Delta Air Lines' loss at Dallas Love Field is Seattle’s gain, but Alaska Air still feels more pain

Now that Virgin America has emerged as the victor in the contest for two gates at Dallas Love Field, Delta Air Lines has a bit of free capacity to deploy elsewhere in its network.

Delta appears to be reallocating the capacity originally pegged for Love Field to its growing hub in Seattle, creating more headaches for the Alaska Air Group. Delta's latest crop of new services from Seattle is different in that the markets are more O&D oriented rather than designed to optimise connections.

Delta is ratcheting up competition with Alaska in leisure markets such as Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, creating another layer of competition for Alaska in Seattle. Alaska has responded to Delta's latest moves by declaring 11% departure growth in Seattle by Spring 2015, opting to grow in markets where Delta is not presently a huge threat.