So everyone’s probably already heard about how Delta and Alaska – once great friends, have slowly been turning into enemies. And while they still are cordial to each other, the heat is getting turned up – but quick. Delta has decided to expand their West Coast presence with flights going from Alaska hubs Seattle and Portland down to the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Alaska volleyed back with majorly expanding their presence in Salt Lake City.
But the biggest volley by far (in my personal opinion) is the fact that Delta is going to start a shuttle between Portland and Seattle (end of the article) – a la Horizon Air, Alaska’s sister airline. The Portland/Seattle shuttle is a breadwinner for Alaska because those that can’t “get there” from Portland (or the surrounding communities), almost always can get there from Seattle. In my 1.25 million miles, the most popular route that I fly has been between Portland and Seattle.
And while I think at first, if it actually does come to pass (I’m wondering if Delta’s version of the “Seattle Shuttle” will ever really get off the ground), I don’t think it will be all that long lived. Or if it does, I can’t see Alaska’s partnership with Delta lasting all that much longer.
A quick side note: With Delta coming back for flights between Portland and Seattle, the first thing I thought of was D. B. Cooper. He’s the man that hijacked a Northwest Airlines (now Delta) Boeing 727 out of Portland, headed for Seattle, then disappeared from the plane and was never heard from again… Hey – maybe Delta can dub their flights the D. B. Cooper Express!