The June 6 LAX-Hong Kong launch was the first leg of that pivot.

United is not standing still. In May, the carrier announced it would launch new year-round service between Chicago O’Hare and Tokyo and new seasonal service between San Francisco and Sapporo, Japan, later this year. United will also add SFO-Adelaide three times a week in December and a second daily SFO-Manila flight, per Forbes. In October, United will become the only U.S. airline flying to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, both via its Hong Kong connection. The carrier has said it now flies to 32 cities in the Pacific region, four times as many as any other U.S. airline.

The New Math of Cargo and Premium Cabins

This is not Delta’s first attempt to grow into the Pacific. The airline ended Seattle-Hong Kong service in October 2018, a route it had inherited from the Northwest Airlines merger, after the economics no longer worked. The 2026 economics are different. Delta’s March quarter 2026 financial results show the runway to invest through fuel volatility.

Delta’s 2025 results, released in January, are the foundation. The airline’s diversified revenue streams reached 60% of total revenue, and the year ranked as a top-three year for international profitability. The A350-900 chosen for the new LAX-Hong Kong service is the workhorse for the long-haul economics in 2026. Cargo revenue grew 9 percent in 2025, a layer the 2018 route did not have. The 787-10 agreement Delta announced covers 30 firm orders and 30 options, with deliveries starting in 2031.

In the March 2026 quarter, Delta reported operating revenue of $15.9 billion on a GAAP basis and $14.2 billion on a non-GAAP basis, with non-GAAP pre-tax income of $532 million. Chief executive Ed Bastian said the company is guiding to a June quarter pre-tax profit of around $1 billion, even on a more than $2 billion increase in fuel expense at the forward curve. The fuel pressure is real, and the airline is leaning into the widebody order and the cargo growth to manage it. The March quarter result landed in line with the company’s initial guidance.

• Premium revenue grew 7% in 2025, contributing to the high-margin mix Delta is extending to the Pacific.
• MRO revenue grew 25% in 2025, a third high-margin stream that did not depend on Pacific passenger growth.
• Delta and Korean Air are co-located in Terminal 2 at Incheon, ranked the world’s cleanest international transit airport by Skytrax.
• Delta ordered 30 Boeing 787-10s with 30 options, with deliveries starting in 2031 to backfill widebody capacity.

Kirby Fires Back With ‘Everything’

Kirby was asked, on the sidelines of the IATA meeting, what he wants to beat Delta on. His answer was a single word. The framing around it was pointed, and the subtext was parity.

I have a lot of respect for Delta, and what they have done, and I take it as a huge compliment that Delta is beginning to acknowledge that they have an equal that they’re worried about and trying to compete with us.

Scott Kirby, chief executive of United Airlines, gave the exchange to CNBC on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro. United’s structural position in the Pacific supports the posture. The carrier has said it now flies to 32 Pacific cities, four times as many as any other U.S. airline. United’s joint venture with ANA in Japan and its SFO fortress hub give it the network depth to absorb Delta’s LAX thrust without immediate disruption. Kirby told Bloomberg at the same event that international has just been gang busters for United.

What Travelers Will Notice by Year’s End

By the end of 2026, the Pacific map from the United States will look measurably different from the start of the year. Travelers from Los Angeles will see three new Delta services: Hong Kong on June 6, and Shanghai and Melbourne in December. Travelers from San Francisco will see new United service to Sapporo, Adelaide, and a second daily Manila flight, with Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City reachable via the carrier’s Hong Kong connection starting in October. The Salt Lake City to Seoul Incheon service, launched in June 2025, gives the Mountain West its first nonstop to Asia in 14 years.

One carrier is missing from the new-route announcements. American Airlines, which withdrew from the Hong Kong market before Delta did, has not announced any return plans, and the contest across the Pacific is, for now, a two-carrier fight plus Cathay Pacific.

The premium arms race is the undercurrent. Delta’s 2025 diversified revenue streams reached 60% of total revenue, the A350-900 on LAX-Hong Kong is configured for premium yields, and the 787-10 order is a 2031-dated bet on the same model. United’s response is structural: more cities and deeper Japan coverage, built around premium density on the long-haul corridors. Carter’s pledge at IATA in Rio sets the tone for the contest. The Pacific schedule at the end of 2026 will show whether the two carriers split the growth or share it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the New Delta LAX-Hong Kong Service?

Delta launched daily nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport on June 6, 2026, in an Airbus A350-900. The route is Delta’s first to Hong Kong since the carrier ended Seattle-Hong Kong flights in October 2018.

When Does Korean Air Complete Its Asiana Merger?

Korean Air is scheduled to absorb Asiana Airlines and emerge as South Korea’s integrated flag carrier on December 17, 2026, completing a more than five-year consolidation process. The two boards approved the merger agreement on May 13, 2026, with the formal contract executed on May 14, 2026.

What New Pacific Routes Is United Adding in 2026?

United announced several new Pacific services for 2026: new year-round Chicago O’Hare to Tokyo and seasonal San Francisco to Sapporo service, both later this year, per USA Today; San Francisco to Adelaide three times a week in December; a second daily San Francisco to Manila flight in December; and service to Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City via Hong Kong starting in October.

How Big Is the Gap Between Delta and United on Pacific Routes?

In 2025, Delta’s trans-Pacific business generated $2.79 billion in revenue, against United’s $6.89 billion, a gap of more than $4 billion, according to company filings cited by CNBC. The gap is shrinking on the growth-rate side, with Delta’s 2024 Pacific capacity up 32% year over year and United’s up 31%.