Alaska returns to Bellingham

[Old School 737]

Alaska returns to Bellingham

New flights serving Las Vegas start June 25

April 8, 2009
Alaska Airlines today announced new nonstop service between Bellingham and Las Vegas, starting June 25, 2009. The flights will operate each way on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Horizon Air and Alaska Airlines will also continue to offer four-times-daily Bellingham-Las Vegas service via Seattle.

Alaska is offering $59 one-way fares on the new route for tickets purchased by April 22 for travel through Aug. 30, 2009. The airline also is offering Las Vegas Vacations packages for as low as $208 per person, which includes round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for two nights.

“The addition of Bellingham-Las Vegas nonstop service gives our customers another convenient alternative for traveling between the Pacific Northwest and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and the popular destination of Las Vegas,” said Steve Jarvis, vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience.

Flights will depart Bellingham International Airport at 5:35 p.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 8:05 p.m. Return flights will depart Las Vegas at 2 p.m., arriving in Bellingham at 4:35 p.m. Alaska will fly the route with Boeing 737-700s, which accommodate 112 passengers in the main cabin and 12 in first class.

Alaska Airlines previously served Bellingham from 1989 to 1992. Since then, Horizon Air has served the market.

Travelers can earn double Mileage Plan miles on the new flights from June 25 through Aug. 30, 2009. To qualify, customers must first register at alaskaair.com. Fares are available for purchase today on alaskaair.com starting at 7 p.m. Pacific time or by calling
(800) ALASKAAIR (TTY/TDD line 800-392-0228).

 

[Green Banana]

Just an attempt to poke Allegiant Air out of PACNW.

 

[johnsonrod]

I'd love to see Allegiant start to serve Anchorage and Fairbanks from Bellingham... Let's get some more competition on...

 

[Mookie]

I'd love to see Allegiant start to serve Anchorage and Fairbanks from Bellingham... Let's get some more competition on...

brilliant idea. you should be in marketing (for allegiant).

seriously???

 

[Fubijaakr]

No kidding, Mook. At least our guys FINALLY decided to respond to the threat. No more free passes for non-Union contract undercutters.

 

[chperplt]

No kidding, Mook. At least our guys FINALLY decided to respond to the threat. No more free passes for non-Union contract undercutters.

Such a funny girl you are...

Good luck in BLI... Your 3 flights a week will surly put a hurt on us.

 

[QCappy]

Such a funny girl you are...

Good luck in BLI... Your 3 flights a week will surly put a hurt on us.

Wouldn't you make more on unemployment anyway?

 

[BEECH-SLAPPED]

No kidding, Mook. At least our guys FINALLY decided to respond to the threat. No more free passes for non-Union contract undercutters.

Alaska comes back into BLI after 17 years to cherry-pick a profitable route, and we're the one's getting the "free pass"? Hell, I like you Alaska guys though. Should be a fun fight! Just so you know, NWA did something similar out of FAR and FSD a few years back. Didn't quite work out.......

 

[fifinella]

Alaska Airlines says some advance bookings down

Alaska Airlines says advance bookings for May and June are below last year's levels

• Wednesday April 8, 2009, 2:56 pm EDT

SEATTLE (AP) -- Alaska Airlines said Wednesday that advance bookings for April are up, possibly reflecting the later Easter holiday this year, but that bookings for travel in May and June are below 2008 levels.

The company also forecast higher unit costs excluding fuel for the first quarter and all of 2009.
Alaska also continues to hedge half of its fuel needs at prices higher than current prices.
The Seattle-based airline said April bookings as a percentage of available seats times miles flown, are running 1 percentage point higher than last year, when Easter fell in March.
But May bookings are down 1.5 percentage points and June bookings are off 5 points from a year ago, Alaska said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
At its sister carrier, Horizon Air, April bookings are flat as a percentage of available seat miles flown, while May bookings are down 2 points and June bookings are down 4 points.
Last week, Alaska Airlines reported that March traffic fell 8.1 percent compared with a year ago, but that it cut capacity by 9 percent.
As a result, Alaska's average occupancy or load factor in March rose to 81.6 percent from 80.8 percent a year earlier at a time when most U.S. carriers reported lower occupancy.
However, March traffic plunged 20.7 percent at Horizon.
In Wednesday's filing, Alaska said it expects to report that first-quarter capacity fell 9.3 percent and would decline 7 percent for all of 2009.
The airline said its unit costs, or cost per available seat mile excluding fuel and restructuring expenses, rose 11 percent in the first quarter and would rise 8 percent for the full year.
Alaska and Horizon combined have agreements in place to buy half of their fuel supply this year at an average price equal to $76 per gallon of crude oil. The benchmark price for crude was around $51 Wednesday.
Alaska locked in the prices when oil was much more costly.

