Alaska Airlines announces new seasonal service to Zihuatanejo from San Diego
Jul 16, 2023, 10:14 pm
#31
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVP 100K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Lifetime Titanium Elite, UA 1MM,
Posts: 1,715
But that kind of negates the purpose of a special non-stop right? If its once a week service from SAN, only on Saturdays, its marketing to the folks who will fly down for 7 days only. Unless you mix and fly through PHX or Texas, which is nothing new. Its also going to have tough competition from SAN folks who have access to TIJ, with tons of non-stops in to Mexico.
Jul 17, 2023, 6:58 am
#32
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,128
But that kind of negates the purpose of a special non-stop right? If its once a week service from SAN, only on Saturdays, its marketing to the folks who will fly down for 7 days only. Unless you mix and fly through PHX or Texas, which is nothing new. Its also going to have tough competition from SAN folks who have access to TIJ, with tons of non-stops in to Mexico.
I don't fillow you on ORD though. If you want to go to ZIH, why would you reject a nonstop in one direction because you need to connect in the other?
Jul 17, 2023, 11:10 am
#33
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: San Diego, Ca
Programs: AA 2MM LT PLT; AS MVP Gold75k; HHonors Diamond; IHG PLT
Posts: 3,529
SJD is a good example - AS currently offers service from 7 cities, competes with NK and WN, but fares from SAN can still justify CBX - particularly for shorter trips.
The other issue is service. TIJ is a modern, first world airport, but most domestic flights are served by budget airlines, with little in the way of amenities. A significant percentage of mainland Mexico destinations are also redeyes out of TIJ, leaving between 11 pm and 1 am.
I would frequent CUN prior to the pandemic, fly AA outbound (SAN-MIA redeye-CUN), return on an afternoon nonstop through TIJ. AS has added seasonal SAN-CUN service, but fares are relatively expensive, consider SAN-CUN on AS, CUN-TIJ a viable option.
In other words: I believe there are opportunities for AS to add service between SAN and secondary leisure destinations in Mexico, anxious to see what the future holds.
Jul 17, 2023, 4:44 pm
#34
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: SAN
Programs: AS 100K, DL MM, AA PLT
Posts: 2,937
While I'm a huge proponent of expansion at SAN, 1x weekly is of essentially no use, especially to airports that are generally underserved otherwise. Like SanDiego1K I have no interest in a week in ZIH. (Heck, I have relatively little interest in general, but could be convinced to spend a weekend at the Thompson.). I'd much rather see them put the airframes on additional frequencies to popular existing leisure destinations (I'm thinking HI) than once-a-week stations. But I'm sure the AS planners know what they're doing. (They're the same people that brought us MEX, ELP, MSP, MCI...)