Delta Air Lines hoping Vegemite puts it ahead of rivals United and American on Australian routes

In the fiercely competitive trans-Pacific market, Delta Air Lines is confident a famous Australian snack can give it the march on US carrier rivals American and United.

In the fiercely competitive trans-Pacific market, Delta Air Lines is confident it has the “secret ingredient” to succeed against US carrier rivals American and United.

After making its inaugural Los Angeles to Brisbane flight on Friday, Delta board member Greg Creed let slip the long-haul service offered something few other carriers did – Vegemite.

“I don’t know whether the Americans on board ate it, but you can do little things like that, that demonstrate that yes, we’re an American airline but we understand the culture we’re flying to,” said the Brisbane-born and raised businessman and former CEO of Yum! brands.

“I’m a marketer by background and I think those things are really important.”

With airline capacity into Brisbane from the US now at 135 per cent of pre-Covid levels, it is perhaps unsurprising that carriers are looking for any edge over their rivals.

And as the last US airline to jump on to Brisbane as a destination, Delta has its work cut out for it on several fronts – not the least of which was the fact the airline had no Australian partner, having been dumped by Virgin for United in 2021.

Delta used an A350 painted in striking LA28 Olympics livery on its inaugural Los Angeles-Brisbane service.

Qantas and American Airlines are also partnered up through to at least 2026, but Delta Asia Pacific vice-president Jeff Moomaw said at this stage they were doing just fine without a local partner.

Apart from being the world’s first airline to introduce privacy doors to business class suites, Mr Moomaw said Delta’s flagship A350-900 being used on LA-Brisbane had no less than 80 premium seats, including 32 in business and 48 in premium economy.

That compared to 51 premium seats on American Airlines’ Boeing 787-9s used for Brisbane-Dallas Fort Worth, and 74 seats in the pointy end of United’s 777-200s operating Brisbane-San Francisco.

“Delta One suites each have their own suite door, lie flat bed, big screen TV and premium food and beverage, and the 48 in premium economy — we call it Delta Premium Select, have the same food and beverage as in business class, and further recline,” Mr Moomaw said.

“In each of those cabins you can preselect your meal in advance in our app, which is good for the environment, and good for you.”

Delta Air Lines has made its first flight into Brisbane, becoming the third US carrier to connect the Queensland capital with the States.

On Friday, Delta used its striking LA28 aircraft on the inaugural flight to mark the new connection between the 2028 Olympic city, and the 2032 host.

As it approached Brisbane Airport for a 7.22am landing, the flight was the most tracked in the world, watched by more than 30,000 plane spotters globally.

“We are entering a historic age of connectivity across the Pacific, with 31 flights a week from North America by five carriers from four major hubs opening up a world of connections,” Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff said.

“This marks an unprecedented level of tourism, trade and connection between the people of Queensland and the United States and Canada.”

The seasonal flights will be reviewed at the end of March, with Mr Moomaw not ruling out an extension in the event they perform well.

“It’s off to a good start,” he said.

“It’s one of those unique markets where we’re seeing equal demand from Australia and the US and that’s a very encouraging thing.”