Despite the fact that summer travel is already well underway, Alaska Airlines is getting ready for what looks to be a busy winter.
With the exception of one route, all of the major network expansion announced by the Seattle-based carrier will run seasonally through the winter.
Even more, Alaska is introducing a brand-new location: Eagle, Colorado, which is home to the neighboring Vail resort, one of the top ski areas in the nation. The airline will operate three weekly flights from San Diego and Seattle to the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE) in the area.
Regional affiliates operating Embraer 175 aircraft will run seven of the new flights; mainline Boeing 737s will be used for the remaining itineraries.
Only a week ago, Alaska revealed a significant expansion in Mexico, adding new nonstop routes to Monterrey and La Paz.
Alaska is putting more of an emphasis on serving leisure passengers now that corporate travel hasn’t fully returned from the virus in several of its major hubs. Alaska’s performance, at least for its business travel sector, is particularly related to significant tech companies in the region that haven’t been flying as much as they did prior to the epidemic, which is not surprising for an airline with such extensive operations in San Francisco and Seattle.
Actually, a large number of these new routes are point-to-point connections connecting outstations. As an example, Alaska’s network strategy has not traditionally included flights from Boise to Orlando, New York to Puerto Vallarta, or St. Louis to Puerto Vallarta.
However, given that corporate travel hasn’t entirely returned, it makes sense for Alaska to test out some point-to-point leisure flights and see how it goes.
Even in its introduction, Alaska made it clear that these flights are intended for leisure passengers searching for “dream winter getaways.”
“We’re thrilled to offer convenient connection for guests across our network with this expansion—whether checking destinations off their bucket lists or setting off to their favorite winter getaways, we’ve put together an exciting range of options from tropical destinations across Mexico to the most popular ski slopes in North America,” said Kirsten Amrine, vice president of network planning and revenue management, in a statement.
All of the new routes will be available for sale by Thursday
| Route | Start date | End date | Frequency | Fleet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno, California-Guadalajara, Mexico | Dec. 3, 2024 | Feb. 12, 2025 | Daily | 737 |
| Boise-Bozeman | Dec. 19, 2024 | March 17, 2025 | Five times a week | E175 |
| Boise-Orange County, California | Dec. 19, 2024 | Year-round | Daily | E175 |
| Los Angeles-Kelowna, British Columbia | Dec. 19, 2024 | March 17, 2025 | Daily | E175 |
| San Diego-Reno | Dec. 19, 2024 | April 21, 2025 | Daily | E175 |
| San Diego-Vail (Eagle County) | Dec. 20, 2024 | March 16, 2025 | Three times a week | E175 |
| Seattle-Vail (Eagle County) | Dec. 20, 2024 | March 16, 2025 | Three times a week | E175 |
| San Francisco-Liberia | Dec. 21, 2024 | May 10, 2025 | Once a week | 737 |
| Seattle-Liberia | Dec. 21, 2024 | May 11, 2025 | Once a week | 737 |
| Sacramento-Los Cabos | Jan. 6, 2025 | April 21, 2025 | Five times a week | 737 |
| Sacramento-Tucson | Jan. 6, 2025 | April 21, 2025 | Daily | E175 |
| Sacramento-Orlando | Jan. 6, 2025 | April 21, 2025 | Four times a week | 737 |
| Boise-Orlando | Jan. 7, 2025 | March 25, 2025 | Three times a week | 737 |
| New York-Puerto Vallarta | Jan. 8, 2025 | April 20, 2025 | Four times a week | 737 |
| Sacramento-Puerto Vallarta | Jan. 11, 2025 | April 19, 2025 | Once a week | 737 |
| Kansas City, Missouri-Cancun | Jan. 18, 2025 | June 7, 2025 | Once a week | 737 |
| Kansas City-Puerto Vallarta | Jan. 25, 2025 | April 5, 2025 | Once a week | 737 |
| St. Louis-Puerto Vallarta | Jan. 25, 2025 | April 5, 2025 | Once a week | 737 |