Related to this:

Alaska Airlines Getting Worried - Announces Service Between Bellingham and Las Vegas
Alaska Airlines today announced 3 times weekly service between Bellingham, WA and Las Vegas, NV, starting June 25. This comes in direct response to service offered by Allegiant Air, the small but growing, Las Vegas based airline that is flying up to 3 times a day from Bellingham to Las Vegas.
The fares for Alaska Airlines will be starting at $59 plus taxes and fees. In response to this service entry, it appears that Allegiant has increased their competition, dropping fares as low as $28 each way, plus taxes for this route.
Doing a quick look over of their website however, It would appear that Allegiant does push hard for additional revenue opportunities while booking - bundling in airport shuttles, and priority boarding, that if you don't look at closely, you can end up paying a bit extra for. In addition, they do have general and premium seats that you can reserve ahead of time for a premium either $11 or $8 respectively. Baggage will run you $15 for the first bag, and $25 for the second, if purchased at time of ticketing

IMO Alaska will lose this one. Based on just these two snippets, AK isnt in a position just yet to win this one. Only time will tell how long both companies can bleed but even at 28$ tickets, AAY probably is still making money with their cost structure. Furthermore, as long as light sweet crude stays as low as it is, AKs fuel hedge is a sucking chest wound.

Sidenote: Fubijaakr, there's a lot of great guys at AAY that are ex TWA/AA/USAir.

 

[Green Banana]

Furthermore, as long as light sweet crude stays as low as it is, AKs fuel hedge is a sucking chest wound.

Uh, What? How is that so?
You obviously do not understand ALK's fuel situation.

"Alaska Air Group bought “call options” giving it the opportunity to buy fuel at a set price. While these require higher upfront payments, they didn’t obligate the airline to buy the fuel at the hedged prices.
Other airlines, including United and Southwest, have used another form of hedging called “swaps” or “collars,” that commits them to buy fuel at certain rates. "

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/01/26/story10.html

 

[chperplt]

Wouldn't you make more on unemployment anyway?

No... I think if I add up the six figures + I made last year to the zero nights I spent in hotels, and then add all the time I didn't have to spend in a hotel shuttle van or commuting to work and I think I came out ahead.

It's funny how you AK guys had no problems taking our support on this board when you were getting furloughed and getting the shaft from your management, but now that you're going to try and compete with us, we're non union dog sh!t.... I guess short memory for small minds.

 

[gt1900]

Sorry guys. But ALK still has huge support from people of the PNW. Allegiant can kiss that route goodbye. Nobody in the NW has ever heard of Allegiant, but they have heard of a little company called Alaska. Allegiatnt cant compete with ALK. Heck, SWA has had a hell of a time competing with Alaska...... And trust me, Allegiant would get KILLED if they tried to go to ANC. Just like everyone else thats tried to compete up there. Just ask Herb.

BTW... chp.. When your company doesn't make profit off pilot wages then feel free to talk smak. Unitl that time. Just keep quiet. ALK will kill you in Bellingham and you guys aren't going to fight that fight. No more layovers at the Holliday Inn Express...

 

[fifinella]

Uh, What? How is that so?
You obviously do not understand ALK's fuel situation.

"Alaska Air Group bought “call options” giving it the opportunity to buy fuel at a set price. While these require higher upfront payments, they didn’t obligate the airline to buy the fuel at the hedged prices.
Other airlines, including United and Southwest, have used another form of hedging called “swaps” or “collars,” that commits them to buy fuel at certain rates. "

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/01/26/story10.html

Interesting article, thanks. I retract the "sucking chest wound" statement.

 

[landlover]

give me a break! I don't have a dog in this fight, but no one is going to pay more just to fly on alaska. cheapest ticket always wins, who ever it may be.

Sorry guys. But ALK still has huge support from people of the PNW. Allegiant can kiss that route goodbye. Nobody in the NW has ever heard of Allegiant, but they have heard of a little company called Alaska. Allegiatnt cant compete with ALK. Heck, SWA has had a hell of a time competing with Alaska...... And trust me, Allegiant would get KILLED if they tried to go to ANC. Just like everyone else thats tried to compete up there. Just ask Herb.

BTW... chp.. When your company doesn't make profit off pilot wages then feel free to talk smak. Unitl that time. Just keep quiet. ALK will kill you in Bellingham and you guys aren't going to fight that fight. No more layovers at the Holliday Inn Express...

 

[BEECH-SLAPPED]

Sorry guys. But ALK still has huge support from people of the PNW. Allegiant can kiss that route goodbye. Nobody in the NW has ever heard of Allegiant, but they have heard of a little company called Alaska. Allegiatnt cant compete with ALK. Heck, SWA has had a hell of a time competing with Alaska...... And trust me, Allegiant would get KILLED if they tried to go to ANC. Just like everyone else thats tried to compete up there. Just ask Herb.

BTW... chp.. When your company doesn't make profit off pilot wages then feel free to talk smak. Unitl that time. Just keep quiet. ALK will kill you in Bellingham and you guys aren't going to fight that fight. No more layovers at the Holliday Inn Express...

