Delta's 'route race' ends in a twist: 2 new European islands coming in 2026
Quick summary
- Delta will launch nonstop summer 2026 flights from New York-JFK to Sardinia, Italy and Malta, following a customer and employee vote.
- Sardinia flights begin May 20, 2026, operating four times weekly to Olbia Costa Smerelda Airport; Malta flights start June 7, 2026, with three weekly departures to Malta International Airport.
- These routes mark the first-ever nonstop service between the U.S. and either Sardinia or Malta, expanding options for travelers to southern Europe.
- Award bookings are available now, with select loyalty program members eligible for a discount on mileage redemptions.
What to consider
- Flights will use a three-cabin Boeing 767-300ER, including lie-flat seats and a premium lounge experience for select travelers.
- Award pricing for round-trip economy starts near 70,000 miles, though availability and pricing may vary by date and cabin.
- Both destinations offer some hotels bookable with points, including new properties in popular loyalty programs.
What you'll miss from the article
- Details on flight schedules, redemption strategies and what makes these new routes unique for U.S. travelers.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
The results are in!
Last month, Delta Air Lines customers and employees got to vote on which European destination the carrier would launch as its next destination.
The choices Delta offered: Sardinia in Italy, Malta or Ibiza, part of Spain's Balearic Islands.
After nearly 150,000 votes, two winners emerged.
Delta SkyMiles members crowned Sardinia as the winner, but Malta received the most votes from the Atlanta-based airline's employees.
The verdict: Delta will launch service to both islands for the summer of 2026, with both routes departing from its hub at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
JFK flights to the Italian island of Sardinia will launch May 20, 2026, days before Memorial Day weekend and the big ramp-up of summer travel.
Delta will operate its Sardinia route four times each week via Olbia Costa Smerelda Airport (SLB), located in the northeast portion of the island.
Flights to Malta, the Mediterranean island nation south of Sicily, begin June 7, 2026 and run three times per week, in and out of Malta International Airport (MLA).
Read more: How to redeem your Delta SkyMiles for maximum value
Bookings went live right away on Tuesday, both for passengers paying for their flights and SkyMiles members hoping to redeem miles.
Most SkyMiles redemptions I found for next summer started somewhere between 70,000 and 80,000 miles, round trip, to Sardinia — though here's one late-summer option for just under 70,000 miles (or over 200,000 for Delta One).
The Sardinia itinerary includes a 6:25 p.m. departure from JFK, with a next-day 9 a.m. local time arrival in Olbia. On the way home, you'd depart at 11 p.m. Sardinia time, arriving just after 2:30 p.m. at JFK.
Malta award space appeared to be loading, still, but I did find a similar pricing setup for an August round trip.
The itinerary for those flights: a slightly earlier 5 p.m. JFK departure, with an 8:20 a.m. next-day arrival at MLA. It's a late-morning departure on the return, touching down in New York a little before 3 p.m. EDT.
Keep in mind, eligible Delta-American Express credit card holders can save 15% on award bookings.
Best ever welcome offers: Earn up to 125,000 miles with a Delta Amex card
Delta lets the voters decide
Delta's approach for its latest European expansion was a head-turning one for an airline, allowing loyalty members and employees to weigh in on where it sends its planes; airlines usually keep their decisions on routes and destinations close to the vest.
"We can now say that our network is not just built for our most loyal customers, but by them," Paul Baldoni, Delta's senior vice president of network planning, said in a statement announcing the news.
That's not the only reason why Sardinia and Malta are groundbreaking new destinations for travelers.
No airline currently connects the U.S. with Sardinia or Malta (the same would have been true of Ibiza, too).
Both should be alluring new options for travelers at a time when flyers have continued to flock to southern Europe in droves — including to nearby Sicily, Italy, where both Delta and top competitor United Airlines launched nonstop service this past summer.
We should also point out that both Sardinia and Malta have a few hotels you can book with points, including the brand-new W Sardinia — Poltu Quatu, part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.
Aircraft plans
Delta will operate both routes from JFK with its Boeing 767-300ER — specifically, its three-cabin 767 that's configured with both Delta One and Premium Select seats.
Customers who book the airline's lie-flat Delta One cabin will have access to the airline's swanky Delta One Lounge and a dedicated, semiprivate security entrance at JFK's Terminal 4.
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