Seatac, Washington

THE first thing a traveller driving to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport sees, even before the main terminal itself, is a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, decked out in the blue-and-white trim of Alaska Airlines, huddled around the airport's north satellite terminal. The second thing he sees is a massive traffic jam of cars, inching along toward the arrivals level. Locals know to pick up arriving passengers on the speedier departure level.

The explosive growth causing the traffic jams at Seatac, the country's 15th-largest airport, is being fuelled by a battle for supremacy between two airlines, one that calls Seattle home and the other that sees the Pacific Northwest as the gateway to lucrative Asian and European markets.