Where Can You Fly Delta This Winter That You Couldn't Last Year?

If you searched for Delta flights to St. Vincent last winter, you got nothing. Same for Austin to Cancun. Or Detroit to Costa Rica. That changed on December 20, 2025. Delta flipped the switch on 13 routes that didn’t exist in its network a month ago, most to beach destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.

Some are routes Delta abandoned during COVID and is now bringing back. But a few are genuinely new, including one that’s never been operated by any airline before.

Here’s what opened up, why Delta made these moves, and where SkyMiles members should look first.

The Short Version

Delta added 13 routes on December 20, 2025. Four are brand new to the airline:

The other nine are COVID-era suspensions coming back: Grenada, Grand Cayman, Nassau, St. Thomas, Liberia (Costa Rica), and five Cancun routes from secondary cities.

Why This Matters for SkyMiles Members

New routes tend to have interesting award availability. Delta’s dynamic pricing algorithm learns from historical booking patterns, and these routes don’t have any yet. That means the system might default to lower award prices until demand data accumulates.

This window doesn’t last forever. Once a route matures (typically 3–6 months), pricing normalizes. If you want to use SkyMiles on these routes, the next few months are your best shot.

Atlanta to St. Vincent: Delta’s Riskiest Bet

This is the most interesting route in the batch.

No airline has ever operated scheduled service between Atlanta and St. Vincent. Not Delta, not American, not anyone. The market is tiny: fewer than 3,000 passengers flew between these cities in the past year, all on connecting itineraries.

So why is Delta launching daily 737-800 service? The answer is hub economics. Atlanta isn’t just serving local demand. It’s aggregating passengers from dozens of smaller cities across the Southeast and Midwest who currently can’t reach St. Vincent without multiple connections. Delta is betting that nonstop service from its biggest hub will create a market that didn’t exist before.

It’s an aggressive play. The route runs daily through April 12, then drops to weekly, a built-in hedge if demand doesn’t materialize.

For award seekers: This is exactly the kind of route where you might find wide-open availability. Low historical demand + new service = pricing uncertainty in your favor.

Austin Finally Gets Delta International Flights

Delta has been growing fast in Austin but never operated international service from the city, until now.

Cancun from Austin is a crowded market. Delta is the fifth carrier, entering against entrenched competition. They’re betting that SkyMiles members and corporate travelers will value having a Delta option even if alternatives exist.

Los Cabos is more interesting strategically. Delta is using a regional jet (E175) to offer daily frequency in a market where competitors fly less often on larger planes. It’s a capacity-for-frequency tradeoff, smaller seats, but more schedule options.

Detroit to Liberia: Costa Rica Returns After 23 Years

The last time you could fly nonstop from Detroit to Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region was 2002, on Northwest. Delta’s new weekly 737-900ER service to Liberia (LIR) reopens that connection. Liberia is the gateway to Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, beaches, surf towns, and national parks without the two-hour drive from San José.

Weekly frequency limits flexibility, but it also limits inventory. If you’re targeting this route, book early or set an alert.

The COVID Comebacks

According to SimpleFlying, nine of the 13 routes existed before 2020 and are now returning:

These aren’t experimental. Delta operated them profitably before the pandemic and is confident enough to bring them back. The daily routes (Grenada, St. Thomas) suggest stronger demand expectations than the weekly Cancun connections from secondary cities.

Best bets for awards:

• Boston–St. Thomas — Daily 757-200 service means more inventory. St. Thomas is a popular cruise port, but flying in gives you flexibility to explore the Virgin Islands independently.
• Atlanta–Grenada — Daily frequency to a less-trafficked Caribbean destination. Grenada has strong diving, hiking, and a fraction of the crowds you’d find in Jamaica or the Bahamas.

Finding Award Space: What Actually Works

Here’s the practical part.

Daily Beats Weekly

Routes with daily service have more seats to fill. You’re more likely to find cheaper awards on Atlanta–St. Vincent (daily) than Detroit–Liberia (weekly). Prioritize the daily routes if you have flexibility on destination.

Compare Across Programs

These routes may also be bookable through SkyTeam partners like Air France Flying Blue or Virgin Atlantic. Pricing varies, sometimes significantly.

Use Timeline View to Find the Cheapest Days

Instead of searching day by day, use the Timeline View on AwardFares to see an entire month at once. The lowest-priced days are highlighted, so you can spot the best redemption windows immediately.

Quick Reference: All 13 Routes