Alaska Airlines announces nonstop service between Cleveland and Seattle, starting in June

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Alaska Airlines, consistently one of the best airlines in the country, will begin non-stop flights to Seattle from Cleveland in June.

The service will begin on June 16 with daily flights between Cleveland Hopkins and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Cleveland Hopkins has not had daily non-stop connections to Seattle since 2014 when United Airlines operated a hub at the airport.

Seattle is Cleveland’s top market with no non-stop service, according to airport officials. In 2019, an average of 160 passengers traveled daily from Cleveland Hopkins to the west coast city before the coronavirus pandemic nearly brought air traffic to a standstill.

Cleveland Airport officials have been trying to land Alaska, the fifth largest airline in the United States, for years. The airline is consistently one of the best airlines in the country in terms of customer satisfaction.

The Seattle-based airline is a gateway to Asia as well as Alaska, Hawaii and the west coast.

“We’ve been talking about Cleveland for more than a decade,” said Brett Catlin, Alaska Airlines vice president of Network and Alliances. “The timing was never right.”

Business travel is expected to pick up early next year, he said, and Alaska’s strong performance in the Midwest has led the airline to step up service across the region.

Hopkins officials helped with a new financial incentive offered by JobsOhio, the state government’s economic development arm, and the Cleveland business community.

The incentive, which does not include airport money, works like an insurance payment that is only activated if the flight fails to meet certain economic goals in the first year.

“It gives us confidence to get started,” said Catlin, especially given the uncertainty in the market after the pandemic.

In addition to the new route from Cleveland, Alaska announced on Thursday that the existing connection from Columbus and Cincinnati will also be increased from one flight a day to Seattle to twice a day from June.

Alaska began serving Columbus in 2019 and Cincinnati in 2021.

“Ohio is a strong market for us,” said Catlin. “Cleveland is a natural extension of that.”

Alaska is ultimately hoping to expand service in Cleveland to include two daily flights to Seattle, one in the morning and one in the evening.

The initial route includes a 6:25 PM departure from Cleveland and a 9:50 AM departure from Seattle.

Airport Director Robert Kennedy said he was confident the new route would be successful. “The Cleveland market responds well to good service, good prices, good schedules, and good company,” he said.

Alaska is the largest US airline that does not currently fly from Cleveland. “It’s absolutely one that we’ve been trying to attract for years,” he said. “It helps us complete.”

With Alaska, the number of airlines flying out of Cleveland Hopkins rises to 10, despite Allegiant Air’s recent announcement that it will be leaving Cleveland for Akron-Canton Airport next year.

After United stopped operating between Cleveland and Seattle, the low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines entered the market and offered fewer than daily summer flights between the two cities for several years. Frontier stopped flying to Seattle in 2019.

Catlin said the lack of competition on the route helped convince Alaska officials that the timing was right. “The history of air travel in Cleveland has changed a lot in the past five years. The competition has evolved, ”he said. “We had to wait for the right opportunity.”

Another factor driving Alaska’s decision to expand in Ohio is the airline’s recent entry into the Oneworld Alliance, with partners such as American Airlines, British Airways, and numerous others. American Airlines with a strong presence at Hopkins can help Alaska establish itself in the market, Catlin said.

Catlin described Alaska as a full-service carrier with three seat classes (First, Premium and Economy), plus WiFi on board, entertainment on the backrest, charging stations and more.

He assumes that both business and leisure travelers will use the flights. Tickets are now available.

Flight data

New daily flights to Seattle on a 178-seat Boeing 737 will begin on June 16.

Westbound flights depart Cleveland at 6:25 PM and land in Seattle at 8:30 PM

Eastbound flights leave Seattle at 9:50 a.m. and land in Cleveland at 5:15 p.m.

Get to know Alaska Airlines

Founded: 1932 as McGee Airways, Anchorage; Renamed Alaska Airlines in 1944

Passengers handled: 46.7 million in 2019, the fifth largest among US carriers (behind American, Delta, Southwest and United)

Acquired: Virgin America in 2018

Destinations: 115 in five countries (USA, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize)

Hubs: Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Anchorage, San Francisco, Los Angeles

Fleet: 303 aircraft, 173 of which are Boeing 737s

Continue reading:

United Airlines is adding flights from Cleveland Hopkins to Las Vegas, Phoenix this winter

The $ 2 billion plan to rebuild Cleveland Hopkins Airport is not an issue in the mayor’s race; should it be?

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is (finally) opening a new Ground Transportation Center for shuttle drop-offs and pickups