Delta Returns To Tokyo Narita Airport, With Seattle Flights: Why, Though?!

We know that Delta is trying to grow across the Pacific, and even wants to beat United in the region, which seems like quite the lofty goal. So we’ve seen the airline announce new routes, to places like Hong Kong (HKG) and Manila (MNL), with many more to come.We can now add yet another airport to the list, with a route that I can’t make sense of in the slightest… I’m curious if others can try to rationalize this. Delta resumes Seattle to Tokyo Narita route after seven yearsWhat is Delta’s strategy with returning to Tokyo Narita?Bottom line Delta resumes Seattle to Tokyo Narita route after seven yearsDelta has announced that as of March 28, 2027, it’ll resume nonstop daily flights between Seattle (SEA) and Tokyo Narita (NRT). The flight is expected to operate with the following schedule:Seattle to Tokyo Narita departing 1:35PM arriving 4:20PM (+1 day)Tokyo Narita to Seattle departing 6:30PM arriving 12:00PMDelta is resuming Seattle to Tokyo Narita flightsThe 4,739-mile flight is blocked at 10hr45min westbound and 9hr30min eastbound. Interestingly, Delta will use an Airbus A330-900neo for the route. The route is of course well within range for the plane, but a couple of years back we saw Delta exclusively switch to using the Airbus A350-900 for its mainland United States to Asia routes, so I guess the airline is backtracking on that strategy.This represents a route resumption, as Delta last operated this service seven years ago. This coincided with when Delta completely pulled out of Tokyo Narita Airport — the airline had picked up some more slots at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), so decided to focus operations there.For a sense of how this fits into overall capacity:In terms of greater Tokyo area operations, Delta flies to Tokyo Haneda out of Atlanta (ATL), Detroit (DTW), Honolulu (HNL), Los Angeles (LAX), Minneapolis (MSP), and Seattle (SEA)When it comes to Delta’s transpacific service out of Seattle, the airline otherwise flies to Seoul Incheon (ICN), Shanghai (PVG), Taipei (TPE), and Tokyo Haneda (HND)In the Seattle to Tokyo Narita market, Delta will be competing directly against Alaska and Japan Airlines, with All Nippon Airways also operating to Tokyo HanedaThis route stands out for not being operated by an A350What is Delta’s strategy with returning to Tokyo Narita?I thought it was perfectly logical several years back when Delta shut down operations at Tokyo Narita, and focused on Tokyo Haneda. Tokyo Haneda is generally the more popular airport for “local” traffic (given how much closer to the city it is). Since Delta was able to get slots for the airport for all desired routes, that positioned the airline well. Tokyo Narita is largely about connectivity, and unlike American and United, Delta doesn’t have a major partner there (American has a partnership with Japan Airlines, and United has a partnership with All Nippon Airways).So I really can’t wrap my head around what Delta is trying to accomplish here?Is this a competitive response to Alaska, in hopes of just making both airlines hemorrhage money on this route? Does Delta want to see if it can somehow make things so miserable for Alaska that the airline is forced to shut down long haul operations (it seems unlikely to succeed, but…)?Is this really about just adding capacity to the Tokyo area, and if so, does Delta think it’s going to capture profitable traffic this way?What connecting traffic will this capture that couldn’t otherwise be routed through Delta’s beloved Seoul Incheon (ICN) hub, where everything feeds into the network of joint venture partner Korean Air?This just strikes me as a very strange route add. It seems highly unlikely the airline will make money on this route, and it’s not even really “adding a dot to the map,” as it’s just a co-terminal airport.Is this route just intended to spite Alaska, or…?Bottom lineAs of late March 2027, Delta plans to launch daily nonstop flights between Seattle and Tokyo Narita, complementing service to Tokyo Haneda. The airline pulled out of Narita Airport around seven years ago, after picking up additional slots at Haneda Airport.Nothing about this route makes sense to me, as Delta is also at a major disadvantage in terms of connectivity. Is this route just to spite Alaska, or what’s the logic, exactly? Delta’s yields across the Pacific are worsening (unlike at American and United), and something tells me that situation will get worse before it gets better.What do you make of Delta adding Seattle to Tokyo Narita flights?