Alaska Airlines to Launch Its Longest Route Yet

DALLAS — Alaska Airlines (AS) announced two new routes on Friday for the upcoming summer season out of Anchorage, offering new flights to San Diego and its new longest route, John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

The daily seasonal flight to JFK will take over the airline's crown as the longest flight in the network, replacing the Seattle to Nassau Bahamas launches next month with the route being 3,386 miles. The flight will be operated with the Boeing 737-8 MAX, the first of which the airline expects to take delivery by the end of the year and place it into service in February.

"We're eager to welcome guests to our great state from the city that never sleeps to the land of the midnight sun on Alaska's new nonstop flight," said Jillian Simpson, president and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA). "Summer is an incredible time to visit Alaska with our warm, long days. There's so much to do in Anchorage and in the smaller towns nearby; mapping out your itinerary might be the toughest thing you do before heading west."

This will be the first time Alaska will offer nonstop flights from Anchorage to the East Coast, along with its new flights to San Diego, which the airline has had as a focus city for the last few years with a focus on expansion from the Southern California airport. The SAN flights will be once a week on Saturdays.

An Alaska Airlines 737-800 departs from Seattle. Brandon Farris/Airways

"Alaskans love nonstop flights to and from the state. We like having great travel options, and adding places such as New York and San Diego definitely fits the bill," said Marilyn Romano, regional vice president for Alaska Airlines. "During our peak summer days, we'll have a robust flight schedule of 63 departures a day from Anchorage."

These two new destinations allow Anchorage to have nonstop flights to 14 destinations. This includes Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and Seattle Evertt Paine Field.

RouteStart DateEnd DateDepartsArrivesFrequencyAircraftANC-SANMay 18, 2024Aug 17, 202414:5021:10Saturday737SAN-ANCMay 18, 2024Aug 17, 202409:0013:45Saturday737ANC-JFKJune 13, 2024Aug 19, 202420:0007:05Daily737-8JFK-ANCJune 13, 2024Aug 19, 202409:4513:30Daily737-8All times local

Competition With Legacy Rival, Alaska's New Aircraft

This route will actually have some competition. For the last couple of summers, United Airlines (UA) has operated flights to the East Coast from Anchorage with daily flights to Newark, New Jersey, which many airlines advertise as New York. UA also uses the Boeing 737-8 MAX on this route.

Alaska Airlines will be taking delivery of its first Boeing 737-8 MAX by the end of the year. The carrier originally expected to have three, but due to delays with Spirit and Boeing, the Seattle airline will now only receive one. After receiving the new type, AS will have to do some proving flights similar to what it did when it took its first Boeing 737-9 MAX back in 2021.

Once certification is completed, AS will use it on its Los Angeles to Portland route, flying twice a day back and forth with the new aircraft until more are received.

Featured Photo: Michael Rodeback/Airways