Last week, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines expanded a high-profile partnership that will now allow Alaska customers to take American flights from the West Coast.
Airlines are fighting fiercely for corporate travelers…
Why? Because Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is both:
American and Alaska also announced a new direct flight to Bangalore, India — a growing hub in the global tech travelscape (that also happens to be one of Amazon’s biggest business travel destinations).
But by connecting air passengers from 70+ US cities to India’s booming tech scene, American and Alaska hope to cement Seattle’s position as an important link in the chain of global tech business travel.
Delta, Alaska’s largest competitor at SEA, grew its capacity in Seattle by almost 50% between 2014 and 2018, while Alaska only expanded 41% in the 5 years preceding 2019.
And last year, Delta bought a 20% stake in American Airlines’ partner airline LATAM, putting even more pressure on Alaska to outmaneuver Delta at its home ’port.