Alaska Airlines Announces Massive Route Expansion This Winter — Including a New Destination

13.07.2024 - 02:40 / travelandleisure.com / Kirsten Amrine / Lake Tahoe

Alaska Airlines is planning a massive expansion with 18 new nonstop routes to popular warm-weather and snowy destinations in time for winter, including the airline’s first-ever flights to Vail.

The new routes will take the airline as far as Costa Rica and Los Cabos and to sought-after wintry destinations like Reno for access to the Lake Tahoe ski resorts, according to Alaska. The new routes are mostly seasonal and kick off starting Dec. 3 with a flight from Fresno to Guadalajara. 

“We’re thrilled to offer convenient connection for guests across our network with this expansion — whether checking destinations off their bucket lists or setting off to their favorite winter getaways, we’ve put together an exciting range of options from tropical destinations across Mexico to the most popular ski slopes in North America,” Kirsten Amrine, the vice president of network planning and revenue management at Alaska Airlines, said in a statement. 

Courtesy of Alaska Airlines 

On Dec. 20, the carrier will fly from both San Diego and Seattle to Vail for the first time. Each flight will operate three times each week through March 16, 2025. These flights will join other new routes to popular ski destinations like Los Angeles to Kelowna in British Columbia and San Diego to Reno, each of which start Dec. 19.

Alaska will also launch new flights to warm-weather destinations across the country like between Boise and Santa Ana (year-round starting Dec. 19) and between both Sacramento and Boise and Orlando (starting Jan. 6 and Jan. 7, respectively).

In addition, the airline will broaden its international offerings with new nonstop service to Liberia, Costa Rica, from both San Francisco and Seattle. Those routes both launch on Dec. 21 and will operate once each week.

And the carrier is expanding service to Mexico, including launching the only direct flight between New York City and Puerto Vallarta, which starts Jan. 8, and adding more flights to Los Cabos from Sacramento.

Alaska, which was one of the most on-time U.S. airlines in June, recently introduced a paid subscription service that offers discounts on Wi-Fi and first dibs on sales. 

The airline is also rewarding customers this summer by selecting one lucky main cabin passenger every day through Sept. 2 and offering them a complimentary upgrade to premium class.