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Alaska Airlines is an American air carrier with a large presence on the west coast of the United States. They often fly to cities big and small along the Pacific Ocean and to Hawaii. But did you know that Alaska offers a suite of international flights? They do.
In this guide, we will walk you through the places where you can expect to find an Alaska Airlines International flight. We will also shine some light on their international destinations and information about the flights to those destinations.
Where in the United States You Can Find an Alaska Airlines International Flight?
For international flights on Alaska Airlines, the departure cities are found exclusively on the West Coast. That makes complete sense because the airline is predominantly a West Coast-based airline.
The following airports are used by Alaska Airlines for international flights:
- Seattle – Seattle Tacoma International Airport
- San Francisco – San Francisco International Airport
- San Jose – San Jose International Airport
- Portland (PDX) – Portland International Airport
- Las Vegas – Harry Reid International Airport
- Los Angeles – Los Angeles International Airport.
- Chicago – Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Where Does Alaska Airlines Fly Internationally?
Alaska Airlines flies to destinations as close as Canada and as far away as Mexico and the Caribbean.
Since Alaska Airlines operates from the West Coast of the United States, the majority of these flights will be decently lengthy, totaling about a few hours of flight time.
Alaska Airlines flies to the following countries:
Bahamas
Alaska Airlines currently flies to one destination in the Bahamas. The airline has two routes to this country, one originating in Seattle and Los Angeles. Both conclude in the city of Nassau.
The flight offering from Seattle is seasonal. The airline stops running this route in April. It is flown three days per week, once daily.
For passengers boarding from Los Angeles International Airport, the flight to the Bahamas is offered year-round, four times a week.
Each of these flights concludes at Nassua’s Lynden Pindling International Airport.
These series of flights are some of Alaska’s longest flights currently offered. You will have to fly cross country and a small distance to land at your final destination.
Belize
Belize City in Belize is flown to by Alaska Airlines from Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California.
From Seattle Tacoma International Airport, the route to Belize City is seasonal and available for passengers four times a week, once per day.
Los Angeles travelers can fly to Belize all year round. The flight to Belize City is flown once per day from Los Angeles International Airport.
Both of these routes terminate at Belize’s Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport.
Canada
Passengers looking to fly to Canada have several options. However, except for the new route to Toronto, the majority of the flights to destinations in Canada are within a 3-hour vicinity of Seattle, Washington. That means that the majority of the destinations fall under a regional-type route umbrella, so these flights are served by Alaska’s regional arm; either Horizon Air or Skywest Airlines.
Also, contrary to the other countries Alaska flies to, since these flights are shorter in time and distance, the airline uses its Embraer 175 instead of its Boeing 737s.
Calgary
Travelers looking to fly to Calgary, Alberta can find a once-a-day flight from Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
The airline flies into Calgary International Airport 11 miles northeast of downtown Calgary.
Edmonton
Alaska Airlines flies to Edmonton, Alberta from Seattle once a day. They offer this flight year-round.
The Edmonton area is served by Edmonton International Airport found only 14 miles Southwest of the city of Edmonton.
Kelowna
Kelowna is a small city found in British Columbia, Canada not too far away from Seattle. Alaska Airlines flies to this destination once a day, 7 days a week at Kelowna International Airport.
Toronto
Alaska Airlines is offering a new route from Seattle’s Tacoma International Airport to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. This route is slated to begin in May.
The plan for the airline is to hold a daily year-round flight to Canada’s largest municipality. This route is a first for the airline as they never had a daily nonstop flight to the eastern part of Canada.
Vancouver
Vancouver is the most-served city in Canada in terms of daily flights from the United States. Alaska flies from both Seattle Tacoma International Airport and Portland International Airport in Oregon.
For the daily trip from Seattle, Alaska travelers can utilize any of its 4 to 5 flights per day to get to Vancouver.
From Portland, Oregon, customers have one available nonstop flight per day to Vancouver International Airport.
Victoria
Victoria British Columbia is the shortest international destination currently being offered by Alaska Airlines. Victoria is only 97 miles away from the flight’s only departure airport, Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
You can fly any of Alaska’s 2 or 3 daily flights to Victoria out of Seattle. The total flight time for this route is under an hour.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a popular vacation destination that is served by Alaska Airlines. Alaska offers flights to two major cities in Costa Rica.
Liberia
Alaska Airlines customers can fly to Liberia’s Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport from Los Angeles International Airport. The flight is offered twice daily, all year long.
San Jose
San Jose in Costa Rica can be accessed via an Alaska Airlines flight from Los Angeles, California. Passengers fly into San Jose’s Juan Santamaría International Airport. Flights are offered once or twice a day all year long from Los Angeles International Airport.
