San Diegans betting on summer travel from the San Diego International Airport to Eugene, Oregon; Washington, D.C. and Tampa, Florida will find new routes to those destinations this summer from Alaska Airlines.
Services are starting quickly with flights from SAN to Eugene Airport (EUG) and Dulles International Airport (IAD) beginning Thursday. The airliner is even celebrating these first flights through a special send-off for guests before boarding.
Service from SAN to the Tampa International Airport (TPA) will begin in October.
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Alaska Airlines has returned to pre-pandemic levels of flying, with 1,200 daily flights to more than 120 cities. San Diegans traveling soon should expect June 30, the Friday before Independence Day to be the airline's busiest travel day of the summer.
With those numbers, the good news is the airline has hired 6% more staff than they had in 2019 and twice as many pilots will be graduating each month compared to 2022, the Alaska Airlines wrote in a press release.
“Our guests in San Diego told us they wanted more nonstops; we’re excited to add service on both the West and East Coasts, including the nation’s capital, Florida’s vibrant Gulf Coast as well as to beautiful Eugene, Oregon,” said Neil Thwaites, regional vice-president of California for Alaska Airlines.
“We know it’s important that we keep California connected and our guests will now have three more non-stop destinations to choose from as they plan out their travel," Thwaites said.
Guests flying with Alaska Airlines from SAN can choose from a three-class cabin. First Class and Premium Class flyers can enjoy early boarding and be envied by all other domestic carriers while enjoying bountiful legroom.
Alaska Airlines is the only national airline based on the West Coast and offers a unique deal, the Flight Pass, which is their pay-by-month subscription service for flights throughout the state and to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Phoenix.
“We appreciate Alaska Airlines growing its service at SAN and their continued partnership,” said Kimberly Becker, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
“The timing is excellent, and our community will benefit from the addition of these new nonstop routes between our sunny Southern California region and the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest,” Becker said.
