At the same time as Southwest announced their Alaska expansion, American American announces they’ll be bringing back the Phoenix – Anchorage route pairing.
In an announcement that went under our radar that coincides with Southwest’s Alaska expansion announcement, American Airlines will be bringing back their Phoenix – Anchorage route pairing after a five-year break.
This new routing pairing is slated to start on May 21st, 2026. It’ll run seasonally through the summer months, ending on September 8th, 2026. AA will use their Airbus A321neo fleet for these flights.
American first went to market with this route in 2015, but eventually shelved it due to the pandemic in 2020. Now, the airline is tapping into the heavy travel demand for Alaska along with Southwest. Southwest will be operating flights to Anchorage for the first time ever in 2026. Southwest’s debut will likely originate from Denver and Las Vegas.
According to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport’s press release: “This new connection offers travelers a seamless and dependable option, whether to explore Anchorage and Alaska’s natural wonders or discover Phoenix, the modern urban center known as the Valley of the Sun.”
From a high level, American’s recent commitment into the Alaska market makes complete sense when thinking about current U.S travel trends. It’s very similar to what we noticed with JetBlue and Spirit increasing their Latin American and Florida networks as of late.
The American public just isn’t flying overseas as much anymore.
It’s too expensive coupled with all the political turbulence as of late. Travelers are committed to staying close to home or venturing to nearby countries on the cheap.
Alaska functions as the West’s next best vacation destination. For airlines, the only other competing vacation spot attractive to people in the West besides Alaska is Hawaii. For most carriers, committing service to Hawaii is a struggle economically.
Alaska does come with its own challenges. But between cruise ship tourism and outdoor adventure demand, U.S airlines as of late clearly believe there is revenue potential to be found there.
Like what we always say, more competition means more options and better outcomes for consumers. Now, we have a whole lot of U.S airlines in seasonal competition for Anchorage. We have legacy carriers, low cost, and ultra low cost options alike.
American Airlines will have to contend with fellow legacy carriers Delta and United. They need to ensure their service quality matches up to these carriers on this new route. But they also need to keep an eye on mid-premium airlines like Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines.
Comparing American and Southwest’s Alaska recent announcements, you have to wonder if American feels threatened by Southwest in the Alaska market? Honestly, in our opinion American seems to be getting the better deal.
Like we already described in our coverage of the Southwest Airlines Alaska expansion, Southwest may have missed the mark with their potential departure cities. Denver and Las Vegas may struggle to attract Alaska-bound travelers.
We suggested Southwest would see better results with routes from Dallas or Austin, cities close to military and oil industry connections to Alaska. The same could also apply to Phoenix, but American secured it first. American also secured Dallas. This a major victory for AA.
Phoenix is a massive hub for Southwest. It has many West Coast flights connecting through the city. It’s truly a head-scratcher why Southwest didn’t consider Phoenix for their Alaska service.
Now, West Coast customers looking to avoid Alaska Airlines can make a short connection to Phoenix and catch an AA flight to the Great North. That’s a much easier sell than forcing folks through Las Vegas (where people go for casinos, not connect elsewhere) or Denver. As in Southwest’s case.
American also has an edge with using the Airbus A321neo versus Southwest’s Boeing 737 Max 8. Passengers will most likely find the American A321neo more comfortable and suitable for this route.
American offers premium seating beyond economy. Southwest currently flies an all-economy configuration. Southwest is working on implementing premium products, but those changes have attracted lots of adversity and delays.
While American cabin products do face their own scrutiny, they do have a leg up over Southwest in passenger experience, at least in this comparison to each airline’s upcoming Alaska service.
From a revenue standpoint, those extra premium cabins AA utilizes, combined with the A321neo’s slightly higher passenger capacity puts American in a better financial position than Southwest on these routes.
This is purely speculation until we learn more about Southwest’s daily Alaska schedule. Frequency will ultimately be the factor in determining which carrier will truly win this Battle for Alaska.
