Alaska Airlines Announces New Portland-Long Beach Flights and Expanded Anchorage-Chicago Service

Alaska Airlines today announced new twice-daily nonstop service between Portland, Ore., and Long Beach, Calif., starting Feb. 8, 2009. The airline also announced it would add a second nonstop flight between Anchorage and Chicago, operating June 7 through Aug. 22, 2009.

"The addition of Portland-Long Beach gives our customers another convenient alternative for traveling between the Pacific Northwest and Southern California," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience. Jarvis said the new Portland-Long Beach route and the second Anchorage-Chicago nonstop are part of the airline’s strategy to redeploy flights in markets that strengthen its Pacific Northwest and Alaska route structure.

From Portland, flights will depart at 7:05 a.m. and 2 p.m. and arrive in Long Beach at 9:25 a.m. and 4:20 p.m., respectively. Flights from Long Beach will depart at 10:05 a.m. and 5:05 p.m. and arrive in Portland at 12:35 p.m. and 7:35 p.m., respectively.

From Anchorage, the new flight will depart at 11:15 p.m. and arrive in Chicago at 8:13 a.m. the following day. The flight from Chicago will depart at 9:30 a.m. and arrive in Anchorage at 1:06 p.m.

To celebrate Alaska’s new service to Long Beach, Mileage Plan™ members can earn double miles on nonstop flights between Portland and Long Beach from Feb. 8, 2009, through March 8, 2009. To earn double miles, customers must register at alaskaair.com before they travel. Registration will be available beginning Dec. 1, 2008.

Alaska Airlines will operate the new routes with Boeing 737 aircraft, providing first class and main-cabin seating.

Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Traditional Network Carriers (tie)" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 North America Airline Satisfaction Study(SM). 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