Delta surpasses American as second largest carrier at Austin Airport

Home
»
Stories
»
2025
»
June

GLOBAL INDUSTRY NEWS

Global Industry News

Delta surpasses American as second largest carrier at Austin Airport

Policy

Delta Air Lines | Official Website

By Sky Industry News

Jun 19, 2025

Delta Air Lines has surpassed American Airlines to become the second-largest carrier at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. The Atlanta-based airline now trails only Southwest Airlines in terms of passenger numbers at the Texas airport.

In April, Delta transported over 302,000 passengers in and out of Austin, narrowly edging out American Airlines, which carried 298,500 passengers during the same period. This shift marks a significant change as American had held the second spot since 2021.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, American maintained its position despite global disruptions to air travel. However, Delta has been expanding its services across the United States and has introduced several new non-stop routes from Austin since 2023. These include three new routes set to launch this year: Cancun and San Jose del Cabo on December 20 and Palm Springs on November 8. Conversely, Delta has discontinued its route to Harlingen.

Get the Newsletter

Sign-up to receive weekly round up of news from Sky Industry News

By submitting, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By providing your phone number you are opting in and consenting to receive recurring SMS/MMS messages, including automated texts, to that number from our short code. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to end. SMS opt-in will not be sold, rented, or shared.

American Airlines has quietly canceled up to 35 non-stop routes from Austin since early 2023. These cuts included popular tourist destinations such as the Bahamas, Costa Rica, and Mexico. Meanwhile, Delta has taken over some of these routes with domestic destinations like Indianapolis and Las Vegas now part of their offerings.

Currently, both airlines offer a mix of year-round and seasonal flights from Austin. American's destinations include Cancún and Los Angeles among others while Delta offers flights to cities such as Atlanta and Seattle/Tacoma.

Southwest Airlines remains the dominant carrier at Austin with over 2.6 million passengers between January and April this year. During this period, Southwest accounted for approximately 41.6% of all passengers at the airport.

According to KXAN local news reports, competition for passenger numbers was close during the first four months of 2025 with American carrying over 1.1 million passengers compared to Delta's one million during that time frame.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics indicates that popular routes from Austin include those to Atlanta (served by Delta), Denver (served by Frontier), and Dallas/Fort Worth (served by American).