Guatemala
Guatemala has one destination served by Alaska Airlines. Passengers seeking to go to Guatemala can catch a flight from Los Angeles to Guatemala City. The route into Guatemala’s La Aurora International Airport is flown once daily, all year round from Los Angeles International Airport.
Mexico
The bulk of Alaska Airlines international flights are flown to Mexico. Currently, the airline flies to 8 Mexican destinations scattered all across the country.
Loreto
Flights to Loreto, Mexico are available on a seasonal basis from San Francisco, California. Passengers can use Alaska Airlines from San Francisco International Airport, flying to Loreto’s International Airport.
Currently, the route is flown once daily and only on Saturdays. Alaska suspends this route in April.
San Jose Del Cabo
Passengers looking to get to Mexico’s San Jose Del Cabo have the option to fly from San Francisco with Alaska Airlines.
The route is between San Francisco International Airport and Los Cabos International Airport. This is the more popular route in the region, as it is not a seasonal flight and is offered year-round.
Manzanillo
Manzanillo, Mexico is only flown to from Los Angeles. This flight is offered 3 to 4 times per week, once daily from Los Angeles International Airport. With the flight being flown several times a week, this is one of Alaska’s more popular “uncommon” Mexican destinations.
When arriving in Manzanillo, passengers will be utilizing Manzanillo’s Playa de Oro International Airport.
Ixtapa
Ixtapa is an outlier when it comes to Mexican destinations flown by Alaska Airlines. The reasoning is that this destination randomly has a nonstop flight from Chicago.
A flight to Ixtapa’s Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport is offered from two other major cities on the West Coast, San Francisco and San Deigo. The Chicago route is flown out of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. All these routes are seasonal however they are flown once a day several times per week.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara is traditionally one of the more popular Mexican travel destinations for airlines. Alaska offers flights from two locations stateside, one being Los Angeles and the other San Jose. Each of these flights flies into Guadalajara’s International Airport.
These routes are offered all year round and flown 5 to 7 times per week.
Puerto Vallarta
Another popular tourist destination is Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta. Alaska Airlines provides travelers plenty of options for passengers to get to this location.
Alaska offers flights from Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Deigo, and Las Vegas to Puerto Vallarta’s Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport.
Flights from Las Vegas, San Diego, and Portland are seasonal. Las Vegas travelers can book these flights until April while San Diego and Portland customers have until August.
Everywhere else, flights to Puerto Vallarta are flown daily, year-round. Some cities like Los Angeles and Seattle have flights being offered multiple times per day.
Cancun
Cancun is probably the most popular international vacation destination that Alaska Airlines flies to.
With flights concluding in Cancun’s International Airport, passengers can find this route being offered from 5 airports along the west coast.
Alaska flies to Cancun from Seattle, Portland, San Deigo, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The only year-round departure cities are Seattle and Los Angeles. San Francisco, Portland, and San Deigo routes are all seasonal, likely due to passenger demand.
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is served by Alaska Airlines from two locations on the West Coast. Passengers have the option of flying from San Francisco International Airport or Los Angeles International Airport.
The route from San Francisco is seasonal, being offered on weekends until April. Los Angeles allows accessibility to Mazatlán all year long, with flights available 4 to 7 times per week, once daily.
Passengers flying into Mazatlán will be using Mazatlán International Airport.
Who Does Alaska Airlines Compete With on These Routes?
Alaska Airlines competes with legacy airlines like American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. They also compete with larger major airlines like Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. They even have some competition with ultra-low-cost air carriers Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
Alaska will likely win the battle on the West Coast when it compares to these other airlines but loses the war when you take a look at the market share they lose just because they predominantly fly from the West Coast.
Each of these competing airlines can schedule flights from the West Coast at some of their major hubs there, but they also have East Coast hubs to capture that market share.
Potential Alaska Airlines Expansion?
Will Alaska Airlines ever open an East Coast hub of operations to address this issue? Most likely not. The airline seems very content with being a larger player on the West Coast of the United States and Alaska.
However, the place where Alaska Airlines might take a shot internationally would be Asia. Highly dependent on the direction the airline goes with its merger with Hawaiian Airlines, and if Alaska ever decides to look at longer-ranged aircraft. Asia might be the direction it goes.
The Transpacific market is wide open. New airlines like New Pacific Airways have opened the door for low-cost travel from Alaska to Asia. Alaska Airlines shouldn’t let this new airline dominate that market and may look to get its cut of the market share.
