Delta Attacks Silicon Valley to Seattle Route With A220 Launch

Delta claims that the A220 offers wide-body amenities in a narrow-body jet, and after reviewing it in both first class and Comfort+, I'd agree with that assessment. Now Delta has announced the first new A220 route since its initial reveal in October of 2018: The airline will begin operating two of its six daily flights between Seattle (SEA) and San Jose (SJC) starting June 8, 2019.

Tickets for A220 flights between the two cities are on sale now through Delta.com.

The inaugural A220 flights shuttle passengers between New York’s LaGuardia (LGA), Boston (BOS) and Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW), with Houston (IAH), Detroit (DTW), Salt Lake City (SLC), New York (JFK) and Minneapolis (MSP) set to join the parade by August.

One-way prices are hovering between ~$80 and $140, in line with Alaska and Southwest.

Delta is pricing SkyMiles award tickets at 8,000 miles for main cabin, 9,500 for Comfort+ and 13,000 for first class, all on a one-way basis. There's no price premium to select the A220 over an Embraer regional jet.

Additionally, we've discovered that A220 routes are being added between other cities that Delta serves from San Jose. In a dummy search shown above between San Jose (SJC) and Salt Lake City (SLC) for July 1, 2019, there's an option to fly on the A220. Delta isn't publicly confirming added routes beyond SEA-SJC, but we're also keeping an eye on SJC-LAX and SJC-LAS. These are routes which Delta Connection currently serves via regional jets, and both are ripe for a mainline replacement.

Delta has made a meaningful effort to create a hub out of Seattle. So much effort, in fact, that many cite its forcefulness in the market as the leading driver behind the airline's divorce with Alaska. Presently, three airlines have regularly scheduled commercial flights between SEA and SJC: Alaska, Delta and Southwest.

Both Alaska and Southwest primarily operate Boeing 737s on the route, while Delta currently serves it with a smaller Embraer RJ-175. The A220 flights will operate as mainline Delta routes, replacing Delta Connection carrier Compass on runs presently served by Embraer regional jets.

The introduction of the A220 on the ~700 mile hop means that business travelers who routinely travel between Silicon Valley and the technology hub that is Seattle will now have a far superior product to select. Delta’s A220-100 configuration has 12 first-class seats (three rows in a 2-2 layout), 15 Comfort+ seats (three rows in a 3-2 layout) and 82 standard economy seats in rows of 3-2. Each seat in Comfort+ and the main cabin offers the most width in Delta’s entire fleet, at 18.6 inches.

Delta installed 13.3 inch touchscreens in the first-class cabin and 10.1 inch touchscreens in Comfort+ and the main cabin. Plus, the high-speed Gogo 2Ku Wi-Fi will be appreciated by the connected clientele that will be most apt to fly this route.

Be sure to check out our additional coverage on the A220:

• I Toured Delta’s Brand New Airbus A220 — Here’s What to Expect
• When Coach Is Actually Comfy: A Review of Comfort+ on Delta’s Airbus A220, NYC to Dallas
• King of Regional Flying: A Review of Delta’s Airbus A220-100 in First Class From Dallas to New York

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All images by Darren Murph / The Points Guy.