Following in the footsteps of yesterday's Frontier network expansion, Alaska Airlines has revealed its own massive network extension that brings new connectivity across the entire US West Coast. New routes include Anchorage to San Francisco, Boise to Los Angeles and more!
What are the details?
Alaska Airlines has announced several new services as part of a massive network expansion. These new services are not just limited to the US West Coast, with plenty of new routes stretching halfway across the country and beyond.
"We're excited to offer even more nonstops between vibrant Pacific Northwest communities and our growing hubs in California," said Brett Catlin, Alaska Airlines managing director of capacity planning and alliances in the Alaska Airlines press release. "Whether it's travel for a weekend getaway to Missoula or a day trip to San Francisco, we're proud to offer nearly 600 daily flights between West Coast cities."
In summary, there are eight new routes:
- Spokane to Los Angeles (2 x Daily)
- Spokane to San Francisco (2 x Daily)
- Redmond / Bend, Oregon to Los Angeles
- Redmond / Bend, Oregon to San Diego
- Redmond / Bend, Oregon to San Francisco
- Boise to Los Angeles (2 x Daily)
- Missoula, Montana to Los Angeles
- Anchorage to San Francisco
What are the specifics?
Spokane has two new routes, to Los Angeles and San Fransisco.
- Spokane-Los Angeles will operate twice daily, with flights at 7:00 and 16:40. The returns will be 9:30 and 20:05 respectively. This service will be flown by an Embraer E175.
- Spokane-San Fransisco will also operate twice daily, with the first flight at 7:00 (I'm sure that they will flip a coin with the LA service to see who goes first!) and the second service at 16:20. The return flights are at 9:00 and 19:35. Like the LA service, this route is operated by an Embraer E175.
New Redmond / Bend has three new routes, to Los Angeles, San Fransisco and San Diago. All three
- New Redmond / Bend - Los Angeles will operate once a day, with the outbound flight at 18:00 and the return at 8:00 the following day. It is operated by an Embraer E175.
- New Redmond / Bend - San Fransisco will also operate once a day at 7:00 with an 18:35 return on an Embraer E175.
- New Redmond / Bend - San Diago will operate daily at 23:40 with a return at 14:50 with the same aircraft variant. It is not clear if any of these services will use the same aircraft in a day, or if they are each three different aircraft.
Boise to Los Angeles will see another double daily service from the airline
- Boise - Los Angeles will operate its first service at 7:45 and 16:30 with the return trips at 8:30 and 19:55 respectively. This service will be operated by a, you guessed it, Embraer E175.
Missoula, Montana to Los Angeles is now connected with a new service from Alaska
- Missoula - Los Angeles is daily from 19:00 with the return at 14:45 the following day. This service is operated by an Embraer E175
Anchorage to San Francisco is the last new big route as part of this network expansion.
- Anchorage - San Francisco will be operated by a Boeing 737 (not an Embraer E175 like the others) and will fly outbound from Anchorage 11:45 and inbound at 21:45 from San Fransisco. This service is operated by a pair of 737s daily.
What about increased frequencies to other routes?
Alaska has also taken the opportunity to increase the frequencies on other routes:
- San Diego - Orlando will be daily instead of five times a week in January
- San Diego - Boise will get a second daily service in January
- San Diego - Santa Rosa will also get a second daily service in March
- San Diego - San Jose will increase from four times a week to six times a day in March!
- San Diego - Boston will see a second daily service from May
- San Francisco - Orange County will have its frequency bumped up to seven daily flights in January.
- San Francisco - Chicago O'Hare will get a second daily service in March.
A lot of these new routes and frequencies are relying on Alaska's fleet of Embraer E175 aircraft. These aircraft are single-aisle and transport around 76 passengers in a 'two' class layout. The aircraft has 12 first-class recliners and 12 'premium' class seats.
What do you think of this new service? Let us know in the comments!