PoincianaKings

Super excited by this news. Being based in the Bay Area and frequently flying up and down the west coast this is a dream come true.

Also keeps the wife happy as it will mean we no longer have to fly via LAX, DFW or PHX to get anywhere in the US!!

ashill

AS is the fifth largest carrier in the US, the largest in the tier outside the big four (AA, DL, UA, WN).

Alaska was a relatively minor part (~25% or less, I think) of the network before the VX merger (SEA has been their headquarters and largest hub by far for decades) and is even more so after the merger. That’s not to say the state of Alaska isn’t important to the airline: they’re by far the largest airline from outside to the state and the only major airline brand with any intrastate service, all of which is year round. They are a lifeline for most of the remote communities they serve in Alaska. They make a mint on high fares enabled by their unique capabilities in the state, capabilities they’ve developed in being there for the better part of a century. But the state is a relatively small part of their network, their capacity, and their revenue.

They also had focus city type operations in SJC, SFO, LAX, and SAN before the VX merger which have been solidified by the merger, but they’ve always been more of a point to point airline and less of a banked hub type airline than the American majors. Even after the merger, they are a secondary (SFO) or tertiary (LAX) player even in their hubs outside the Pacific Northwest.

Yllanes

It would be nice if this led to a SEA-MAD route.

LiHS

It would indeed be nice! And it might just tip the scales of profitability in favour of a year-round (rather than just a seasonal) MAD-SFO.

tilal6991

Certainly wouldn't put it past them to up the partner earnings requirements but IMO, they'd also have to significantly cut the bonuses on BA flights to compensate for how lucrative it is.

BearX220

I said, accurately, AS was focused on the US west coast corridor. Since the VX merger AS has actually cut SFO routes and capacity considerably, and remains a SEA-centric airline. They also cut VX amenities, hard-product features, etc. that were key differentiators in the SFO market where UA dominates, meaning the Bay Area is sort of nonplussed by the merged airline, which now offers a last-in-class transcon F product plus thin frequencies unless you're traveling up and down the west coast. I think BA, CX, etc. will see little opportunity to deliver customers to SFO for onward travel on AS. SEA and (to a lesser extent) PDX are different stories.

Quite right. It is said that AS + VX was a shotgun marriage of sorts. JetBlue was bidding for Virgin America and THAT merger would have created a formidable #5 national airline in the US with AS begging for crumbs. The objective of the merger for AS was to keep VX away from JetBlue; otherwise AS was kind of the dog that caught the car. It didn't really know what to do with its prize and has struggled to digest VX. Alaska remains Seattle's hometown sweetheart of an airline but does not have great impact anywhere else. One benefit of joining OW is that it might keep AS and vits FF program on more peoples' radar. When they lost both DL and AA as domestic partners they became even more of an isolated play.

Richmond_Surrey

Let's see and wait if prices to SEA improve or better yet, prices to Alaska, which is usually quite expensive if bought from London. I always do AMS - SEA - Alaska. I never bought avios tickets on AS but flew with them on cash fares quite a few times. Access to their lounges would be useful too.

pinkcat

You don't need a reason just go

BearX220

There are only a few: SEA, PDX, LAX, JFK, ANC. They are attempting to open one In SFO before the end of 2020.

ElmhurstNick

Alaska has traditionally had some of the least restrictive routing rules domestically. Three segment routings are commonly allowed (Xxx-PDX-SEA-yyy). So for tier runners this gives west coast versions of what AA allows with the ex-US routings on the east coast (xxx-LGA/PHL/DCA-CLT-yyy).

Hopefully before full admission, BA will start to allow earning TP on AS flights.

NickB

Perhaps slightly, yes, but the underlying point is, imo, correct: Alaska adds next to nothing to the network served by OW: pretty much all destinations served by AS are also served more or less as conveniently by AA.

By contrast, the loss of LA leaves a significant gap in the OW route network.

tilal6991

However the flexibility of routing rules on AS makes for some pretty juicy West Coast runs in the future compared to the much more restrictive AA rules.

NickB

Sure but is that not ever so slightly a case of the tail wagging the dog?
Under that logic, an airline that serves destinations that are already easily reachable but allowing for more tortured routings to reach those destinations would be a more valuable addition that an airline that serves destinations which are not currently conveniently served. This is a rather curious way of looking at air travel, as if its main function was to facilitate miles or status runs and only accessorily constituted a mode of transportation.

tilal6991

I'm not saying that the LATAM loss wasn't a big one. It's just there's no point being upset about it - got to look at the upsides you have!

Tiger_lily

It opens up loads of options to Hawaii though?