Alaska Airlines to fly S.A.-Seattle route

Alaska Airlines will begin service to San Antonio International Airport on Sept. 17 with daily nonstop service between Seattle and San Antonio, the Seattle-based airline announced Wednesday. The move is seen as benefiting the two cities' aerospace and high-technology industries.

The route will be flown with Boeing 737-800 aircraft seating 16 passengers in first class and 141 in the main cabin.

The route marks the first time Alaska Airlines has served San Antonio and the first time nonstop service has been offered between the two cities.

San Antonio becomes the fourth Texas city to receive service from Alaska Airlines. The company entered Texas with service to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in 2005 and added Dallas and Houston in 2009.“This is a good opportunity to strengthen the connection between the two aerospace centers,” said San Antonio lawyer Jim Perschbach, an aerospace industry expert, of San Antonio and Seattle.

Seattle is the home of the Boeing Co.'s main production facilities. Boeing also operates an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul center in San Antonio. The nonstop route will make transportation easier for engineers and executives to travel between the two cities, he said.

Perschbach said the nonstop route is a recognition by Alaska Airlines of the synergy between San Antonio and Seattle in both the aerospace and high-technology sectors. “I can't see how this can be anything but good for San Antonio,” Perschbach said.

The airline will start the San Antonio-Seattle route with a $139 promotional one-way fare for tickets purchased by June 13 for travel between Sept. 17 and Nov. 7. According to alaskaair.com, one-way fares for flights after Nov. 7 will start at about $190 and higher.

Announced initial flight times show a daily 12:30 p.m. departure from Seattle, arriving at San Antonio International Airport at 6:35 p.m. The daily San Antonio departure is at 7:25 p.m., arriving in Seattle at 9:55 p.m.

“This new Seattle service provides San Antonio travelers more options for domestic travel and increases the ease and convenience for business and leisure travelers in the Northwest to experience San Antonio,” said San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro in a prepared statement.

“These two cities share a lot in common, including a large military presence, robust technology and bioscience industries, and strong aviation and aerospace sectors,” Castro added.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, serve more than 90 cities through an network in Alaska, the lower 48 states, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.