Located at SeaTac, Washington, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is not just the primary airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area, but also the largest and most important in the Pacific Northwest as a whole. Located roughly 14 miles south of downtown Seattle, the facility covers around 2,500 acres and has three different parallel runways. The airport is routinely touted as the most important hub for Alaska Airlines and a crucial international gateway for long-haul legacy carrier Delta Air Lines. The facility has flights to over 90 domestic destinations, with around 30 international flights to cities in North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East also operated.

Seattle-Tacoma has grown extensively over the past eighty years to get to where it is today, from having no commercial airlines to over 30 providing regularly scheduled service. The airfield that exists today was originally developed in the years following World War II when it was designed to replace Boeing Field. The facility was built with funding from the federal government, the City of Tacoma, and Seattle transportation authorities. Commencing operation in September 1947, the airport opened its terminal in July 1949, and expansion projects over the next decade would see jetliners arrive at the airport for the first time in the 1960s.

Multiple additional concourses and a satellite terminal were added in the early 1970s, to help support a rapidly growing aviation industry. As Seattle continued to grow, even more demand was needed for capacity at the airport, leading it to extend the runway and add a second one in 1970. In 2008, a third runway was added over the objections of many local and environmental advocacy groups. The 2010s saw further upgrades, including additional renovations mostly bankrolled by Delta Air Lines, which continued to build a global hub there.

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The airport opened its newest international arrival processing facility in 2022, making it easier for the airline to accommodate even more international flights. By 2023, the airport was handling more than 50 million annual passengers, and, although figures have yet to be officially released, is expected to have pushed beyond pre-pandemic numbers in 2024. Let’s take a deeper look at the competitive dynamics at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, by analyzing which are the five carriers with the largest market shares at the facility.

1

Alaska Airlines

The carrier has a near-majority share of the market at SEA

Market share:

Passengers flown annually:

49.21%

21.8 million

According to data released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Alaska Airlines has the largest market share at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, something that should not come as a surprise given the fact that the facility is unquestionably Alaska’s largest and most important hub. With the airline merging with Hawaiian Airlines, the airline’s market share at the facility will likely continue to grow, and should the carrier look to launch long-haul flights, Seattle would certainly be the natural place to start.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER landing at Los Angeles International Airport LAX

Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock

As one would expect, Alaska Airlines operates all ten of the busiest domestic flights from SEA, including the busiest domestic route operated from the airport between the city and Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) in Anchorage, Alaska. This service sees more than one million annual passengers. Where Alaska’s product offerings are considerably weaker is in international markets, where the airline operates just one of the ten busiest routes, a service to Cancun International Airport (CUN).

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At the airport, Alaska Airlines currently uses Concourses C and D, the latter of which it shares with fellow Oneworld carrier American Airlines. The airline also operates some services from the 20-gate North Satellite terminal, and Hawaiian Airlines operates flights from the South Satellite terminal, although it is not entirely clear if this will change as a result of the airlines’ upcoming merger.

2

Delta Air Lines

The airline is SEA’s largest international carrier

Market share:

Passengers flown annually:

19.85%

8.8 million

Delta’s hub at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is unique in several key ways, the foremost being that the airline does not maintain the largest market share at the facility. Typically, when Delta enters a market, it aims to capture the largest share of passenger traffic, something it is even able to do at extremely competitive airports like John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York.

Seattle, Washington, USA - September 25, 2023: Aerial view of Air France and Delta Air Lines aircraft at A, B, and S gates at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Photo: Nate Hovee | Shutterstock

While not one of the airline’s principal hubs for domestic travel, SEA serves as a key international gateway for the airline, especially for flights to and from East Asia. This allows the airline to connect passengers from across the country onto flights from SEA, while airlines like American and United have to connect passengers through less efficiently placed hubs at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Despite this, the carrier appears to have no shortage of expansion plans at SEA. For starters, the carrier will soon launch flights between the airport and Washington D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA), a highly competitive route saturated with business travelers, according to The Seattle Times.

3

SkyWest Airlines

The airline is the largest regional carrier at SEA

Market share:

Passengers flown annually:

7%

3.1 million

Delta Connection (SkyWest Airlines) Bombardier CRJ700 (N613SK) on approach at Los Angeles International Airport.

Photo: Angel DiBilio | Shutterstock

SkyWest Airlines is likely not one of the carriers you expected to appear on this list, and many of you have never even heard of this somewhat obscure carrier. SkyWest Airlines, a regional carrier, is a subcontractor, meaning that it operates regional flights for mainline airlines on a contract basis. At Seattle-Tacoma International, the airline operates dozens of flights for Delta Air Lines via its regional subsidiary Delta Connection, serving destinations across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. If you have flown Delta Connection to or from SEA, it is more than likely that you have been on a SkyWest-operated flight. Some Alaska Airlines services are also operated by SkyWest.

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4

United Airlines

The carrier serves just its hub airports from SEA

Market share:

Passengers flown annually:

5.82%

2.5 million

United Airlines is the fourth carrier to make our list, and the airline punches above its weight quite impressively even though it does not have a hub at the airport. From Seattle, United just serves its hub airports at Chicago-O’Hare (ORD), Denver International (DEN), Houston-Intercontinental (IAH), Los Angeles International (LAX), Newark (EWR), San Francisco (SFO) and Washington-Dulles (IAD).

United Airlines Boeing 737-924ER (N66897) taking off from Los Angeles International Airport.

Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock

These routes allow United to offer passengers from Seattle an endless number of one-stop itineraries to destinations across the globe, including those in Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and beyond. As a result, the airline can capture a large enough share of passenger traffic to earn it an honorable mention at this airport, where it does not have all that much of a presence. Of the ten busiest domestic routes from SEA, United operates four of them, including the routes to Newark and Washington, D.C., both of which are heavily saturated with premium traffic.

5

Horizon Air

The carrier is Alaska Airlines’ wholly-owned regional subsidiary

Market share:

Passengers flown annually:

5.55%

2.4 million

Everett, WA, USA - February 21, 2024; Alaska Airlines Horizon Air Embraer ERJ-175 taxiing with lights on in closeup

Photo: Ian Dewar Photography | Shutterstock

Coming in with a market share just smaller than United’s, Horizon Air operates a number of regional routes within the Pacific Northwest and to and from Alaska under the Alaska Airlines brand. This carrier, a wholly-owned subsidiary, operates differently than SkyWest as it does not fly on a contract basis. While there are some Alaska Airlines flights that are operated by SkyWest, one can easily identify if their flight is flown by Horizon Air as the aircraft will be branded as “Alaska Horizon.”

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