Holiday travel prep: Delta teams and technology help make your journeys bright

Delta teams are ready to fly 9.3 million customers on more than 75,000 flights from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6. Stay merry and bright with these travel tips. 

The winter holidays are here, and travelers are taking to the skies to reconnect with family, visit friends – or just escape for some much-deserved rest and relaxation before kicking off the new year.

Delta expects to welcome 9.3 million customers on more than 75,000 flights during the winter holiday travel season from Friday, Dec. 20, to Monday, Jan. 6. Team members across the airline have been preparing for the busy travel period to ensure a smooth operation that gets customers to their destination safely, reliably and comfortably. 

DELTA IS PREPARED TO RUN A SMOOTH OPERATION THIS WINTER

Experts from 36 departments come together in our Operations and Customer Center (OCC), which is Delta’s nerve center, every day to make key decisions across nearly 5,000 daily flights, all led by an OCC Duty Director who provides direction and oversight as well as offers guidance to the teams.

Right now, the OCC is managing the winter operation, and while not everything can be planned for, the team is doing everything in its power to ensure the airline is prepared to run smoothly.

Read on for tips and tricks to make the most of your travel with Delta.

MAKE TRAVEL DAYS EASIER WITH THE FLY DELTA APP

In addition to bag tracking and Digital ID, enhancements to the Fly Delta app will also make your travel prep easier. Before your flight, targeted app banner messages share airport construction or changes that may impact how you navigate to and through the airport. In the rare instance that the Wi-Fi isn’t working on your flight, we’ll do our best to notify you know at least four hours before travel so you can plan accordingly. 

When you need support, use the app’s Virtual Assistant to get SkyMiles account information, seat changes/upgrades, flight changes, cancels, refunds and up-to-date flight information. In addition, customers can use the Fly Delta app to see refund eligibility and to rebook flights. 

TRACK YOUR BAGS WITH EXTRA PEACE OF MIND

We know how important it is to have your bags arrive with you at your destination. That’s why we continue to invest in state-of-the-art RFID baggage tracking technology. 

Using the Fly Delta app, customers can easily track their bags as they travel from the check-in counter to the airplane and to baggage claim. 

Through the Fly Delta app, customers can easily track their bags in real time. Delta has a long history of industry-leading baggage tracking and performance, and we continue to make meaningful investments that demonstrate our unwavering commitment to our customers and their bags. Delta installed RFID scanning and tracking capabilities at most domestic airports and international hubs enabling us to track customers’ checked backs throughout their journey. 

And just in time for the holiday travel season, Delta is integrating Apple’s new Share Item Location feature to help reunite customers with their bags more quickly, in the rare situation where a bag is delayed or mishandled. Delta customers can now easily and securely share the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with Delta customer service. This feature lets agents see its real-time location, helping to more quickly reunite customers with their bags.   

How it works 

To share the location of their AirTag or Find My network accessory with Delta, customers can first generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. 

Within the Fly Delta app, customers can then insert the generated link into the “Share Find My Item Location” field in the delayed bag form. 

Customers can also share the link with Delta customer service via the messaging feature in the Fly Delta app.  
Item location sharing is completely optional, will automatically end as soon as a customer is reunited with their bag, can be stopped by the customer at any time and will automatically expire after seven days. 

To use the new Share Item Location feature, customers should verify that their Apple device is running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, or macOS 15.2 or later.

OPT IN TO DIGITAL ID FOR FAST, HANDS-FREE AIRPORT NAVIGATION 

Customers flying through ATL, DCA, DTW, JFK, LAX, LGA and SLC have even more options for an easier, expedited airport journey thanks to Delta Digital ID. 

Developed in close collaboration with TSA, Delta Digital ID uses biometric facial matching to eliminate the need for an agent-facilitated document check, allowing customers to move through the airport with ease. At security, Digital ID gives Delta customers access to the dedicated TSA PreCheck® Touchless ID lane for the fastest experience, letting them move through the checkpoint by simply looking into a camera – no need to show a government-issued ID. In the lobby, Digital ID-eligible customers can leave their licenses in their wallets when checking bags at the designated bag drop area, saving time and hassle when you’re on-the-go.

EXPLORE DELTA’S WINTER ROUTES

There’s no better time to use these travel tips than now as Delta is offering new and seasonal routes.

Delta to offer largest holiday schedule ever to Latin America

The schedule is adding 119 weekly flights and increasing seats by 11% year-over-year. Key highlights include:

• Second daily frequencies from Atlanta to Santiago (SCL) and Buenos Aires (EZE)
• New and enhanced service to Tulum (TQO) from Atlanta and Minneapolis
• New and expanded daily flights from Atlanta to Bridgetown (BGI), Puerto Plata (POP), Curaçao (CUR), and Cartagena (CTG) and more.
• Bridgetown will be served with Saturday-only flights from New York (JFK) starting Dec. 21. 

Delta’s new routes to London, Amsterdam and Brisbane

Beyond Latin America, Delta’s network boasts exciting new routes like Tampa to Amsterdam and Orlando to London Heathrow, both launched in October, and Los Angeles to Brisbane, which debuted Dec. 4.

Delta connects travelers to the top U.S. ski destinations 

Delta will offer service from Los Angeles (LAX), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) hubs. Starting Dec. 21, customers can enjoy nonstop flights to destinations like: 

• Jackson Hole (JAC)
• Bozeman (BZN)
• Montrose/Telluride (MTJ)
• Steamboat Springs (HDN)
• Sun Valley (SUN). 

Whether hitting the slopes or enjoying après-ski, Delta offers convenient travel to the mountains all season long.