Alaska Airlines Cuts Seven Nonstop Routes From San Francisco

Alaska Airlines has cut seven nonstop routes from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) this year, and weekly departures from the airport are down 13%, according to Simple Flying, citing Cirium data. The carrier now has 405 weekly departures from SFO, compared with 465 in the same period a year earlier.

The ended routes are Austin, Boston, Burbank, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Newark and Loreto, Mexico. Austin and Boston stopped in January; Burbank, Phoenix and Salt Lake City stopped in March; Loreto ended in April; and Newark in June.

Alaska cited aircraft availability and competition, and the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the airline was moving planes to more profitable routes. Simple Flying also said the carrier is consolidating operations at its West Coast hubs.

The dropped routes

• Austin (AUS): ended January; Delta, Southwest and United also fly nonstop.
• Boston (BOS): ended January; Delta, JetBlue and United also fly nonstop.
• Burbank (BUR): ended March; Southwest and United also fly nonstop.
• Phoenix (PHX): ended March; American, Frontier, Southwest and United also fly nonstop.
• Salt Lake City (SLC): ended March; Delta, Frontier and United also fly nonstop.
• Newark (EWR): ended June; United also flies nonstop.
• Loreto (LTO): ended April; no other carrier flies the route nonstop.

Loreto was the only international route on the list. Alaska continues to serve it from Los Angeles year-round and starts a seasonal San Diego service on Dec. 19.

For Bay Area travelers, the practical takeaway: other airlines still cover most of these destinations nonstop, but an Alaska booking on any of them will likely need a connection now. Anyone with a ticket on one of these routes should confirm whether their itinerary changed.

• Alaska Airlines
• Cirium
• Loreto
• route cuts
• San Francisco International Airport
• SFO