FAIRBANKS—Delta Airlines plans to begin year-round service at Fairbanks International Airport later this year, adding another major carrier to an off-season market dominated by Alaska Airlines.
Following its summer service this year to Fairbanks, Delta will continue offering daily flights to Seattle at least through December, said Explore Fairbanks President Deb Hickok. Alaska Airlines is currently the only carrier providing service to the Lower 48 during the winter months.
“This would be huge,” Hickok said. “It’ll really change the dynamics.”
Delta Airlines officials couldn’t be reached on Wednesday to discuss the company’s plans in Fairbanks. However, the topic was well-discussed during morning sessions at the Interior Tourism Conference, which was held Wednesday at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel.
Aviation analyst Mark Sixel said the move is part of an effort by Delta to entrench itself in Seattle, where Alaska Airlines is based. Seattle has emerged as a lucrative hub for flights between the U.S. and Asia.
“Everyone says it’s a battle for Seattle, but I don’t think that. I think they can both co-exist,” said Sixel, the president and owner of Sixel Consulting Group.
The additional Delta flights will help offset a reduction in summer route options to Fairbanks. Both Frontier Airlines and United Airlines plan to halt their Fairbanks-Denver routes this summer, and Alaska is stopping its Fairbanks-Portland route.
Overall, a 2 percent increase in air capacity is projected in Fairbanks in 2015, Hickok said.
Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president in Alaska, said the airline is not worried about competition from Delta on the new routes.
“No, we feel like we got our start in the state of Alaska, been flying here over 83 years,” Romano said. “I feel like we are pretty embedded in the communities of Alaska where we fly.”
“Delta is doing what they think is best, but it doesn’t change our commitment to the communities where we fly at all,” she said. “I think them coming in with a small airplane, in the winter, is not going to take away from what we try to do to take care of our customers every day and the things that we offer.”
Romano acknowledged Delta’s emphasis on making Seattle an international hub.
“They’ve had a big focus on Seattle,” she said. “Really, this has been going on for a while now.”
As of March 8, Romano said, Alaska Airlines will have four nonstop flights a day from Fairbanks to Seattle, rather than three and a flight to Portland, for the better “connectivity” for flights out of Seattle.
The airline still has nine flights a day from Fairbanks to Anchorage, most of which are on turboprop Bombardier Q400 planes, except at least one jet flight in the morning, typically scheduled on a Boeing 737-700, Romano said.
Sixel said the environment is right for more competition in Fairbanks in the years ahead. With Delta’s plans for Fairbanks-Seattle flights, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the airline moved next to add a Fairbanks-Anchorage route, he said.
If lower fuel prices persist, other “long haul” options to hub cities in the Lower 48 could also be viable, he said.
Contact staff writer Jeff Richardson at 459-7518. Staff writer Casey Grove in Anchorage contributed to this article.