The Battle for Seattle: How Delta is Responding to Alaska’s Ambitions.

• Delta upgrades lounge experience: To compete with Alaska’s offerings, Delta opened a new Delta One Lounge and enhanced its Sky Club in Seattle, featuring improved amenities like showers, upgraded menus with local cuisine, and scenic views, elevating the passenger experience.

• Fleet strategies reflect rivalry: Alaska inherited Hawaiian’s A330 and Dreamliner fleets, aiming to base Dreamliner crews in Seattle for international growth. Delta responds by deploying its flagship A350s on Trans-Pacific routes and establishing a crew base for these aircraft, while using newer A330-900s for Trans-Atlantic flights, gaining a premium service advantage.

• Seattle airport poised for transformation: The competition between Alaska’s emerging global network and Delta’s established operations is expected to significantly impact Seattle-Tacoma International Airport’s development in the coming years.

A Delta A330-900 landing into LAX (Jamsheed Motafram).

Since the merger with Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska has been planning their next big moves to expand within Seattle. Recently, the Seattle-based carrier gained approval from the DOT to acquire Hawaiian’s international network allowing Alaska to fly to destinations such as Aukland, Sydney, Tokyo and Seoul. Since my last post about Alaska and Delta’s rivalry, this is a spiritual sequel to that post due to the recent changes. I’ll go over new route announcements, the new Delta One Lounge, and Delta’s fleet plans to adapt to this new environment.

Delta's Route Announcements

A Delta A350-900 in Seattle used for Trans-Pacific Services (Erin Graham).

After launching their service to Tokyo from Seattle, Alaska will also introduce a new service from Seattle to Seoul, South Korea with their 787 Dreamliner with Tokyo adding Dreamliner service in January 2026. In addition, the airline plans to fly to Rome, Paris and London next year thus making Seattle a global gateway. In response, Delta announced new services from Seattle starting in May 2026 to Rome and Barcelona utilizing their A330-900s. Since Delta has already established an international gateway in Seattle, they enjoy an edge over Alaska due to their operational experience. This advantage allows the Atlanta-based carrier to respond swiftly because Alaska will inevitably have growing pains establishing a global network. But what else is Delta doing in order to compete with Alaska?

Lounge Upgrades

A view of a Delta A350 from the new Delta One Lounge in Seattle (Zach Griff).

With all this international expansion, Delta needed to up their game in Seattle when it came to lounge offerings. As mentioned in my trip report last year, Delta’s Sky Club Lounge was underwhelming and does not compete with what Alaska has to offer. Thankfully last June, Delta opened a Delta One Lounge in Seattle in addition to introducing a new Sky Club that has improved amenities such as showers, upgraded menus featuring local Seattle cuisine like Ivar’s Clam Chowder and a cocktail bar.

The new Delta Lounge in Seattle (Zach Griff).

This gives Delta fliers a more elevated experience than before and even if the new Delta One Lounge isn’t as flashy as the JFK Lounge, it takes advantage of the beautiful Pacific Northwest Scenery with views of the Airport and Mt. Rainier. So with new routes and upgraded lounge offerings, what about Delta’s aircraft operations?

Fleet Utilization

The backbone of Delta's long-haul fleet in Seattle. The A330-900 is used for routes to Europe while their flagship A350 is used for routes to the Pacific Rim (Jamsheed Motafram).

Thanks to the merger with Hawaiian, Alaska inherited Hawaiian’s A330 fleet as well as their increasing Dreamliner fleet. The latter is planned to be Alaska’s flagship airliner for international expansion. In order to build upon these global ambitions, Alaska wants to make Seattle a crew base for the newer Dreamliners for pilots and cabin crew. As a result, Delta decided to upgrade their Trans-Pacific operations by utilizing their flagship A350s with services to Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul. Delta is also responding to this by establishing a crew base for the aforementioned A350 fleet. Time will tell if Delta includes the A350-1000 as part of their Seattle strategy as well.

A Delta A330-900 at CDG. Delta utilizes the newest A330 variant for flights to Europe out of Seattle ( Jamsheed Motafram).

On the other hand, Delta will leverage their Trans-Atlantic network by utilizing the A330-900. Because these planes have Delta’s newest premium offerings, it gives the Atlanta-based carrier a significant edge over its competitor as Alaska/Hawaiian’s A330 offerings are outdated and it will be a while before the Dreamliner will be integrated into the fleet.

Conclusion

A Delta flight getting ready for another adventure (Erin Graham).

With Alaska starting to slowly establish Seattle as a global gateway, Delta is moving aggressively to be “ahead of the airplane” by leveraging  the formidable assets that they already have be it in airport operations or aircraft. It will be interesting to see how Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will change in the next few years because of this expansion.

An Alaska Airlines 737 at LAX (Garrett Griner).

But what do you guys think? Will Alaska’s international ambitions be able to compete with Delta’s already established network? Let me know in the comments down below and keep looking to the sky!