Alaska Airlines cuts 2 routes, suspends another as it pushes into leisure markets

Just a few days after announcing a major route map expansion, Alaska Airlines is back with another network update. This time, however, it's all cuts.

The Seattle-based carrier filed plans over the weekend to drop two routes from its network and suspend another, as first seen in Cirium schedules and later confirmed by a carrier spokesperson.

Alaska will exit the San Diego-to-Cancun market and the Orange County, California-to-Bozeman, Montana, route, effective immediately. Both of these flights were originally supposed to return for the winter season, but Alaska told TPG that they are "removed ... from our schedules going forward."

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Additionally, the airline has suspended service between Los Angeles and Bozeman. This route was also originally supposed to operate during the winter season, but it's now suspended indefinitely. Alaska is no longer selling tickets in this nonstop market, though the airline told TPG that these flights are "suspended," meaning that they will likely return in a future season.

Alaska explained the cuts as part of a "continual [evaluation of] our route network." The carrier didn't expand much beyond this milquetoast statement, but it did make these changes just days after announcing a massive 18-route expansion last week.

That expansion is largely focused on connecting travelers to leisure-focused destinations that are popular during the winter. Markets like Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Monterrey in Mexico all received new routes, as did popular ski towns across North America, such as Vail — a new destination for the airline — Reno and Kelowna, British Columbia.

Historically, flights like Los Angeles and Orange County to Bozeman fit the bill for a West Coast-based carrier looking to boost regional connectivity for leisure travelers. After all, Alaska has a sizable presence in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, and Bozeman continues to become more popular thanks to its proximity to Yellowstone National Park and the Big Sky Resort.

That said, Alaska likely decided that its 18 new markets would be far more profitable than operating these three existing flights for another season.

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Some of it could be because Alaska has inked a deal with Apple Vacations to buy a block of seats on each flight that makes them profitable enough without even selling tickets to the general public, as first reported by Brian Sumers of The Airline Observer.

Another reason could be that they were poor performers. On average, just 34 passengers a day flew between Orange County and Bozeman in the first quarter of this year, according to Department of Transportation data analyzed by Cirium. That's an average load factor of about 50% for a 76-seat Embraer 175 regional jet.

Without the Alaska routes, the Orange County-to-Bozeman and San Diego-to-Cancun markets will become unserved by any airline. Travelers looking for nonstop flights between these destinations will need to drive to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or book a one-stop connecting itinerary from their home airport.

Meanwhile, American, Delta and United already serve the Los Angeles to Bozeman route. With so much competition, it seemingly makes sense for Alaska to trade this Bozeman route for a new one from Boise, launching on Dec. 19 and announced as part of the major 18-route expansion unveiled last week.

After all, Boise to Bozeman isn't currently served by any other airline.

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