Delta Air Lines drops 2 Alaska cities as turf battles persist with Alaska Airlines

Travel options to Alaska are shifting a bit this summer.

Delta Air Lines, which has long been the second-largest carrier to the state, is pulling out of two small communities in the southeastern panhandle. Meanwhile, the state's namesake airline — and Delta's chief rival in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest — is adding new nonstop options to the Lower 48 states.

SkyTeam alliance member Delta will not resume seasonal summer service to either Ketchikan International Airport (KTN) or Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport (SIT), an airline spokesperson confirmed. Delta has served both cities continuously from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) since 2015.

The move comes as Delta ups its offerings to Alaska's two busiest airports — Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) and Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) — for the peak summer months. Overall, the airline will offer 4% more seats to the state in the second quarter compared to last year, schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium Diio shows.

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Delta's growth includes a new seasonal nonstop between Anchorage and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturdays from May 24 to Aug. 30.

This move comes as Delta's main competitor in the state, Alaska Airlines, adds new flights and nonstop routes. The Oneworld alliance carrier will connect ANC to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) — a major hub for Delta — and Sacramento International Airport (SMF) on Saturdays this summer; it will also connect FAI to Oregon's Portland International Airport (PDX) daily.

Alaska Airlines continues to serve both Ketchikan and Sitka year-round, a spokesperson for the airline said.

Even with the new routes, Alaska Airlines' seats to the state will be down nearly 3% year over year in the second quarter, schedule data from Cirium Diio shows. This includes Hawaiian Airlines' plan to fly an Airbus A330-200 between Seattle and Anchorage this summer.

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"We are really excited," Shannon McCarthy, the communications director at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said about the new routes.

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Hailey Standish, who manages communications for the Fairbanks airport, said that the new Alaska Airlines route not only links Fairbanks to Portland, Oregon, but, thanks to the airline's growing hub in Oregon, to destinations across the Lower 48 states. The Fairbanks airport hopes that the route could extend from summer seasonal to year-round status in the future, she added.

There is plenty for Alaska visitors to explore with the new flights. They could ride the Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park and Preserve, kayak along the state's scenic coastline or take a helicopter tour of its many glaciers.

The give and take between Alaska Airlines and Delta to the state is not new. The airlines have held the first and second spots for airline seats to and from the state since 2010, Cirium Diio schedules show.

And over the past decade, four out of every five airline passengers to Alaska flew on either Alaska Airlines or Delta.

That near duopoly dates back to at least 1987 when Delta merged with Western Airlines, Alaska Airlines' then-largest competitor between its namesake state and the Lower 48 states. Only during a brief period in the 2000s did Delta fall out of the No. 2 spot.

Looking ahead, it seems unlikely that Alaska Airlines will cede the top spot to Delta. It still flies four times as many seats to and from the state than its competitor does, even with its schedule down slightly this summer.

A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines declined to comment on Delta's schedule adjustments but said that serving the state of Alaska is very important to the carrier.

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