Alaska Airlines Begins Flying to Costa Rica

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Alaska Airlines inaugurated new service between Los Angeles International Airport and Costa Rica's two major international airports, further strengthening the airline's southern California focus city. The eight weekly flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Jose (SJO) and Liberia/Guanacaste (LIR), Costa Rica, started Saturday and Sunday respectively, and is the first international destination Alaska has launched since 1991, when the Seattle-based airline introduced seasonal service to Magadan, Russia.

"As the most popular Central American tourist destination for U.S. travelers, Costa Rica is one of the best places in the Western Hemisphere for adventure tourism," said John Kirby, Alaska Airlines' vice president of capacity planning. "With the addition of Costa Rica, Alaska offers up to 80 peak season weekly departures from Southern California to Latin America, more than any other airline."

Liberia is the gateway to the Guanacaste region in the western part of the country, renowned for surfing and sport fishing. While the capital city of San Jose, located about 130 miles from Liberia, boasts museums and historic Spanish colonial architecture. On the blog: Read an Insider's Guide to Costa Rica.

Summary of new service:

All times based on local time zones

The new flights will be operated with fuel-efficient, next generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which feature free and premium entertainment direct to customer devices, as well as 110v and USB outlets at every seat for charging laptops, smartphones and tablets. Additionally, all flights feature food and beverages sourced with items from iconic Pacific Northwest brands. Customers can also rent inflight entertainment tablets, which include recently-released blockbuster movies, TV, Xbox games, music, and digital magazines.

Customers traveling from Los Angeles can connect to 21 destinations on Alaska Airlines' 600 weekly flights and earn and use award miles to travel to 84 nonstop destinations worldwide on partners American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air France, Aeromexico, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji Airways, KLM, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Korean Air, LAN and Qantas.

Since 2010, Alaska has entered 90 new markets, including 26 new cities. By the end of 2015, Alaska will have added  21 new markets, which includes 10 new cities.

Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together with its partner regional airlines, serves more than 100 cities through an expansive network in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North American Airline Satisfaction Study for eight consecutive years from 2008 to 2015. Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan also ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards Programs" in the J.D. Power 2014 and 2015 Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report. For reservations, visit www.alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit Alaska Airlines' newsroom at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.

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Photo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151102/282907

SOURCE Alaska Airlines