Delta Air Lines ended their summer run between Juneau and Seattle on August 31. An airline official says the season went well, and residents of the capital city can expect to see Delta back next year.
That means another summer of competitive airfares.
This summer was the first time in almost 20 years when Alaska Airlines did not have a monopoly in Juneau.
In the months leading up to Delta’s May 30 arrival, roundtrip airfare between Juneau and Seattle went down slightly from its typical $500 range.
As the date got closer, travel analyst Scott McMurren says the price dropped to $244.
“And Delta held the line on that price all the way through this summer. Alaska, for competitive service, came down and occasionally would touch that level on competing flights, but they were by no means steady at that price,” McMurren says.
In the summer, Alaska has five nonstop flights between Juneau and Seattle. Delta only has one. Even with the competition, McMurren says Alaska’s flights continued to do well, “which is why the fare floated up. Delta’s flights had plenty of room, which is why the fares stayed flat.”
Data from Juneau International Airport show about 3,700 people boarded a Delta flight in Juneau during August. That means, on average, there were less than 120 people on each Boeing 757 Delta flight, which can seat 180.
Delta’s Seattle vice president Mike Medeiros says he’s happy with Delta’s season in Juneau.
“We were very pleased with the loads, particularly in light of the fact that it’s a new and emerging market for Delta,” Medeiros says.
This summer, Delta added a seasonal flight between Fairbanks and Seattle. It’s also offering year-round service between Anchorage and Seattle. All of this is part of Delta’s larger plan to expand in Seattle.
“The state of Alaska is an important piece to our success for this global gateway. And so we had plans and it actually worked very well to connect people from Juneau into Seattle and beyond,” Medeiros says.
This time last year, Delta had 33 daily departures out of Seattle. Now, there’s 86. By the end of the year, Medeiros says it’ll be up to 95.
“All we’re doing is creating a hub in Seattle. It happens to be where Alaska has its headquarters and that they’re a partner,” Medeiros says.
Meanwhile, Alaska’s summer was busy. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Juneau Airport show its flights out of Juneau were fuller than last year.
In Seattle, Alaska has about 270 daily departures. Marilyn Romano is Alaska’s regional vice president.
“Just in the last few weeks, we’ve added nonstop service out of Seattle to New Orleans, Detroit, Tampa. We’ve really grown a nice amount of traffic and business in and out of Salt Lake City,” Romano says.
McMurren says Alaska moving into Salt Lake City, Delta’s primary hub west of the Rockies, is Alaska’s way of fighting back in what he calls a “battle for Seattle.”
Who’s winning? McMurren says, the traveler is. He says Delta returning to Juneau next year is good news, since it’ll once again mean lower airfares.
But, if Delta and Alaska ever do make peace, McMurren says Juneau could go back to being a one airline city.
