Alaska Airlines

This week's latest in route developments.
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This is a busy month for us, and it is often hard to keep up on things. So we want to try to catch up on some route developments over the last few days we may have missed. Matching competitor AirTran, Delta Air Lines will inaugurate mainline service on December 18th from Atlanta to Key...
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The Middle Seat Terminal blog reports that the rate at which passengers were bumped in the second quarter of this year increased forty percent compared with the same period a year ago. As carriers have slashed capacity to the bone, and with overbooking a common practice, there are too many people crammed onto...
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Image via Wikipedia We’re slowly inching toward our goal of reaching 1000 posts. We hope you’ve been enjoying our increased efforts. Air Canada yesterday inaugurated service from Montreal to Fort-de-France, Martinique. The service will be offered on Saturdays until August 29th, and then will recommence on a year-round basis on December 5th. Alaska Airlines inaugurated service on...
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Image via Wikipedia Alaska Airlines announced today the inauguration of service between San Jose, California and Austin, Texas effective September 2nd. They will also be starting Austin to Seattle service on August 3rd. The flight will originate in Portland, replacing a Horizon flight from Portland to San Jose, and continue to/from Austin, using a 737-800. This...
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The Boston Globe theorized last week that JetBlue would soon match other airlines in charging for a first checked bag. Southwest and JetBlue are the only major carriers who do not charge for the first bag. Dave Barger, CEO of JetBlue advised that no decision had been made and that he was “wary of being...
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Image by Getty Images via Daylife For those of you following us, we’ve been away for a bit, and posting a bit less frequently, and we’re starting to catch up on our backlog of issues we wanted to discuss. In that vein, this is a roundup of all the route and related news we haven’t...
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We’ve been a bit busy the last few days. And there is always so much to read to keep up and talk about. We’re going to try to sit down for a few hours and catch up on the backlog. In the meantime, here are some of the things we’ve been reading. South African Airways...
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Image by Getty Images via Daylife Best Western International has partnered with Southwest Airlines as a loyalty partner. Beginning February 15th, members of their reward program will be able to earn Rapid Reward credits. Portland-based SeaPort Airlines will serve the Oregon communities of Astoria and Newport beginning March 15th with service to Portland International Airport and...
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Virgin America and HBO today launched the airline’s new nonstop service from New York’s JFK airport to Las Vegas, Nevada and will unveil “Entourage Class” on the airline as well as the advance screening in flight of Season 5 of the HBO original series Entourage. Virgin America flies to seven cities, including: SFO to...
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Happy Eighth Birthday to JetBlue Airways. Who would have thought they’d grow so fast so quickly? Remembering the good old days when we flew them between Rochester, NY and JFK… Alaska Airlines and Horizon have announced they have selected Seattle-based Jones Soda Co as their new drink partner. The airlines will offer customers complimentary canned...
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US Airways will be adding service to three Gulf Coast cities from its Charlotte hub. Service will begin April 6th to Ft. Walton Beach, FL and Panama City. Service to Gulfport/Biloxi, MS will begin May 6th. Service will be operated by subsidiary PSA Airlines using 5-seat CRJ-200s. Horizon Air will begin...
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Lot Polish Airlines has signed a deal for 12 additional Embraer 175 jets plus two options and ten purchase rights. The layout of the aircraft will include 82 elite seats, and the plan is to use them to ‘right-size’ aircraft based on seasonal or specific time-of-day influences on routes. Jetblue inaugurated its St. Maarten-JFK service...
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We remained quiet about the issue of in-flight internet of late. Certainly, it is controversial. We think it is a better alternative than allowing voice communication on aircraft. Let people quietly text away, send email, etc. Of course, people will abuse this service. We recently heard of a problem on a coach bus that...
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Lots to cover…never enough time… United Airlines announced new service from Los Angeles to Des Moines, IA and Austin, TX effective February 13th, and will be operated by Skywest’s CRJ-700 regional jets with 6 first class and 60 economy seats, including Economy Plus. Beginning on March 3rd, Delta will be offering flights from Lawton/Ft. Sill, Oklaholma...
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Midwest Airlines has added the option to purchase a customized Travel Guard single-trip travel insurance policy specifically for Midwest customers during the ticket purchase process on the Midwest Airlines website and through their other distribution means. We love trip insurance….it protects you from the horror stories we often collect about horrible situations that have...
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Mesa Airlines announced an agreement with United Airlines to replace 8 50-seat CRJ-200 aircraft with two 66-seat CRJ-700 aircraft. United, as well as other airlines, are replacing the cramped 40-50 seater planes with larger more spacious regional planes which preserve the economy of smaller aircraft but add the comfort of mainline service. San Francisco International...
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Airtran has signed a new three year contract with Coca-Cola. Onboard, you can get Coca-Cola Classic®, Diet Coke®, Sprite®, Sprite Zero(TM), Coca-Cola Zero(TM), Minute Maid® Lemonade, Dasani® Water, Cherry Coke(TM), Cherry Coke Zero(TM) and three types of Minute Maid® juices. Poor Pepsi. Has anyone signed with them lately? Air France-KLM announced last week they would...
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The FAA has ordered the inspection of all wing slats on newer Boeing 737s based on findings about a fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan last week. Investigators have discovered that a bolt from a right wing slat had pierced the fuel tank. Thus, within 24 days, all US planes must...
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Qatar Airways touched down at Washington-Dulles Airport last night in its maiden flight on the route from Doha. The Airbus 340 was greeted by a water salute. Horizon Air has slashed fares from Idaho Falls to Seattle and Portland. Fares on the routes that were $183-$364 are now $139-$189 each way. All flights to the...
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On the lighter side of travel…teacher Dave Barclay flew from Toronto, Canada to Cardiff, in Wales to attend a wedding, only to discover that the wedding was scheduled for next July. Barclay, who spent $1015 on his flight, commented that on the bright side, his error has assured him a mention in the speech...
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For the first time, this Roundup was written while our editor was sitting at an airport, awaiting a flight. Hmm…perhaps a story on Airport Wifi is in order? The Coalition for Luggage Security….don’t you love their press releases as much as we do? They reported(and we use the term lightly) on the 13th about a...
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Northwest has exited bankruptcy…its shares have started trading on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning. Unlike Delta, Northwest has kept a low-profile during bankruptcy and is moving forward with plans to eliminate its oldest and most costly planes now that it has exited. However, Northwest employees are less than happy with the situation…as...
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A man desperate to keep his girlfriend from boarding a flight from Ft. Myers to New York called in a bomb threat for her airplane Wednesday afternoon. Christian G. Mejia, age 23, was arrested after he dropped off his girlfriend and her travelling companion to an airport and drove to a pay phone and...
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Spirit Airlines today announced nonstop service to San Pedro Sula, Honduras from its Ft. Lauderdale hub. Service will be offered three times a week from July 20th through November 15, when it will become daily. Southwest announced four daily nonstop flights in six cities. Beginning August 26th, one new daily nonstop from Manchester to Phoenix...
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