Delta Will Fly Nonstop Between Washington Reagan and Seattle in March

Washington Reagan International Airport (DCA), in the nation’s capital, is a highly desirable airport for passengers, given its proximity to downtown Washington, D.C., and accessibility via the city’s metro system.

However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposes a “perimeter rule” at the airport, which only allows flights of a certain length to operate in and out of the airport, with a few exceptions. Most of the long-haul traffic to the city operates from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), further afield in Virginia.

Earlier this year, the FAA granted 5 additional so-called slot exemptions to a handful of U.S. airlines, and now Delta is taking advantage to launch flights from DCA to its hub in the Pacific Northwest: Seattle.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Delta Adds Nonstop Service Between DCA and Seattle

Delta Air Lines was one of 5 airlines to receive slot exemptions to operate specific longer-haul routes from Reagan National Airport.

The others were:

• Southwest Airlines to operate DCA to Las Vegas (LAS)
• American Airlines to operate DCA to San Antonio (SAT)
• Alaska Airlines to operate DCA to San Diego (SAN)
• United Airlines to operate DCA to San Francisco (SFO)

Delta’s slot exemption has allowed the Atlanta-based carrier to offer nonstop flights from DCA to Seattle (SEA), an important hub in the Pacific Northwest. This is in addition to Delta’s existing flights between Seattle and Washington Dulles (IAD).

“Seattle is a key market for our customers, a crucial hub for Delta, and a premier West Coast gateway,” said Glen Hauenstein, president of Delta Air Lines. “Delta commends the Department of Transportation for recognizing that additional service from DCA to Seattle will give consumers the much-needed competition and choice they deserve. We look forward to launching new, premium DCA service in March.”  

Delta says that once Seattle service begins on March 9, 2025, it will serve all 3 of its “western hubs” with nonstop service to/from DCA. These include Los Angeles (LAX) and Salt Lake City (SLC) in addition to Seattle.

Delta’s Continued Growth in Seattle

The launch of a nonstop route to DCA is a key piece in Delta’s growth strategy for its Seattle hub, which the airline has made into an important connecting point for flights to Asia.

Delta offers nonstop routes from Seattle to Tokyo (HND), Seoul (ICN), Shanghai (PVG), and Taipei (TPE), which was recently launched.

Delta is also poised to offer more capacity on these Asian routes when it begins operating Airbus A350 aircraft, which offer more seats than the current aircraft, the Airbus A330. The airline says the aircraft change will offer a total of 55,000 more seats per year and 40% more seats in premium cabins.

Finally, next summer, Delta will open its fourth Delta One Lounge at the airport, which will be a huge boon for premium flyers passing through the airport. That’s especially true considering how positively the current Delta One Lounges have been perceived by travelers.

Final Thoughts

Delta was a beneficiary of a slot exemption at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., which has allowed the carrier to add nonstop service to Seattle, which is currently the only hub in Delta’s network that lacks nonstop flights from DCA.

Come March, Delta flyers will have a much easier time getting between Seattle and the nation’s capital, and this new route should open up more seamless connection opportunities from the D.C. area to the West Coast and beyond — particularly Asia.