Alaska Airlines Adds Five New Nonstop Routes to Mexico From Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle

Alaska Airlines will significantly expand its Mexico service during the coming week, adding five new nonstop Mexico routes, inaugurating service to the new destination of La Paz, and adding frequency on several existing routes.

The airline will introduce nonstop service between Los Angeles and La Paz; Portland, Ore., and both Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta; San Francisco and Cancun; and Seattle and Cancun. These new flights, coupled with additional frequency on existing Mexico routes, will increase the airline’s overall Mexico capacity by 22 percent this fall.

"As Mexico’s popularity continues to grow among our customers, we’re pleased to add new destination options like La Paz and offer more nonstop flights to some of our most popular Mexican resorts," said Gregg Saretsky, Alaska Airlines’ executive vice president of marketing and planning. "These new flights will give customers in the Pacific Northwest — and those connecting from Canada, Alaska and beyond — more convenient and more frequent opportunities to visit some of Mexico’s most beautiful destinations."

Alaska Airlines began its Mexico route expansion today. The airline this morning inaugurated nonstop service between Seattle and Cancun. Flights will operate seasonally during Mexico’s peak travel period between late October and the end of April. Initially, Alaska will offer flights four days each week.

On Saturday, Oct. 28, Alaska will inaugurate service between Portland and Los Cabos, the airline’s first international destination from Portland International Airport. Flights will operate seasonally and will initially be offered four days each week.

On Sunday, Oct. 29, the airline will inaugurate two new flights serving Mexico, one between San Francisco and Cancun and another between Portland and Puerto Vallarta. Both flights will operate seasonally three days per week.

On Monday, Oct. 30, Alaska will inaugurate service between Los Angeles and La Paz, making La Paz the 10th Mexican city the airline serves. Year-round flights will initially be offered three days per week. Located on a large bay on the Sea of Cortes, La Paz is a preferred destination for kayaking, diving, sailing and fishing, and is growing in popularity as an eco-tourism and vacation destination. The capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, La Paz also attracts business travelers and passengers visiting friends and family.

The airline this week also will add six more weekly flights on several existing Mexico routes. Alaska will increase the number of weekly flights between Los Angeles and Loreto from three to four, Manzanillo from four to six, and Mazatlan from seven to eight. The airline also will increase the number of weekly flights between San Francisco and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo from two to four.

Alaska Airlines introduced service to Mexico in 1988 and now transports more than 1.2 million passengers annually between the U.S. West Coast and Mexico. During its winter schedule, the airline will operate up to 44 flights daily serving 10 Mexican destinations: Cancun, Guadalajara, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, Loreto, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mazatlan, Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta.

Reservations and tickets for Alaska Airlines’ Mexico flights are available at alaskaair.com or by calling (800) ALASKAAIR. Alaska Airlines Vacations also offers vacation packages, including round-trip air travel and hotel accommodations, to each of its Mexico resort destinations.

Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, together serve 88 cities through an expansive network throughout Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada and Mexico. For reservations visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

FCMN Contact: maria.koenig@alaskaair.com

SOURCE: Alaska Airlines