Alaska Airlines trims Kelowna-Seattle route to winter only from year-round service – Okanagan
Major American airlines are cutting flights to the Okanagan.
Global News has learned that Alaska Airlines will cut its route from Kelowna to Seattle from scheduled to seasonal.
Alaska Airlines, which has served YLW since 1998, flies to Seattle four to five times a week. But Kelowna International Airport chief Sam Sommerder said direct flights from the Okanagan to Emerald City will only be available from mid-December to mid-April.
read more:
A future road connecting Kelowna Airport in British Columbia to Rutland is named in honor of Al Horning
Read the following:
Part of the Sun breaks free, forming a strange vortex that baffles scientists
“There was a bit of wind about this[Thursday]and we were notified this afternoon,” Samadhar told Global News on Friday. I did.”
Alaska had suspended summer operations due to reduced demand for the route, along with limited crews and aircraft, Sumada said.
He said those crews and aircraft will be redeployed to other markets with higher yields.
Alaska Airlines said in a statement to Global News: I no longer fly there all year round. Flights to Kelowna will end his mid-April and resume in mid-December. ”
Alaska Airlines, consistently touted as one of North America’s best airlines, said Canada was slow to recover after the global pandemic.airlines also fly Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary.
“Load rates to Kelowna during the peak summer season were significantly lower than other systems,” Alaska Airlines said. “Flights to that part of British Columbia are also very popular during the winter months.”
Somerdar said the news has led to a decline in direct connections to other American airports and tropical destinations.
“Having a network to Seattle in terms of getting into the U.S. in a quick and easy way was very important to our customers,” he said.
“This will certainly make it harder as we have to connect to another Canadian airport to go south. We are working with other airline partners to see if we can fill that void. It definitely cuts our work in terms of doing that.”
YLW now has 85% of total seats compared to 2019, Samaddar said. The airport could be 100% in the second quarter of 2023, he says.
“But there are also these drawbacks that occur as well,” Sumada said.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
