Alaska Airlines Expands Partnership With SkyWest, Adds New Routes

Alaska Airlines announced it is expanding its partnership with SkyWest Airlines with the addition of three new destinations from Alaska's Northwest hubs. Flying on new Embraer E175 jets, Alaska will begin offering daily nonstop service starting July 1 between Seattle and Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Seattle and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Portland, Oregon and St. Louis. The 76-seat E175 jet will feature 12 seats in first class and 64 in coach, and boasts cabin dimensions on par with a 737. Onboard amenities include Wi-Fi Internet access, streaming inflight entertainment and 110 volt power in every first class seat. Food and beverage will include hot meals and picnic packs for purchase, in addition to Northwest microbrews and wine. SkyWest has purchased seven E175 aircraft to fly on behalf of Alaska under a capacity purchase agreement (CPA). The first three aircraft will arrive in the summer of 2015, and the remaining four will be delivered in Q1 2016. "The E175 is new for the Alaska brand and fills a specific need to serve 'long, thin routes' – destinations that are too distant for our regional aircraft, but currently don't have enough customer demand to fill a mainline jet," said Andrew Harrison, senior vice president of planning and revenue management for Alaska Airlines. "The smaller, but spacious, E175 jet will not only open up new cities, but provide feed traffic to our Northwest hubs, while giving customers a comfortable experience on these longer flights." Summary of new service: Start date City pair Departs Arrives Frequency July 1 Seattle-Milwaukee 9:35 a.m. 3:10 p.m. Daily July 1 Milwaukee-Seattle 3:50 p.m. 5:55 p.m. Daily July 1 Seattle-Oklahoma City 10:30 a.m. 4 p.m. Daily July 1 Oklahoma City-Seattle 4:40 p.m. 6:30 p.m. Daily July 1 Portland-St. Louis 10:15 a.m. 3:55 p.m. Daily July 1 St. Louis-Portland 4:35 p.m. 6:45 p.m. Daily All times based on local time zones "We're excited to enhance our Alaska partnership and bring the Alaska product to the airline's customers in the Midwest," said Russell "Chip" Childs, SkyWest, Inc. president. "The addition of the E175 to our Alaska portfolio is an excellent addition to an outstanding partnership." One-way introductory fares on the new routes are available for $119.* Tickets must be purchased by Dec.1 and travel completed between July 8 and Sept. 30, 2015. To book, and for complete fare rules, visit alaskaair.com or call 1-800-ALASKAAIR (800-252-7522 or Hearing & Speech Impaired (TTY): Dial 711 for Relay Services). Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members flying on SkyWest-operated flights will continue to earn Mileage Plan credit. Today, SkyWest flies 40 flights a day between 14 cities for Alaska Airlines and by August 2016, that will increase to 52 flights a day to 17 cities. Alaska Airlines has been growing its Seattle hub, this year launching service to six new cities from which include Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cancun, Detroit, New Orleans and Tampa. With the addition of these new SkyWest-operated flights, next summer Alaska will offer 298 peak-day departures to 81 destinations from Seattle – three times any other carrier. From Portland, starting in July Alaska Airlines will offer 125 peak-day departures to 44 destinations – more than any other carrier.