Alaska Airlines strikes back in Seattle with route to Delta focus city
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Alaska Airlines is striking back in Seattle with a new route to Delta Air Lines focus city in Cincinnati, as battle for Seattle between the rivals appears to be heating up again.
Alaska will add Cincinnati (CVG) to its map with a daily flight from its Seattle (SEA) home, the carrier said Friday. The airline will fly Boeing 737s on the new route, which begins Aug. 18 and will go up against Delta’s nonstop service on the route.
The Cincinnati addition comes as competition between Alaska and Delta in Seattle heats up. On Monday, Atlanta-based Delta unveiled new routes between Seattle and Columbus (CMH) and Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — a fortress hub for Alaska partner American Airlines — as well as more flights on other routes from the Pacific Northwest city. The new Delta flights will go head-to-head against both American and Alaska to DFW and against Alaska to Columbus.
Sign up for the free daily TPG newsletter for more airline news
Delta’s route announcement of those routes came just two weeks after Alaska and American unveiled a renewed partnership. The pact includes new flights on American between Seattle and Bangalore (BLR) and London Heathrow (LHR), with Alaska helping funnel connecting passengers to and from those flights.
All of the route additions come as U.S. airline executives warn of an imminent air travel slump that could compare to the one seen after 9/11. Fear of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is driving the drop in demand.
“There is a lot of anxiety, a lot of discussion right now,” said Alaska CEO Brad Tilden at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit in Washington on Thursday. He pointed out that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) head Robert Redfield encourages Americans to keep flying where there is a “low risk of transmission,” but acknowledged that Alaska’s bookings are down for March.
Related: US airline execs warn coronavirus impact ‘could be worse than 9/11’ downturn
Alaska has yet to join JetBlue Airways and United Airlines parring schedules due to the drop in demand. However, Tilden warned Thursday that the airline will “probably have something soon.”
The Seattle area is the current epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. As of noon PT on Thursday, there were 51 confirmed cases and 10 deaths in the metropolitan area, according to King County public health authorities. The CDC reported 99 confirmed cases and 10 deaths nationally on Thursday.
Tilden, for his part, was largely sanguine about the business impact on Alaska from the COVID-19 fears.
“This thing does unfortunately happen in our industry — we will get through it, we will get to the other side,” he said.
Related: Coronavirus flight waivers and changes
Featured image by Alberto Riva / The Points Guy.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 3X points on dining and 2x points on travel, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.