SPOKANE, Wash. - Delta Air Lines launched a new flight service between Spokane and Seattle Monday. The first flight took off from the Spokane International Airport at 6:15 a.m. Monday morning.
Spokane Airport spokesman Todd Woodard said Delta will have five new daily round trip flights between Spokane and Seattle. He said it is something that will benefit customers.
"I think anytime you have competition in the market, anytime there is more than one carrier, you end up with competitive pricing," Woodard explained. "It is the same as having two grocery stores or two gas stations, it is more competitive."
Woodard said passengers who bought tickets to fly on the new Spokane to Seattle flights Monday were given specialized name tags, food, drinks, and were entered into a drawing to win air line tickets.
He said this new service is something the airport has needed.
"We're excited because it's an additional lift and capacity for our customers," Woodard said. "This is an additional service to Seattle, which has long been our number one destination of our travelers and customers in our market area."
Woodard said that Seattle has been the number one destination for travelers from the Spokane Airport for the past twenty years.
He said in the past, there were up to four airlines that offered flights between Spokane and Seattle, so it is not unusual to have another airline offering flights. According to the airport, fuel prices caused Southwest Airlines to pull flights from both Spokane and Portland a few years ago.
Woodard said Delta Air Lines has been their fastest growing market.
"Between November 2013 and November 2014, Delta's number of seats sold are up 33% and their departures are up 63%," Woodard said. "It has been our fastest growing market. Overall, Spokane Airport as a whole is up 5% in seat sales and 5% in departures."
The airport said all of the Delta flights between Spokane and Seattle will have both Wi-Fi and electric plug-ins available in the air.
On Monday, the new flights to Seattle were scheduled at 6:15 a.m., 9:35 a.m., 1:01 p.m., 4:20 p.m., and 6:55 p.m..
