We're flying to new destinations, adding more
flights for convenience and implementing new technology for a
premium travel experience this summer
SEATTLE, June 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- In response to an increase in travel demand, Alaska
Airlines is offering the largest summer schedule in the company's
history, including new nonstop routes and international
destinations we've never served before during our busiest months of
the year.
We're also expanding the number of daily flights in our network
for convenience, flying to popular destinations based on guest
feedback, unveiling innovative bag drop stations in some of our
hubs and continuing to operate an industry-leading safe
operation.
"As best-in-class operators, our top priority is consistently
delivering on our promise to guests to take them where they're
going safely and on time – all while showing them the care for
which we're known," said Andrew
Harrison, chief commercial officer at Alaska Airlines. "This
summer, we're prepared to do more flying and welcome more guests to
experience not only a safe operation, but also a premium
experience. We've been hard at work on elevating all aspects of the
travel journey for our guests from start to finish."
During this year's peak summer months (June, July and August),
we've added almost one million seats versus last year; these
added seats will help guests get to more barbeques, baseball games,
and beaches than ever before. Our busiest days will be before and
after Independence Day, where we expect to see almost 160,000 guest
boardings each day.
Guests are excited to travel away from home this year. This past
Memorial Day weekend, we connected more than 500,000 guests to
their destinations or 6% more people over the holiday weekend
compared to last year.
Outside of our hub cities, which are seeing notable growth, our
guests have been particularly interested in exploring new places:
we've seen tremendous interest in Guatemala City, where travelers can marvel at
the pyramids of Tikal National Park or explore the shores of Lake
Atitlán. National Parks have been especially popular: to support
this demand, we've added 16% more flights to Jackson Hole, Wyoming -- the gateway to
Grand Teton National Park and
Yellowstone. We've also launched nonstop service from New York (JFK) and San Diego to Anchorage, in our namesake state; these
flights will help connect adventure seekers with the grandeur of
the Last Frontier.
Here's how we're prepared for this summer's busiest
days:
More Flying & More
Destinations
- We've added nearly 10% more flights to our guests'
favorite destinations—from Alaska
to Zihuantanejo, we've got your summer travel covered!
- We're expanding our reach to the east this summer with new
nonstop routes connecting Anchorage and New
York, Portland and
Nashville, and San Diego with both Atlanta and Anchorage.
- For the first time this summer, we're flying guests to new
international destinations: Guatemala City, The Bahamas, and Toronto.
- Our summer schedules have grown at many of our hubs:
with 16% more flights in Portland,
10% more in Seattle, 23% more in
San Diego and 13% more in
Anchorage.
- Summer doesn't have to stop! Starting this fall, we're
growing Los Angeles (LAX)
departures 33%, giving guests even more opportunities to soak
up the California sun.
- We offer more flights to Mexico from the West Coast than any other
U.S. airline, with service to Cancun, Guadalajara, Los
Cabos, Loreto, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
Enhanced Travel Experience
- We're moving to San
Francisco International Airport Harvey Milk Terminal 1
later this month, culminating a major investment in modernizing our
infrastructure and providing our guests with a seamless travel
experience. When it opens in July, our newest
Lounge at SFO T1 space will be 11,000 square feet with 55%
more seating and offer the ultimate comfort with our signature
Loungers for kicking back, an expanded menu made with fresh
ingredients, a barista staffed coffee bar and complimentary West
Coast wine, spirits and craft brews.
- In Anchorage, we're
renovating and upgrading our popular Lounge with more space,
seating and thoughtful touches.
- At Portland
International Airport, we'll be moving into a brand new, bolder and
brighter lobby in August.
- At Los Angeles
International Airport, a complete overhaul of the gates, including
new carpet, lighting, seating with power outlets and signage will
be complete by the end of July at Terminal 6 where Alaska is the primary airline.
Premium Products
- We're elevating our guests' culinary experience in the sky with
an expansion of our pre-order for-purchase hot meal options to
Premium Class and the Main Cabin for flights 1,100 miles or
more. Check out our premium onboard menu here.
- We're giving you the chance to upgrade – for free with
our new program called upgrade unlocked! Every day this
summer we're surprising and delighting at least one guest seated in
our Main Cabin to Premium Class as a "thank you" to our guests for
flying us this summer. Learn more here.
- Can't wait to learn if you've been selected for upgrade
unlocked? We're making it easier for you to upgrade! Now
you can pay to upgrade to First or Premium Class up to 30 minutes
before departure under Manage Trip on www.alaskaair.com, or through
the Alaska Airlines mobile app.
- Frequent flier, savvy traveler? Sign up for our newest
subscription service, Alaska Access, to receive a
monthly one-time free use voucher for our streaming fast
Wi-Fi and to get early access to some of our biggest fare
sales of the year.
Reliable, Safe Operation
- Most importantly, running a safe and reliable operation
is our top priority. Halfway through the second quarter, we rank in
the top of three of the industry for both completion rate and
on-time performance. Our highly dedicated Maintenance and
Engineering teams are focused on safety, reliability and excellence
and utilize the latest aircraft maintenance technology to access
information that keeps us flying.
Remember to download the Alaska Airlines mobile app, which keeps
your travel needs at your fingertips. You can use our app to check
in, pay for your bag(s), get your boarding pass(es), track flights,
make seat changes and much more right from your phone. You can also
preorder your meal to have it conveniently sent to your seat from
our app anytime from 2 weeks to 20 hours before travel.
Don't forget that we offer the most legroom in First* and
Premium Class, no change fees, multiple fare offerings and the most
generous loyalty program with the fastest path to elite status.
* Out of any U.S. legacy airline excluding
lie-flat seats
About Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines and our regional partners serve more than 120
destinations across the United
States, the Bahamas,
Belize, Canada, Costa
Rica, Guatemala and
Mexico. We offer our guests a
premium flying experience with award-winning customer service and
an industry-leading loyalty program, Mileage Plan. With our fellow
oneworld Alliance members and additional global partners,
our guests have more choices than ever to purchase, earn or redeem
on alaskaair.com across 30 airlines and more than 1,000
worldwide destinations. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com and
follow @alaskaairnews for news and stories. Alaska Airlines
and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.
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SOURCE ALASKA AIRLINES