Delta Quietly Ends an Era at Minnesota’s MSP Airport
If you've flown Delta out of Minnesota over the past decade, there's a good chance you've been on this aircraft. But after years of carrying travelers through MSP, one familiar part of Delta's fleet has officially made its final departure from the North Star State.
When Delta Air Lines makes news, it usually affects a lot of air travellers here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. That's because Delta is the biggest airline serving Minnesota by far. That's largely a good thing, considering Delta is routinely rated as the top airline in the U.S.
In fact, in a story I wrote about last year, I gave a big Minnesota shout-out to Delta Airlines, which placed at the top of the latest J.D. Power 2025 survey for North America Airline Satisfaction in the Premium Economy category.
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Why Delta Air Lines Is So Important to Minnesota Travelers
Delta, of course, has its second-largest hub in the U.S. at the largest airport in Minnesota, the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) near Bloomington, so if you're flying out of the North Star State, it's likely you'll be on a Delta flight.
While 15 different airlines offer service at MSP, Delta by far offers the most. And even though it's now headquartered in Atlanta, I still kind of think of Delta as a 'Minnesota' airline, seeing as it merged with Minnesota's Eagan-based Northwest Airlines back in 2008.
Delta says it runs nearly 330 departures from MSP to 119 destinations across the globe, offering nonstop service to international destinations like Amsterdam, Paris, London, Seoul, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico City, Tokyo-Haneda, and more.
Another impressive feature of Delta Air Lines is that you don't have to head up to MSP to fly on the number-one airline in the country, either. Delta offers several connecting flights daily to MSP from Minnesota's Med City at Rochester International Airport.
Delta's Boeing 717 Has Officially Left MSP
But no matter where you're flying from Minnesota, if you're flying on Delta, it won't be on one of their Boeing 717-200 planes. That's because the classic aircraft, which made its Delta debut back in 2013, is being assigned to different routes and flew out of MSP for the last time earlier this month.
Kyle Potter of the travel site, Thrifty Traveler, noted that Delta operated its last Boeing 717 out of MSP back in May, and said the remaining aircraft have likely been reassigned to other routes. Which is welcomed news, if you ask me, mainly because, as Potter noted, the 717 was the last aircraft in Delta's fleet that did not have seatback screens in its cabins!
Delta is one of only two airlines to still fly the Boeing 717, along with Hawaiian Airlines, Potter said. But those 80 717s still in Delta's line-up won't be flying travelers too much longer, as Potter noted they're all likely headed for retirement within the not-too-distant future, as well.
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Another Piece of Minnesota Aviation History Is Disappearing
As I mentioned earlier, Delta merged with Minneapolis-based Northwest Airlines back in 2008. Northwest was one of those brands that was once huge here in Minnesota (kind of like Dayton's also was), but that now no longer exists. This is the same for many of the following famous brands. Keep scrolling to see how many YOU remember!
50 Famous Brands That No Longer Exist
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