Alaska, airport preparing for nonstop Seattle flights

There are a few things travelers should know about Alaska Airlines ahead of it launching service in Wichita next month.

One of them is that airline and travel experts don’t consider the Seattle-based airline a low-fare carrier. But Alaska Airlines, they said, is competitive on fares.

It is also a well-run airline with a newer fleet of airplanes that does a pretty good job of serving its customers, they said.

Alaska also adds one more nonstop destination from Eisenhower, particularly to the West.

“I think it’s really going to open up our West Coast stuff,” said Devin Hansen, president of Wichita travel agency Sunflower Travel Corp. “I really do see it helping the leisure market.”

On April 13, Alaska will begin operating one daily flight to Seattle that departs Wichita Eisenhower National Airport at 5:50 p.m. and arrives at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at 7:40 p.m. From there, Wichita passengers will be able to make same-day connections to 19 West Coast and inter-mountain West destinations.

The return leg departs Seattle at 11:45 a.m. local time and arrives in Wichita at 5:05 p.m.

“Wichita has no non-stop service out of Seattle, and we believe there is enough demand to make this route a winner,” said John Kirby, Alaska’s vice president of capacity planning, in an e-mail.

In all, Alaska and its regional airline partners operate an average of 1,200 daily flights to 118 destinations in the U.S. — including Alaska and Hawaii — Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba and Mexico. Besides Seattle, Alaska’s other hubs are in Anchorage, Alaska; Los Angeles; Portland, Ore.; and San Francisco. In December, it completed its acquisition of Virgin America, which added nearly $2 billion in revenue, 197 more flights and 63 more planes.

Alaska will offer the Wichita service using Embraer E175 regional jets, operated by Utah-based regional airline SkyWest. The 76-seat jets are divided into three classes: 12 first-class seats; 12 premium-class seats; and 52 main-cabin seats. Amenities on board the Embraer jets are wireless internet access, power outlets on first-class seats and the airline’s branded “Alaska Beyond Entertainment,” which includes free television shows and pay-per-view movies streamed to passengers’ electronic devices.

Alaska’s mainline fleet comprises 218 aircraft, primarily Boeing Next Generation 737 and Airbus A320 Family narrowbody jetliners. It also has an order for 37 of the new Boeing 737 Max jetliners.

A ‘high-quality’ carrier

Last week the Wichita City Council, acting as the Wichita Airport Authority, approved a non-signatory airline and use agreement that provides Alaska access to passenger gates, two ticket counter positions at the far west end of Eisenhower’s terminal and a 710-square-foot operations office. Between the lease for terminal space and landing and other fees, the airport estimates it will receive $301,650 in new annual revenue from Alaska.

“We’ll probably see them start setting up next week,” Traci Nichols, the airport authority’s properties and contracts manager, said of Alaska’s ticket counter, which will have a “nice, big sign” behind the counter.

Right now, the airline is expected to mostly use Gate 11 for passenger loading and unloading, she said, though that could change since it isn’t leasing a specific gate.

The last time Seattle nonstop service was offered from Wichita was in 1998, when the now-defunct TWA offered the service for five months using a 140-seat MD-80 jetliner.

Valerie Wise, air service and business development manager for the airport authority, said Seattle is a Top 10 destination for Wichita travelers, and in 2009 as many as 83 people were traveling a day from Wichita to Seattle as their final destination.

A quick check of fares from Wichita the week Alaska launches service shows it has a variety of one-way, main-cabin fares to Seattle, with $347 the highest and $169 the lowest.

American, Delta, Southwest and United, all of which serve Eisenhower, offer indirect flights to Seattle.

Bob Mann, an airline industry consultant in New York, said Alaska isn’t a low-fare airline.

“I would characterize it as a high-quality carrier,” Mann said. “I think they compete at every price level they have to. I think their real market positioning is high quality.”

Alaska’s “strong customer service focus” also puts it in good stead financially, Mann said, adding that it leads the industry in return on invested capital. “They do it because they treat people well, and that includes customers, employees and shareholders.”

According to the federal Transportation Department’s Air Travel Consumer Report, Alaska ranked second of 12 airlines in on-time arrivals between January 2016 and January 2017, the most recent data available. It was fifth lowest among the 12 in canceled flights and fourth lowest in mishandled baggage complaints, in January 2017, the report said. In that month it also ranked third for the fewest consumer complaints, the report said.

One daily departure

Mann and Hansen said downsides to Alaska’s service from Wichita is its once daily departure, and the fact that it happens in the evening.

Mann said a once-daily departure isn’t great.

“You’d really like to see a minimum of two round trips per day. I suspect it’s a place keeper for them.” That means if Alaska has success with the Wichita service, Mann said, “then they’ll add day parts.”

“No network carrier can be effective at one trip a day,” he added.

Kirby, the Alaska executive, said the airline will closely watch the Wichita flight loads, “and if there is enough demand, we would consider additional service down the road.”

“We have a proven business model that starts with one flight a day and grows over time,” Kirby said. “We have a low-cost structure that allows us to begin service with one flight a day, and add service as the market matures.”

The evening departure “eliminates a lot of (same-day) connections,” Hansen of Sunflower Travel said. “But the price is good and it is a direct flight to Seattle, which is what we’ve wanted for a long time.”

Hansen thinks the nonstop Seattle flight will be especially helpful for people taking vacations on Alaska-bound cruise ships.

And “we’ve had such a strong tie to aviation in the market … this is going to help,” he added.

Seattle is home to Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and its biggest supplier is Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems. Spirit spokesman Fred Malley said in an e-mail that Alaska’s nonstop flight is a “really great” travel option for the company.

“Given Spirit’s close relationship with our Boeing customer, our people do a lot of travel between Wichita and Seattle,” Malley said.

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Alaska, airport preparing for nonstop Seattle flights."