Alaska Airlines reveals 2 new cities, 13 routes in big shakeup at West Coast hubs
Editor's Note
Alaska Airlines' operations are mostly back on track in the wake of a major IT outage on Thursday night. Now, the Seattle-based carrier is moving ahead with a big route network shakeup for 2026.
Next spring, Alaska will fly its planes to two U.S. cities for the first time.
Between March and April, the Seattle-based carrier will launch nonstop service from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It'll also begin flying to Arcata-Eureka Airport (ACV), located in northern California — just steps from the Pacific coast.
It's part of a 13-route network shift Alaska announced this week, which included a handful of entirely new routes for the carrier, along with the return of others it hasn't flown in several years.
The biggest winners in this announcement: Alaska's fastest-growing West Coast hubs — San Diego International Airport (SAN) and Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon.
San Diego will see three all-new routes join Alaska's network, including nonstop Tulsa flights. It's the latest in a wave of growth for Alaska in the Southern California city.
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Even prior to Friday's announcement, the carrier's total seats from SAN were set to be up 38% during the first half of 2026 versus 2025, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Alaska will also launch four new or returning routes from Portland, where its early-2026 seats were already set to grow 19%, per Cirium.
Also included in Friday's new-route lineup: another link between California and Hawaii, a short flight to California wine country, and a couple of new routes to Alaska's home base at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
"San Diego continues to be one of our fastest-growing hubs while Portland and Hawai'i are essential parts of our global network," Kirsten Amrine, Alaska vice president of revenue management and network planning, said in a statement.
Unfortunately, it's not all good news. Alaska also revealed it would make cutbacks at two of its largest West Coast hubs — namely, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO). News of the cuts was first reported by industry watcher Ishrion Aviation.
"These adjustments are firmly rooted in the need to be disciplined with our aircraft in 2026, as fewer new aircraft enter our fleet," the carrier said in a statement to TPG Saturday. "Although these decisions are difficult, SFO and LAX remain key markets for us."
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Alaska's 13 new and returning routes
Here's the full rundown of Alaska's 13 new and returning routes announced this week:
| Route | Launch date (frequency) | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|
| SAN to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) | April 22 (twice daily) | Boeing 737 |
| SAN to Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK) | April 22 (four times daily) | Embraer 175 |
| SAN to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) | April 22 (daily) | Boeing 737 |
| SAN to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) | April 22 (twice daily) | Embraer 175 |
| SAN-TUL | March 18 (daily) | Embraer 175 |
| PDX to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) | May 13 (daily during the summer season) | Boeing 737 |
| PDX to Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) | May 13 (daily) | Embraer 175 |
| PDX to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) | May 13 (daily during the summer season) | Boeing 737 |
| PDX to St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) | May 13 (daily during the summer season) | Boeing 737 |
| SEA-ACV | April 8 (daily) | Embraer 175 |
| SEA-TUL | March 19 (daily) | Embraer 175 |
| Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) to Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) | May 13 (daily during the summer season) | Boeing 737 |
| Ontario International Airport (ONT) to Charles M. Schulz Airport (STS) in Santa Rosa, California | March 18 (daily) | Embraer 175 |
Four of the 13 routes were flights Alaska previously operated. The carrier last flew from its PDX hub to BWI and PHL in 2019. It last flew from Portland to St. Louis in 2018.
And, Alaska operated flights between San Diego and Santa Barbara as recently as 2022.
When it comes to Alaska's three new transcontinental routes, the new flights to RDU, BWI and Philly will give each East Coast airport a second city on Alaska. Currently, the carrier serves each from its SeaTac home base, but none of its other West Coast hubs.
CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
Bottom line
These network changes from Alaska come just two months after the carrier debuted its Atmos Rewards loyalty program in conjunction with Hawaiian Airlines, which it acquired last year.
The program maintained Alaska's popular award chart, which has helped many savvy travelers find cheap flight redemptions. It also left in place direct transfers from Bilt Rewards — a popular way for travelers to turn rent payments into airline points.
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