QX headed back to Alaska
 

Only this time with E175's.

Looks like ANC-FAI/AKN/DLG to begin with; curious if they will also use it on SEA-ANC to rotate in and out of the state.

https://investor.alaskaair.com/news-...-alaska-flying

Could this plane be used on the milk run SEA-KTN-WRG-PSG-JNU-YAK-CDV-ANC? Or is that so cargo-heavy that they require 737 service?

Guessing flights 61/66 and 64/65 will stay 737 for cargo purposes plus for capacity on ANC-JNU, but that’s just a guess.

This feels like a redux of the Q400 experiment, which was mostly about getting 737’s off ANC-FAI. Except the 175 is vastly superior from a passenger perspective.

Wouldn’t be surprised if ADQ gets the E175 eventually, too.

You had me scared for a minute with flashbacks of the disastrous Q400 launch and ultimate failure. Having been on flights that were downright scary, I was about to give up on this new experiment. The E175's make better sense and I suspect AS is repurposing them now that RAVN is out of the picture (and Covid-19 freeing up aircraft_. Time will tell how it goes but I wish AS success!

Looks like E-175's will start ANC-SEA route
 

Saw this on ADN today about E-175's fulfilling some ANC-SEA flights. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2020...-state-routes/

Okay, off topic, but were the Q400s really that bad in AK? I mean, I hate the plane in general, but how were they scary to fly there? I've never much more than ordinary turbulence between ANC and FAI.

Excited to see what new routes AS offers ^

They could get a little bumpy over the Alaska Range since they had to fly lower but nothing terrible in the many times I had to fly them on the route. Never took them to ADQ or SCC though.

I saw that little nugget in the headline. I’d imagine (hope) they are looking at ENA, at least. Probably waiting to see what happens with Zombie Ravn before pulling the trigger on Kenai or anyplace else.

The Q400's did not take well to the cold weather in Alaska. I was on a flight ANC-FAI in the winter that was beyond scary. At altitude over Denali, the engines were surging, then almost cutting out, then surging again, over and over again. It seemed that the pilots were struggling to keep them running. When we landed in FAI, the return flight was cancelled. The plane simply does not work well in cold climates. I find this weird since at altitude the flight is in extreme cold, but they have all been moved to warmer routes...

Well, that does sound terrifying!

Interesting, seeing that ConocoPhillips is using Q400's to fly into Kuparuk now.

Even more interesting as at least one of the ConocoPhilps birds is a former QX bird.

Found the first E175 flight in Alaska...flight 2020, ANC-AKN-DLG-ANC daily.

Nothing for ANC-FAI/SEA yet.

What dates? I'm looking at random July dates and can't find anything other than a normal non-stop to DLG.