Delta would like to remind Seattle travelers that despite Alaska (& Hawaiian) being the biggest airline at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), that it's still the go-to for international travel thanks to two new lounge options and two new nonstop flights to Europe.
In a release this week, Delta announced the opening of its Delta One Lounge – a lounge specifically for business class customers – as well as brand new Delta Sky Club® in the A Concourse. The Delta One Lounge will have a special Delta One check-in, an outdoor terrace, and a more dedicated, private lounge experience.
Perhaps more notably, Delta will add new, nonstop flights to Barcelona (BCN) and to Rome (FCO) starting next spring. The latter of which is surely an intentional shot across the bow at its Seattle competitor Alaska, which announced the launch of a SEA-FCO nonstop route of its own earlier this month.
While Alaska is making meaningful moves internationally with new nonstop flights to Tokyo (NRT) and Seoul (ICN) launching this year, Delta's big announcement flexes the airline's premium and international muscles over its Pacific Northwest competitor.
Delta Goes Big on Premium in SEA
Delta's new lounges – a Delta One Lounge and a Delta SkyClub – will be one “separate-but-connected” space in the A gates, according to the airline. The Delta One Lounge will take over the top floor of the A concourse lounge.
Delta says all Delta One passengers will have exclusive check-in areas (like the Delta One Lounges in JFK, Boston, and Los Angeles). Inside, the lounge will be able to hold 149 guests inside and 72 more on the wrap-around terrace. As is the case with the other Delta One Lounges, travelers will have access to sit-down dining, with a fancier menu than their fellow Delta passengers down below in the Sky Club.
If you're hoping to check out this new lounge, you can keep your premium travel card in your wallet, it's no good here. These are Delta's most exclusive lounges, with an entirely different set of entry requirements than your everyday Delta Sky Club:
- Travelers with a Delta One ticket, including long-haul international flights as well as transcontinental routes branded as Delta One
- A Delta One ticket departing from the airport works … but so does a business class ticket arriving earlier that day
- Flyers departing or arriving on a business or first class ticket with some (but not all) SkyTeam partner airlines are also eligible, including:
- Air France business class or La Premiere first class
- LATAM business class
- KLM business class
- Korean Air business and first class
- Virgin Atlantic Upper Class
- Flyers with Delta 360, the airline's invite-only status, can get in … but only with a departing or arriving first class ticket
And that's … pretty much it. These lounges are reserved almost exclusively for Delta's highest-paying business class passengers.
The normal Delta Sky Club – the airport's second – will have seats for 183 passengers inside. You can access this space using one of the complimentary visits that comes with the *delta reserve card* (15 visits per year, Feb. 1 – Jan. 31) or *amex platinum* (10 visits per year, Feb. 1 – Jan. 31).
But more than that, all Delta flyers who enroll in TSA PreCheck Touchless ID (what was formerly known as Delta Digital ID) will be able to access priority bag drop and security lines to make their travel experience a little faster, too.
In the release, Delta promised that this Touchless ID feature will rollout at all of its hubs by year's end.
Delta Marks Its Territory in Europe
According to 2025 data from Cirium Diio, Alaska will be the largest carrier at Seattle with more than 39% of available seat miles (Hawaiian's operations are 3% of that total) – the metric most commonly used to track capacity. Delta is a clear second at just a hair under 25% of total capacity. But when it comes to flying abroad, Delta dominates at SEA, offering 24% of international flying compared to Alaska, which flies just under 4% of international flights from the airport along with Hawaiian's 2.5%. Alaska is only the 7th largest international carrier by available seat miles out of Seattle.
And when you look at Europe, that becomes even more stark. Delta will run about 26% of SEA's Europe flights in 2025, with Alaska offering zero as its SEA-Rome (FCO) route doesn't begin until next summer.
When it begins next spring or summer, Alaska said it will run the Rome (FCO) flights four times a week on one of Hawaiian's new 787-9 Dreamliners with its fancy lie-flat business class suites – a strong foray into the European market for an airline that hasn't ever flown there.
To make sure its presence was felt, Delta initially announced its FCO flight will operate daily starting in May on one of the airline's new A330-900neos with Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort, and economy seats. However, Delta backed off that just a day later, amending its press release to say the flights will operate four times per week to Rome like the Alaska/Hawaiian flight and three times a week to Barcelona.
So while Alaska is Seattle's biggest airline overall, Delta still owns Seattle when it comes to flying travelers around the world, and the airline wants to keep it that way. By flying to Rome alongside Alaska next summer, the airline is hoping to compete with Alaska before the airline even starts its new route.
Bottom Line
While Alaska might be the biggest airline at Seattle (SEA), Delta's announcement of two new European routes and two new premium lounges at the airport this week is a reminder that the airline still dominates international travel at the airport.
A new nonstop route to Rome (FCO) will go directly up against Alaska's first-ever Europe flight when it launches next year, and the airline hopes addition of a Delta One Lounge and a new Delta Sky Club will continue to lure loyalists to the Atlanta-based airline and away from Alaska in 2026 and beyond.
Featured Image courtesy of Chris Rank/Rank Studios.
