Delta’s Salt Lake City Service Returns This Weekend

For the first time in nearly five years, Delta Air Lines will reconnect Pittsburgh to Utah’s capital with daily nonstop service between PIT and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC). The city is a key business and leisure market and an important part of Pittsburgh’s connection to the western U.S.

Delta launched the route in 2018 but paused service in early 2020 as airlines severely curtailed flying during the COVID-19 pandemic. Salt Lake City had been the top unserved market from Pittsburgh and one of PIT’s last remaining pre-pandemic routes to be restored.

Much like Western Pennsylvania, the Salt Lake City region is home to technology and medical industries and world-class outdoor activities. Utah has 10 ski resorts within an hour’s drive from its capital. In addition, Salt Lake City is close to several U.S. national parks, forests and recreational areas, including six national parks in Utah and Wyoming within a half-day’s drive.

READ MORE: What to Do in Salt Lake City, PIT’s Latest Route Addition

Salt Lake City’s sports and entertainment sector got a boost when the National Hockey League’s Utah Hockey Club began play for the 2023-24 season. Playing in the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City, the Utah Hockey Club shares its home with the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz.

Salt Lake City is one of Delta’s largest hubs and serves nearly 90 destinations. From Pittsburgh, travelers will be able to connect seamlessly to destinations within the Mountain West, West Coast, Mexico, Western Canada, Hawaii and Alaska.

PIT has focused on expanding service to the western U.S., including to San Francisco on United Airlines, Seattle on Alaska Airlines, Los Angeles and San Diego on Breeze Airways and San Diego on Southwest Airlines.

As Delta resumes the Pittsburgh-Salt Lake City route, it is also offering more capacity on the route than it did pre-pandemic.

Delta will operate its Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320 aircraft, each offering 19 to 21 percent more capacity than the Airbus A319s that previously flew the route.

Additionally, Delta is upgrading its 737-800 fleet nose-to-tail with its latest onboard offerings set to provide an enhanced premium travel experience.

Travelers can visit Delta.com to search itineraries and book flights on the nonstop Pittsburgh-Salt Lake City route.

New October record for PIT

As PIT welcomes back Salt Lake City, the airport issued its latest monthly traffic report, recording the busiest fall travel season at the airport in nearly 20 years.

PIT’s trend of strong traffic continued in October as over 905,000 passengers traveled through the airport, an 8.3 percent increase from last year. It was also the busiest October at PIT since 2004, when the airport was a US Airways hub.

Airlines operated more than 1.1 million total scheduled seats at PIT in October, an 8.1 percent year-over-year increase and the highest capacity figure for the airport that month since 2006. American Airlines, Delta, Spirit Airlines and United added the most seats last month, each representing a combined 90 percent of all scheduled capacity year-over-year.

Growth at PIT puts the airport on pace for its highest year-to-date traffic since 2005. Over 8.4 million travelers have transited through PIT this year, up 9.5 percent from 2023.

In October, American overtook Southwest as the leading airline by market share at PIT by nearly 2,100 passengers. Until last month, Southwest had been the airport’s market leader since January 2023.

Both carriers have held the top two spots for the most passengers flown at PIT for the last few years. In October, American flew 23.4 percent of total passengers at the airport and Southwest flew 23.2 percent.

Meanwhile, October cargo at PIT was up nearly 1 percent year-over-year. Mail volumes posted another consecutive month of significant growth with 165.4 percent more volume last month than the same period last year. Mail volumes have risen at the airport since UPS added service on larger aircraft at PIT earlier this year to accommodate the company’s USPS mail contract.