Alaska Air Group has announced a major expansion from the San Francisco Bay area, with plans to add flights to 12 destinations, including cities on the US East Coast.
The new routes include nine from San Francisco International airport and three from Norman Y Mineta San Jose International airport, which is south of San Francisco.
Alaska will begin operating the new routes between 31 August and 14 December, and will operate all at least once daily, the carrier says on 9 March.
The expansion primarily will see Alaska competing against United Airlines, shows FlightGlobal schedules data. United operates a hub at San Francisco.
Alaska will operate the routes with Airbus A320-family aircraft and with Embraer 175s, it says.
The routes are in addition to Alaska's previously-announced plans to begin flights in the coming months from San Francisco to Orlando, Orange Country, Minneapolis and Mexico City. Alaska has also announced plans to soon begin flights from San Jose to Newark and Burbank.
News of the expansion comes several months after Alaska completed its acquisition of Virgin America, which has a substantial presence in San Francisco. Alaska had pitched the merger as an opportunity to significantly expand its market share in California.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
