Alaska Airlines Announces Major California Schedule Upgrades With More Frequent Flights, Departures on the Hour, Half-Hour

Alaska Airlines today announced major upgrades to its California flight schedule. In April, the airline will introduce more frequent flights departing on the hour or half-hour on routes between Seattle and six California markets. Alaska also announced a "SEA Double" offer, awarding double Mileage Plan miles to qualifying frequent fliers on Seattle-Los Angeles and Seattle-San Francisco flights for most of 2008.

"By focusing on the highest-demand California routes, we’re making flying between Seattle and California even more convenient — especially for business travelers," said Brad Tilden, Alaska Airlines’ executive vice president of finance and planning.

Starting April 27, Alaska will offer 15 daily roundtrip Seattle-Los Angeles flights on weekdays — three more than before — departing on the hour southbound and on the half-hour northbound. The airline also will offer weekday departures nearly every two hours on the hour or half-hour for flights between Seattle and Oakland (seven daily roundtrips), Orange County (nine daily roundtrips, one more than before), San Diego (seven daily roundtrips, increasing to eight in June), San Francisco (eight daily roundtrips) and San Jose (seven daily roundtrips). The new flights are available for purchase at alaskaair.com or by calling (800) ALASKAAIR.

"With more frequent flights than any other carrier, memorable flight times, our award-winning Mileage Plan and a double-miles offer, flying Alaska between Seattle and California is a pretty sweet deal," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska’s vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience.

Customers qualify for Alaska’s "SEA Double" offer by flying two Seattle-Los Angeles or Seattle-San Francisco roundtrip flights between March 15 and May 15, 2008, and registering for the promotion. Qualifying customers earn double Mileage Plan miles when they fly those routes May 16 through Dec. 31, 2008. Customers can register and review terms and conditions at alaskaair.com.

  The new schedule features these flights with standardized departure times:

  Route:               Daily        Departure times:
                     departures:

  Seattle-Los Angeles    15         6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m.,
                                    10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m.,
                                    2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m.
                                    7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

  Los Angeles-Seattle    15         6:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m.,
                                    9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.,
                                    12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.,
                                    3:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.,
                                    6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.

  Seattle-Oakland         7         7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.,
                                    1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.
                                    and 7:45 p.m.

  Oakland-Seattle         7         6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.,
                                    12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.
                                    and 6:30 p.m.

  Seattle-Orange County   9         6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.,
                                    12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.,
                                    4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

  Orange County-Seattle   9         7 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 p.m.,
                                    2 p.m., 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and
                                    8 p.m.

  Seattle-San Diego       7         7 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.,
                                    5 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.

  San Diego-Seattle       7         6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.,
                                    12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and
                                    6:30 p.m.

  Seattle-San Francisco   8         6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m.,
                                    12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m.,
                                    6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

  San Francisco-Seattle   8         7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.,
                                    1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m.,
                                    7:30 p.m. and 9:20 p.m.

  Seattle-San Jose        7         6 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 p.m.,
                                    2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:50 p.m.

  San Jose-Seattle        7         6:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m.,
                                    3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:50 p.m.

To add frequency in the airline’s highest-demand California markets, Alaska will exit the Oakland-Orange County market beginning April 1.

Alaska and sister carrier Horizon Air offer more than 75 daily roundtrip flights between Seattle and 16 California airports. They are the only airlines serving all five Bay Area airports: Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa; and all five Los Angeles Basin airports: Burbank, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Ontario and Orange County.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air together serve 92 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: maria.koenig@alaskaair.com

SOURCE: Alaska Airlines