What happened
Delta will add 2 daily round-trips from Monterey Regional Airport to Los Angeles and 1 daily flight to Salt Lake City from December 19, 2026, on Embraer 175 Delta Connection jets. Regular Monterey flying ended in January 2008, a gap of nearly 19 years, and service resumes at the start of the holiday season.
The Los Angeles route puts Delta against United, which already flies it. Both routes use regional jets rather than mainline aircraft. Seattle-Tacoma is not part of the launch. Alaska already serves Monterey to Seattle, and Delta will serve all of its western hubs from Monterey except Seattle.
The airport sits close to Carmel and Big Sur, a shorter trip than the drive from San Francisco or San Jose. American already flies from the same small airport, and few gates mean another major carrier could add congestion at peak times. SkyMiles members near Monterey can earn and redeem on the new flights into Los Angeles and Salt Lake City rather than making that drive.
Look for SkyMiles award space and revenue seats on both routes from December 19.
- Starts
- Dec 19, 2026
- Numbers
- 19 years: length of Delta’s Monterey service gap
- Where
- Monterey Regional Airport (MRY), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Monterey
- Takeaway
- Look for Delta award and revenue inventory on MRY–LAX and MRY–SLC from December 19 if you need Central Coast access or a new SkyMiles routing.