Delta Air Lines will return to Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) in March 2027 after a seven-year absence, adding a second Tokyo route from Seattle as competition with Alaska Airlines intensifies at the Pacific Northwest gateway.
The new daily service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) will begin March 27, 2027, using Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. Delta will continue operating its existing SEA-Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) route, giving the airline two daily flights between Seattle and the Japanese capital.
“Japan continues to be one of the most important and beloved destinations in Delta’s global network and adding Seattle-Narita service gives our customers even more choice when planning their travel,” Delta Vice President of International Network Planning Jeff Arinder says. “With service to both Haneda and Narita, Delta will offer more capacity and two convenient ways to access Tokyo.”
The launch will mark Delta’s return to Narita for the first time since before the pandemic. The airline transferred its Seattle service—and its remaining U.S.-Tokyo network—to Haneda in March 2020 as part of a wider Asia-Pacific restructuring that ended its longstanding Narita hub operation.
However, the latest move comes as competition intensifies between SEA’s two largest carriers, with Alaska Airlines building Seattle into a long-haul hub following its acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines which closed in September 2024. Tokyo Narita was the first destination launched under the expansion strategy.
Alaska commenced daily SEA-NRT flights in May 2025 using a Hawaiian-branded A330-200 before transitioning the route to Boeing 787-9 equipment in January this year. The airline also opened Seattle-Seoul Incheon service in September 2025, followed by Rome, Reykjavik, Iceland, and London Heathrow in 2026.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows more than 400,000 two-way seats are scheduled between SEA and Tokyo during the current summer season. Alaska is the largest operator with 29.1% of capacity, narrowly ahead of Delta at 28.6%. ANA accounts for 22.2% and Japan Airlines 20.1%.
During the forthcoming winter 2026-27 season, Alaska and Japan Airlines are scheduled to operate daily SEA-NRT services, while Delta and All Nippon Airways will each fly daily to HND. Delta’s new route would increase the market to five daily departures—three to Narita and two to Haneda—assuming the existing schedules remain unchanged.
Analysis of data provided by Sabre Market Intelligence shows that demand supports the added capacity. The broader Seattle-Japan market generated approximately 341,300 two-way passengers in 2025, up 23.1% from about 277,200 in 2024. Tokyo accounted for about 243,100 passengers, or 71.2% of the total market, rising 8.8% year over year.
Delta currently offers more than 160 peak-day departures to 62 destinations from SEA, including new nonstop service to Barcelona and Rome Fiumicino. The Rome route began in May—just days after Alaska entered the market.
Related Content
