2 weeks Ago By Joe Kunzler
In a sudden realignment by Alaska Air Group's Alaska Airlines three routes will be dropped by August 19 and another seasonal route will not renew. For Alaska Air Group, which includes Hawaiian Airlines, there will be some flights added using Hawaiian Airlines ' Boeing 787s. Simple Flying reached out to Alaska Airlines, though the airline could not comment by press time.
Nonetheless, the Alaska Air Group attempts to pair market demand with the proper routes and fleet, especially in the run-up to Alaska Air Group’s Q1 2025 analyst conference call Thursday at 8:30 a.m. PT/11:30 a.
m. ET. These route realignments appear to be part of ongoing efforts to maximize synergy between the three primary airlines of Alaska Air Group: Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Horizon Air.
Some routes will be cut, but a few continental United States airports will see fresh Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners assigned to routes connecting them with Honolulu, Hawaii. Alaska Airlines Cuts Four Routes Alaska Airlines is cutting the following four routes according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium : San Francisco's San Francisco International (SFO) - Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) San Francisco's San Francisco International (SFO) - Washington DC's Dulles International Airport (IAD) Los Angeles's Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - Washington DC's Dulles International Airport (IAD) Los Angeles's Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) - Nassau, Bahamas' Lynden Pindling Nassau International Airport (NAS) The connections to Washington Dulles International Airport are relics of Alaska Airlines' 2017 acquisition of Virgin America . Additionally, the LAX-NAS route was an attempt as per an Alaska Airlines December 14, 2023 statement, where Kirsten Amrine, vice president of revenue management and network planning for Alaska Airlines, said in part, “We’re also now flying our guests to countries we’ve never served before as we increase our international service.
The Bahamas off the coast of South Florida offer pristine islands and turquoise waters.” However, Alaska Airlines is unable to maintain the Los Angeles International Airport connection to the Bahamas but will continue connecting its top hub airport of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) with NAS. Capacity Down But Plenty Of Options Remain Simple Flying researched using Cirium to calculate the capacity lost by Alaska Airlines' route rollbacks.
With these route reductions, about 12.02 million available seat miles or ASMs are being removed from the Alaska Airlines network. Additionally, in August 2025, the two daily connections between SFO and IAD, alongside the daily connection between LAX and IAD will lead to 3,738 weekly seats lost connecting IAD with California's two most significant airports.
But this is not a total loss. First, Alaska Airlines will continue to connect both LAX and SFO to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) which is significantly closer to the District of Columbia. Additionally, United Airlines provides direct flights, and American Airlines plus Southwest Airlines provide one-stop flights connecting the two California airports with IAD.
Ultimately, Alaska Air Group's aforementioned earnings call this Thursday morning may provide more insight into why there is a significant loss of available seat miles. But not all Alaska Air Group news is about cuts. August 20: A Hawaiian SEA-HNL Boeing 787 Flight Hawaiian Airlines will also be adjusting the deployment of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet.
First up will be a daily departure on Flight HA21 and return on Flight HA22. Below are the flight timings in local time: Flight Departing Airport Depart Time Arriving Airport Arriving Time HA21 SEA 8:15 AM HNL 11:17 AM HA22 HNL 1:10 PM SEA 9:44 PM The in-flight experience on Hawaiian Airlines has been documented by Simple Flying to pack 300 seats - a bit more than Boeing's capacity. Hawaiian Airlines partnered with both Adient Aerospace and Collins Aerospace to craft safe but uniquely styled seats that reflect Hawaiian local culture.
On September 11, 2025, a second Boeing 787-9 will fly on the HNL-SEA routes, replacing an Airbus A330-200. However, LAX will lose its Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 787-9 connections with Honolulu. But New York City's John F.
Kennedy (JFK) Airport will gain a Hawaiian Boeing 787-9 connection to Honolulu. Considering that the Boeing 787 was designed to connect long, thin routes, this seems to be a good use for the Dreamliners entering the Hawaiian Airlines fleet. Ultimately, Thursday's earnings call, where Alaska Air Group executives make their presentation to financial journalists, who then ask questions of those executives, may answer the "why" as to these changes.
Additionally, the Alaska Air Group is having to brace for increased costs from several fronts..
