Brad Tilden was poised and calm Thursday when discussing the future of Seattle's hometown airline. But things weren't always so relaxed for the Alaska Air Group CEO.
Alaska Air Group faced a perilous situation last year when the company’s longtime partnership with Delta Air Lines came to a screeching halt.
“At first we were just sort of shocked, you know, that the thing seemed to be unraveling,” Tilden said Thursday at a Puget Sound Business Journal Live event.
Alaska Airlines had been longtime partners with Northwest Airlines and Delta, and continued to be partners when the two larger airlines merged.
That camaraderie ended last year when Delta began expanding its own flights to Asia out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA/KSEA). Delta's expansion across-the-board in Seattle reduced its reliance on Alaska flights.
Internally, it was a major issue for Alaska's leadership team. Executives disagreed on the best way to move forward.
“I would say we did flap around on that for awhile before we sort of came to peace with exactly what our mentality was, what our mindset about the competition was and how we were going to respond,” Tilden said.
The airline has stuck to the original plan it landed on: Control yourself, don’t try to control anyone else.
“Competition is part of life in America," Tilden said. "You can sort of begrudge it if you want to, but our viewpoint is that this has made this the greatest economy in the world and we’re going to use this competition to make Alaska the greatest airline in the world.”
The competition with Delta, and other airlines, will result in a stronger Alaska, Tilden said.
Delta and Alaska are engaged in a heated battle for passengers and the biggest share of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is Alaska’s home base, and Delta has made the airport its West Coast international hub.
Delta pumped up the competition Wednesday when it added hyper-local flights out of Sea-Tac.
The two companies downplay animosity between them, but its clear the battle over Sea-Tac is in full force. Alaska operates four times more flights out of Sea-Tac than Delta, but Delta’s presence is growing much faster.
(Rachel Lerman - Puget Sound Business Journal)
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