Airline Decisions for frequent travel to Denmark

My recommendation is SAS, www.flysas.com. They have a good selection of flights from North America to Scandinavia, although at the moment it will involve a change somewhere for you, probably Chicago or New York. But, starting in May next year they will offer direct flights from Seattle to Copenhagen. And for frequent travel, direct flights are very nice.

Just noting that I just read that Delta is adding a flight from Minneapolis (a nice airport) non-stop to Copenhagen

Just noting that I just read that Delta is adding a flight from Minneapolis (a nice airport) non-stop to Copenhagen

And...I was playing around with some dates and prices were fairly attractive on that route. I think they are discounting it for a while to establish some volume.

Trying to strike that balance of affordability, service, and comfort
is tough

The unicorn of travel, for sure! For myself, I'd probably rule out Icelandair, though inexpensive generally, adding comfort and service comes at an additional cost. And there are not as many choices for later flights if you miss your connection. With that in mind, I'd look at Delta which has several reliable SEA-AMS flights and it's a quick jump to Copenhagen from there with many daily options. They have decent airline partners (though not Alaska any more, sadly). Their AMEX branded credit card might merit a look-see (there are frequent mileage bonuses offered, currently 50k range). Sadly they stopped serving my home airport with that flight, but KLM picked it up (with fewer flights per week).

If the SAS flight pans out from SEA that might be a good option, though since a new route you may want to see if it sticks around.

Since you fly Alaska Airlines a lot, have you looked at their alliances? There should be an opportunity to use points especially on American Airlines along with Iceland Air and Condor. What credit cards do use use to book your flights? That is where I would start looking for your sweet spot airline.

FYI, living in Houston we were / still are to an extent fans of UA out of IAH. But now on international flights we look for the "best deal" when booking our flights Best deal includes not only price, but timing, number of flights for our itinerary, etc.

We were already British Airways frequent flyers, and they have flights from both Denver and Seattle, connecting in London, then a short, quick flight to Copenhagen. That’s how we got to/from Copenhagen last fall. Their economy “World Traveller” experience is a notch or two nicer than others we’ve flown recently, although it’s a couple of notches less pleasant than it used to be, 10 or 15 years ago. BA is part of the Oneworld Alliance, of which Alaskan is also a member, so you’re already likely well on the way to redeeming points for perks.

Get a Chase British Airways VISA card (nominal $95 annual fee) and your purchases will accumulate points much quicker, if you want to upgrade seating or other perks.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I am a travel unicorn! After spinning around with some of the suggested options, I am sticking with the Alaska universe after all. The devil you know.....
Happy travels everyone!
Bernice

I suggest that you keep an eye on SAS' website or social media though, because sometimes new routes come with good offers as a way to market the route. So if you're lucky you might get a cheap direct flight next year.

SAS is likely to offer the greatest variety of times and one-stop / nonstop flights to Copenhagen. Unfortunately, it's not a very good travel experience IME. Tradeoffs everywhere.