Minnesotans pining for Hawaii, rejoice: Delta is adding a nonstop flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) straight to Maui (OGG) this winter.
The airline is set to begin flying daily from Minneapolis to Maui with a brand-new seasonal route starting Dec. 16 , an airline according to an internal memo sent to employees obtained by Thrifty Traveler. An airline spokesperson confirmed the upcoming winter seasonal route, which is currently scheduled to end March 31. Flights are set to go on sale this Saturday.
Delta already flies nonstop to Honolulu (HNL) from its Minnesota hub but a straight shot to Maui will allow beachgoers to skip a connection en route to their favorite resort. Delta will fly to Maui on a Boeing 767-300ER, which features an outdated Delta One business class seat but a roomy 2-3-2 configuration for passengers in economy. There are Delta Comfort Plus seats with extra legroom onboard but no Delta Premium Select cabin.
Flights to Maui are scheduled to depart Minneapolis at 11:45 a.m. and arrive in Maui at 4:55 p.m. Eastbound flights will depart Hawaii at 6:20 p.m. and land in Minneapolis the following morning at 6:10 a.m. The flight to Maui should clock in at roughly eight hours – and a bit shorter on the return to Minnesota.
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Delta’s dominance in Minneapolis and its monopoly on nonstop routes to Hawaii often leads to higher prices, so travelers shouldn’t expect a cheap fare on this brand new route to Maui. But we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for our Thrifty Traveler Premium+ members for a great Delta SkyMiles flash sale – or a workaround to book this route via Virgin Atlantic for 45,000 points roundtrip.
Together with the longstanding Honolulu route, Delta will fly from Minneapolis to Hawaii 14 times a week.
From world-class resorts to pristine beaches to the Road to Hana or catching sunrise atop Haleakala, Maui is regularly a fan-favorite among the Hawaiian islands . And this is just Delta's latest expansion into Hawaii, where travel has rebounded steadily ever since the islands reopened for tourism and dropped pandemic travel restrictions . Last year, the airline added (or resumed) three additional routes : Detroit (DTW) and New York City (JFK) to Honolulu and Atlanta (ATL) to Maui.
In all, Delta offers nonstop routes to Hawaii from seven mainland cities, including Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis (MSP), New York (JFK), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Seattle (SEA).
Bottom Line
It's been on countless Midwestern travelers' wishlists for years, and it's finally happening.
Delta will start seasonal nonstop service from Minneapolis to Maui this coming winter, with daily flights scheduled to begin Dec. 16. Flights are expected to go on sale Saturday.
Lead photo courtesy of Chris Lundberg via Flickr
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