As recently as late 2013, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) operated just 35 daily departures at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac). However, it began growing rapidly there in early 2014 -- challenging hometown carrier Alaska Air (NYSE: ALK) -- and named Seattle as a new hub in June of that year. By this summer, Delta had roughly quintupled its flight schedule at Sea-Tac, operating 174 peak-day departures.
Delta is looking to repeat that success in Boston, which officially became its newest hub city earlier this year. This time, it's taking on JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), which has been the market leader in Boston since 2010. Yet the market dynamics in Boston could end up being quite different than in Seattle. Let's see what that may mean for Delta.
Delta Air Lines began its growth in Boston a few years ago. By the end of 2018, the carrier and its joint-venture partners were offering more than 120 daily departures there. As was the case in Seattle, Delta started with an unusually high number of international routes for a non-hub market and has gradually grown its domestic-route network to attract business travelers, enable more connecting itineraries, and support further international growth.