CBear

I agree.

There's been a lot of discussion about Delta and people aren't very impressed with the fact that Delta is using an ERJ. I've seen more than one disgusted facial expression!

KTN is generally better served by AS than SIT, isn't it?

Chugach

Yes, although KTN is a bigger market.
FYI, they're using a CR7, not ERJ.

Also, don't dog the CR7 if you're in first class. The single aisle side in F is very comfortable.

PDXPremier

I'm a bit surprised that AS has basically matched DL's coach fares, but not their $185 first class fares....although AS did drop the discount first class fares, just not THAT much.

Chugach

Based on seat maps, DL's loads to/from KTN are downright tepid for the first few weeks, then picks up around mid June, which would coincide with fishing lodge season.

SIT, on the other hand, appears to be strong in both Y and F from the start.

JNU is hit or miss depending on the day, but a 738 is a lot more seats to fill than a CR7.

Assuming DL sticks in KTN, I wonder if they'd look at revising the schedule to RON in Ketchikan with an early morning departure, similar to SIT and JNU. I suspect connections to the rest of the country are easier that way as opposed to the current early afternoon KTN departure.

slopeboy40

I feel so dirty I just booked 2 DL ANC-SEA flights for this summer in F. I couldn't resist. DL's F price was just $184, AS F price was $645, I even tried the Gold upgrade price but there was no U space available. Heck, AS in coach was still more than DL F at $231. Fortunately I'll still hit 75k on AS. I really want to fly AS only but I can't pass something like this up.

LambChop1

AS doesn't have nonstop from Sitka to Seattle until later this summer. So DL is the sole provider for non-stop to Seattle until AS resumes service later this summer.

Will also be interesting to see how the loads go for the JNU-KTN-SEA in the fall when DL has the JNU-SEA nonstop. I will pay more just to save an hour for not stopping in Ketchikan.

PDXPremier

That's funny cause I always look for the flights that stop somewhere along the way between JNU-SEA and I'm disappointed if I have to take the non-stop....love the view flying into these small AS communities, especially KTN.

BiggAW

Why is DL getting into southeast Alaska? It just makes no sense. It seems like they're just waging war on Alaska for the sake of waging war, spreading themselves even thinner than they are already stretched.

I'm not sure who in their right mind would put up with DL's BS to fly to AK when they could fly on AS. When I booked tickets for AK, I didn't even look at other airlines, I just went to AS, and picked flights. AS is so much better than everyone else, that I'm now going to book all flights to SEA or connections to AK on AS only.

dave1013

Two possible reasons come immediately to mind: They must know something we don't, or; it's just another patch in the crazy quilt of their war-mongering strategy (which could be based on anything from eye-poking to forcing AS into an acquisition or other unsavory (to us) option).

With that said, so far it doesn't appear to have hurt AS too much. In fact, they are prospering and continuing to expand. I hope not too fast, as that has led to other carrier's demise in the past.

It's not going to last forever, but for us in JNU, DL's return has been nothing short of a bonanza. We are the lucky "victims" of this ongoing battle. So is the airport BTW, as it saw a noticeable uptick in revenue once DL started last year.

Being able to get to SEA and back for under $200 .... I haven't seen that in decades. This is probably just a summer promotion, but laissez les bon temps roulez! I think they are here (in JNU) to stay. SIT and KTN - perhaps not so much.

Also, DL's 6:00 a.m. nonstop to SEA this fall - is a big deal. We'll be able to get to the east coast without having to overnight. There are elites in Juneau that have been fantasizing about this for a long time, and hope it becomes a permanent service. It will be interesting to watch the loads and see if AS provides a like option. That flight is going to impact flyership on flight 60. How much remains to be seen.

Chugach

The people who run DL aren't idiots. And if you look at the big picture, their expansion into SE AK and FAI follows a trend of airlines "discovering" the AK (meaning ANC) market over the last several years. B6's growth at ANC (now up to four flights per day this summer) is a prime example; I also remember when B6 first started ANC everybody predicted it would be a disaster for them...sound familiar?

I think what it boils down to is this: from the late 90's to about 2010 or so, AS had Alaska pretty much to themselves. If I had to make an educated guess, I think it was a result of the 9/11 after effect combined with the economic downturn later in the decade. AS was able to name their price on many AK routes, JNU/SIT/KTN/FAI included. It got to the point where it was starting to become a PR issue for them, hence the arrival of Club 49.

Now if I'm DL, sitting in my office and strategizing about this SEA expansion, I'd want to find high-fare, high-LF routes with minimal competition that have strategic importance to SEA, and the Alaska routes fit that bill. Specific to JNU (and to an extent SIT), I'd bet you a beer they analyzed AS' existing schedules to SEA and figured out there was a hole on early morning departures that they could exploit. Long story short, they didn't wind up in JNU because that's where the dart landed. They identified a weakness in existing service and made a plan to fill that gap to their benefit. Hence my comment above that the people who run DL aren't idiots.

SIT and KTN...I'll be interested to see how those two develop for DL. KTN actually didn't surprise me at all. It's so darn close to SEA with so much summer tourist/fishing traffic it was inevitable before someone put 2+2 together and put a RJ on it to peel off some traffic. SIT was a definite surprise, though. But in the same vein as JNU, they set up a schedule where there was a hole in existing service. Not to mention by RON'ing in JNU and SIT (and doing a redeye turn to FAI), it frees up some of that precious SEA gate space.

I don't fly DL a whole lot as they don't fly nonstop or direct from ANC to where I usually need to go, but I definitely appreciate them for showing up to compete in Alaska.

PDXPremier

I don't understand the logic of AS not having a 6amish departure from JNU-SEA....what is the earliest flight--8 or 9? It seems like the last late night flight from SEA would RON and turn around at 6am....yes, DL saw a hole in the schedule and filled it, but I AS isn't dumb either--why hasn't this been fixed with an AS flight when I assume there is already an aircraft at JNU from the late night arrival, correcte?

Chugach

I think it's simple...they didn't have any competitive need to. IIRC, they do have a summer 0600 departure but it's only seasonal.

AKCuisine

You may feel "dirty," slopeboy40, but you're also Gold-For-Life as a Million Miler. That means you have less to lose than some of the rest of us who want to - and need to - rack up EQMs on Alaska.

If I already had a million miles BIS, then maybe I'd consider slumming it with DL for a few flights ... but until then, #LoyaltyCounts

PDXPremier

I guess if you're going to "slum it" on DL, $185 first class fares between JNU and SEA are the way to do it....

UAPremierExec

Actually we'll be saving more than an hour.. try nearly 3. Delta's nonstop lands at 900AM-ish. The 715AM via KTN lands at 12:00N. And the return is the same. Alaska's last flight for 9 months out of 3 each year leaves SEA between 630PM and 650PM, with a stop in Ketchikan. Delta, 745PM.

+1 to Delta so far for offering us in Juneau the ability to get to the EAST COAST same day without overnighting or doing JNU-ANC-ORD(red eye).

If Alaska was smart, they'd swap the 737 with an EMB 175 and offer a flight that mirrors Deltas. Otherwise, this G75K will be seen on that CRJ 900 frequently after September.