Some things never change. It's still raining in Seattle. It's oh-so-green and oh-so muddy outside. Throughout the day there are brief glimpses of blue sky and an occasional sighting of the sun. But nobody goes outside without a raincoat or an umbrella. That's just the way it is.
But out at Sea-Tac big changes are afoot. The two big players at the airport, Alaska Airlines and Delta, are about to celebrate their divorce as mileage partners. It's been a long and messy process, although both companies have put on a brave face as they pretend everything is normal.
For travelers, Delta is offering new fares and services to attract more business without the option of earning Alaska Airlines miles. And Alaska is tracking each and every move to make sure they're competitive in their home town.
John Caldwell just took over as Delta's vice president for Seattle. This is a return trip for him, as he was a sales manager for Northwest Airlines in the 1990s — and stayed with the combined airline after Northwest merged with Delta. Before coming to Seattle, he was in charge of Delta Vacations.
"Delta has worked hard to increase their departures from 30 flights a day to about 166 per day this summer," said Caldwell. "And there's more growth to come in Seattle."
Delta is the largest international carrier in Seattle, with daily flights to Paris, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Tokyo/Narita, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul (plus several nonstop flights to Mexico and Canada).
"We're excited that our partner Virgin Atlantic has taken over the Seattle-London flight with daily 787 Dreamliner service," said Caldwell. "One of the nice features of Virgin Atlantic's plane is the Premium Economy option, which is an upgrade from Delta's Comfort Plus in coach," he said.
For Anchorage travelers, Delta is doubling the daily flights to Anchorage, from three to six flights during the peak summer season. By comparison, Alaska Airlines offers 19 daily flights in the summer.
Fairbanks travelers, who fly during the winter on a Delta "regional jet" operated by Compass Airlines, will see daily 737 service resume on May 24, increasing to two daily flights in June. When the capacity increases in late May, the price also drops to as low as $286 roundtrip.
Delta still will operate seasonal service from Southeast Alaska to Seattle, but the season is shorter. From Ketchikan to Seattle, Delta will fly a regional jet from June 8 to Aug. 31. From Sitka, the season runs from May 25 to Aug. 31. From Juneau, Delta will fly a full-size 737 once a day between May 19 and Aug. 31.
"Delta feels it's important to offer service, even on a smaller plane," said Caldwell. "We want to get them to the hub here in Seattle, so they can take advantage of flights all over the world on Delta and our partners," he said.
Delta partners with KLM and Air France on its daily flights to Europe. To Asia, Delta is partnering with Korean Air to move its hub from Tokyo's Narita Airport to Seoul's Inchon Airport. There still are plenty of flights beyond Narita on Delta and its partners, but the emphasis now is shifting to Seoul, Korean Air's hub.
Caldwell and his team are introducing a couple of new features for Delta customers living in Alaska. The first is a 20 percent discount offer for SkyMiles members who live in the state. Called "Alaska Great Escape Fares," you have to sign up with a SkyMiles number for the program to receive two certificates. The certificates are valid for any fare except "Basic Economy" in the U.S. You also can use the certificate for 10 percent off of "base fares" for international travel. But the international option is much less valuable. That's because the bulk of the total cost for many international fares is for fuel surcharges and airport fees.
"We're offering the new discount program in place of the two free bags that we offered previously for Alaskans," said Caldwell. "In many case, the discount will exceed the baggage fee," he said.
The other option for travelers is the "Basic Economy" fare level. I call it the "middle seat fare" because you cannot make advance seat assignments when you purchase this fare. If you go to Delta's website and try to book a Basic Economy fare, there's a pop-up that clearly indicates there are no advance seat assignments.
Typically, this fare option is reserved for markets where Delta competes with ultra-low-cost carriers such as Frontier, Allegiant or Spirit.
Between Anchorage and Spokane, Delta's Basic Economy fare is $314 round-trip, compared with Alaska's fare of $421 round-trip. Delta's "main cabin" fare which does not include bag fees (but does allow advance seat assignments), is $354 round-trip. Other markets which feature the Basic Economy fare include Anchorage-Boise, Anchorage-Sacramento and Anchorage-San Jose. Missing from the list: Anchorage-Seattle, where Delta offers fares as low as $209 round-trip, compared with Alaska's offer of $264 round-trip. Of course, with Alaska, "Club 49" members get two free checked bags each.
Remember, JetBlue is the low fare leader between Anchorage and Seattle, with one-way flights as low as $64. The Seattle-Anchorage flights cost between $105 and $151 each way. So, if you pick your dates carefully, you can fly for $169 round-trip. Although pre-assigned seats are included, bag fees are extra.
Caldwell maintains that Basic Economy fares are "all about choice." "We offer these fares so that our customers can pick and choose the features that are important to them," he said.
In the markets from Anchorage that I checked, the difference between Basic Economy and "Main Cabin" was about $40 round-trip. From Fairbanks to Spokane, Boise, San Jose and Seattle, the different was less: about $20. In all of the markets I checked, Delta's Basic Economy fares were less than Alaska's lowest rates. But all of Alaska's tickets include seat assignments.
As we enter the busy summer travel season, it's clear that Delta's continued presence keeps fares lower. But if you want the absolute lowest price, you may want to double-check what's included, and what's not included, in your fare.
Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. You can follow him on Twitter (@alaskatravelGRM) and alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.