Alaska Airlines to Launch Daily Nonstop Service from Cleveland to Seattle in June

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Alaska Airlines has announced that it will significantly expand its Ohio service from June 2022, which will include daily non-stop flights between Cleveland Hopkins and Seattle-Tacoma International Airports.

“Ohio is an economic powerhouse with a vibrant cultural and corporate scene that will be underserved and prepared for growth if we overcome the pandemic,” said Brett Catlin, vice president of network and alliances for Alaska Airlines, in a company press release. “The addition of Cleveland to our network enhances our investment in Buckeye State while adding an important non-stop link between northeast Ohio and Puget Sound.”

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

In addition, Alaska Airlines will fly twice a day from Columbus and Cincinnati. Future expansions are also possible in Cleveland.

Susan Glaser of PD / cleveland.com reported that the Cleveland service was made possible in part through an incentive from JobsOhio and the Cleveland business community. The subsidy, valued at $ 600,000 to $ 1.5 million, serves as an “insurance payment” and would fund Alaska if the route doesn’t live up to its financial projections in the first year.

JobsOhio President and CEO JP Nauseef defended the subsidy based on nationwide economic development.

“Part of the reason JobsOhio’s Air Service Restoration program was launched was to connect Ohio’s diverse industries to fast-growing markets,” he said in the Alaska Airlines press release. Alaska Airlines’ new Cleveland to Seattle service not only offers nonstop flights to and from the West Coast, but also faster connections to growing markets in Asia, which are helping Ohio, America’s leading company, relocate open and secure supply chains. ”

Cleveland has not offered daily flight service to Seattle since the days of the United Hub, which closed in 2014. And Hopkins officials have apparently been courting Alaska Airlines for years as the largest airline in the United States that does not currently fly from Cleveland.

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