On Friday morning, Delta announced another new nonstop flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP). The airline will be adding direct service to Charleston, SC (CHS) starting on June, 21st, 2019. The route will be the first year-round nonstop service offered out of MSP.
“We’re very excited about this new service to one of America’s greatest historic vacation destinations,” said Brian Ryks, Executive Director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. “This will be the first daily, year-round non-stop service between Minneapolis-St. Paul and Charleston, making the trip faster and easier than ever.”
The new route is not yet available for sale on Delta's website and it is not yet clear what aircraft they will use to service this route.
Our Analysis
This announcement comes on the heels of Delta announcing their intentions of launching nonstop service between Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) and Shanghai, China in 2020, earlier this week. Additionally, the airline announced a new nonstop route between MSP and Seoul, South Korea earlier this year that will launch on April 1st, 2019.
“Delta is proud to have served Charleston for decades, so we are especially pleased to offer this new service to our Minneapolis/St. Paul hub beginning next June” said Joe Esposito, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Network Planning. “These flights will open up dozens of Midwest, West destinations for customers through a single, easy connection at MSP.”
Minneapolis seems to be getting a lot of attention from the Delta C-suite as of late. Both Detroit (DTW) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) are important hubs in the airline's network. However, Minneapolis is stealing the show when it comes to the launch of new routes.
Bottom Line
Charleston has historically been an expensive destination out of MSP. Without a direct route, it previously required a connection in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, etc. This new nonstop route should provide more competition which will ultimately lower prices and makes travel between the two cities easier.
Lead Photo credit of Chris Lundberg via Flickr
FINALLY!!! Maybe I can afford to visit my daughter and her family more often. Never enough time with the grandkids!
That’s GREAT news! My parents will be thrilled!
Excited about finally having direct flights to Charleston, but the actual flight schedule listed is not ideal.
If it is not yet available for sale on Delta’s website and it is not yet clear what aircraft they will use to service this route-then how can you book the flight-call them?
I just checked Delta’s website and it’s available for sale. They are using an Embraer 175 aircraft to operate this service.
Hi! I was really excited about this and saw multiple articles written about it; but when I go to find flights, there are none available from Delta as described…Did they change their plan?
Hello! After looking into this a bit, it appears Delta adjusted this route to be seasonal. The next nonstop departure on the schedule is June 8, 2020.