Let's see if I can wade through two paragraphs full of B.S. and grammatical errors in order to respond. Well, I'll give it a shot:

If the people in the Pacific Northwest were so "loyal" to Alaska, they would have been flying them already. There is not one airport we serve in the NW that is not already served by Alaska or Horizon. Even the people in Vancouver drive over an hour across the border to fly on us. Why would they do that? Because the fares out of YVR are outrageous, that's why.

As far as your incoherent drivel about our pay being the reason we're making money, well I'm not even going to bother since that "theory" has been disproven time after time.

 

[crxpilot]

Uh, What? How is that so?
You obviously do not understand ALK's fuel situation.

"Alaska Air Group bought “call options” giving it the opportunity to buy fuel at a set price. While these require higher upfront payments, they didn’t obligate the airline to buy the fuel at the hedged prices.
Other airlines, including United and Southwest, have used another form of hedging called “swaps” or “collars,” that commits them to buy fuel at certain rates. "

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2009/01/26/story10.html

According to Forbes Alaska is paying for higher fuel prices:
"
Alaska and Horizon combined have agreements in place to buy half of their fuel supply this year at an average price equal to $76 per gallon of crude oil. The benchmark price for crude was around $51 Wednesday.
Alaska locked in the prices when oil was much more costly"
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/08/ap6271015.html

 

[Fubijaakr]

there's a lot of great guys at AAY that are ex TWA/AA/USAir.

No there aren't. Any former Union pilot who would take a job at a non-Union carrier that undercuts Union contracts by $50 an hour is a pilot who would cross a picket line because, "I had to feed my family."

And as far as those of you "preaching" that people won't pay more to fly Alaska, check the loads in markets like GEG-SEA, PDX-SEA, BOI-SEA vs the "people's choice" SWA.

Our flights are full and they're running half empty. Why? The mileage plan. People in the Pacific NW are heavily invested in the ALK mileage plan.

AGT will be out of BLI in six months.

 

[chperplt]

Sorry guys. But ALK still has huge support from people of the PNW. Allegiant can kiss that route goodbye. Nobody in the NW has ever heard of Allegiant, but they have heard of a little company called Alaska. Allegiatnt cant compete with ALK. Heck, SWA has had a hell of a time competing with Alaska...... And trust me, Allegiant would get KILLED if they tried to go to ANC. Just like everyone else thats tried to compete up there. Just ask Herb.

BTW... chp.. When your company doesn't make profit off pilot wages then feel free to talk smak. Unitl that time. Just keep quiet. ALK will kill you in Bellingham and you guys aren't going to fight that fight. No more layovers at the Holliday Inn Express...

I think you've been flying your MS Flight Sim SR71 without oxygen for too long...

 

[chperplt]

No there aren't. Any former Union pilot who would take a job at a non-Union carrier that undercuts Union contracts by $50 an hour is a pilot who would cross a picket line because, "I had to feed my family."

And as far as those of you "preaching" that people won't pay more to fly Alaska, check the loads in markets like GEG-SEA, PDX-SEA, BOI-SEA vs the "people's choice" SWA.

Our flights are full and they're running half empty. Why? The mileage plan. People in the Pacific NW are heavily invested in the ALK mileage plan.

AGT will be out of BLI in six months.

You're an angry little man...

As I said before, I wish you guys plenty of luck in BLI and throughout your entire system. I don't think you'll make any noticable impact in our BLI operations. NWA tried to get us to run away, and their loyal customers continued to fly on us.

Time will tell... Keep slinging the non union garbage and I'll coninue to enjoy my life of day trips, time with family, and going through life with a smile on my face.

 

[BEECH-SLAPPED]

No there aren't. Any former Union pilot who would take a job at a non-Union carrier that undercuts Union contracts by $50 an hour is a pilot who would cross a picket line because, "I had to feed my family."

And as far as those of you "preaching" that people won't pay more to fly Alaska, check the loads in markets like GEG-SEA, PDX-SEA, BOI-SEA vs the "people's choice" SWA.

Our flights are full and they're running half empty. Why? The mileage plan. People in the Pacific NW are heavily invested in the ALK mileage plan.

AGT will be out of BLI in six months.

You still haven't addressed by original question. If everyone in the NW loves your "milage plan", why do we have any passengers at all out of BLI,PSC,MFR,EUG,IDA and RDM? You would think that all of those people would relish the thought of flying 200 miles in the wrong direction on a turboprop so they could gain more "miles".

I'm sure that your 60 furloughed pilots love the idea of the company purposely losing money (and delaying their recall) just to try to drive out a little competition. Very Mesa-esque! And guess what? Even if we do cut and run (which I highly doubt), we'll just deploy the aircraft to another one of the hundred cities that lobby for our service. See, when you have management that is actually interested in turning a profit, you focus on increasing YOUR revenue, not wasting capacity trying to stop OTHERS from making money. But go ahead, give it a shot.