By Benjamin Pham
Alaska Airlines Grows Its Presence at LAX With New Flight Service to 12 Cities
Alaska Airlines’ operations at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is expanding as the airline announces the addition of seven new routes, bringing the number of new routes for this year out of LAX to 12. Earlier in the year, the airline began service from LAX to Redmond, OR, Spokane, WA, Boise, ID and Fresno, CA. The carrier has dedicated its efforts to growing at LAX, in order to better connect its guests from Southern California to competitive markets across the country.
The Seattle-based airline continues its expansion out of LAX, in order to link Southern California to cities in Florida, Hawaii, Montana and Oregon. The first part of this service expansion will begin with daily flights to Eugene, OR and Medford, OR on Oct.1, while daily flights to Bozeman, MT and Tampa, FL as well as four times weekly flights to Fort Myers, FL will begin on Nov. 20.
Finally, the carrier will fly to Kona, HI and Lihue, HI starting on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18, operating three times and four times weekly, respectively. Ultimately, Alaska intends to find firm ground at LAX in order to create a strong foundation for future growth out of the important hub.
Brett Catlin, Alaska Airlines Managing Director of capacity planning and alliances, is optimistic about how the benefits of expanding out of the important market that LAX is known for, will affect the airline’s future growth.
“LAX is one of Alaska’s important hub markets and continues to offer valuable opportunities for selective expansion,” Catlin said. “The addition of these 12 new routes from LAX along with our upcoming membership in the Oneworld alliance sets the stage for future growth.”
Ahead of the airline’s official membership to the Oneworld airline alliance, upon completion of the necessary steps to officially become a member, passengers can currently connect with the airline’s 16 codeshare partners along the west coast.
The carrier’s growing presence on the west coast also includes the addition of new services from Seattle to Fort Myers, four times weekly, while flights from San Diego and Portland, OR to Fort Lauderdale are four and three times weekly, respectively.
LAX is a major airline hub, in Southern California, with flights on competitive and cutthroat routes to markets across the country. Alaska Airlines’ expansion at LAX reaffirms its presence on the west coast. The airline hopes it will set the platform for its appearance in the Oneworld alliance, the third largest airline alliance in the world, in 2021.
Benjamin has had a love for aviation since a young age, growing up in Tampa with a strong interest in airplane models and playing with them. When he moved to the Washington, D.C. area, Benjamin took part in aviation photography for a couple of years at Gravelly Point and Dulles Airport, before dedicating planespotting to only when he traveled to the other airports. He is an avid, world traveler, having been able to reach 32 countries, yearning to explore and understand more cultures soon. Currently, Benjamin is an Air Transporation Management student at Arizona State University. He hopes to enter the airline industry to improve the passenger experience and loyalty programs while keeping up to how technology is being integrated into airports.
