Alaska Airlines announced a new route on Friday. Starting this summer, Alaska will fly from Santa Rosa to Burbank, with a route Avelo Airlines plans in a few weeks. Although Avelo will offer more capacity on the route, Alaska is not worried about the competition. According to Brett Catlin, vice president of networking and alliances at Alaska Airlines, he wants to hold his own as the largest airline in Santa Rosa, according to Brett Catlin, vice president of networking and alliances at Alaska Airlines, in an exclusive conversation with Simple Fly.
Alaska Airlines adds new route to Burbank
From Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Alaska Airlines flies daily to Charles M. Schulz – Sonoma County Airport (STS) on an Embraer E175 aircraft. The airline will start with flights from 1 June.
The Embraer E175 has seating for 76 passengers. There is a first class cabin with 12 seats in a 1-2 setup. Then there are 12 extra seats for extra legroom in a 2-2 setup. In economy, there is room for 52 passengers, also in a 2-2 setup. The planes are equipped with WiFi so that passengers can access or pay for entertainment on the fly to surf the internet on their internet.
Strike back against Avelo
Alaska announced the new route just weeks after Avelo Airlines announced it would use BUR as a base and fly daily to STS with a Boeing 737-800 with 189 passengers in an economy setup.
Mr. Catlin spoke on the rationale behind this route about the competitive market in the following way:
‘We are the largest company, so it’s a market with a market share of 60 or 70% and we intend to compete. We know that we offer a very good product, low rates with good value … and therefore we just want to make sure that when there is competition – and we are actually excited about competition, because we know that our product and our value proposition are very is good – there is no reason to choose another carrier because it is more convenient than us. We want to make sure we are positioned that if there is a choice, the guests who are on their way to Sonoma can choose the carrier that they are excited about and that has been serving their community for 15 years. ”
Santa Rosa is not a major market like Seattle and Los Angeles, but it is still important to Alaska Airlines. Despite being headquartered in Seattle and named Alaska, the airline also has a large presence in California. In some smaller markets, it is known that new airlines have only just begun to arrive.
Alaska does not want to match Avelo’s capacity. Still, it wants to ensure it does not lose customers, as there is another option in the market that passengers will choose over Alaska.
About Santa Rosa
Santa Rosa is known for accessing wine markets in California, but it is also a gateway to Northern California where travelers can participate in outdoor activities. It is north of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is another major market for Alaska Airlines.
Mr. Catlin says the following about the profession of Santa Rosa:
‘When you think of the region, people immediately go to the wines, and of course the wine scene in Sonoma, Napa and the Northern California region is incredible. It’s a great reason to go, and there’s an amazing food scene too. But I think just as important is the outdoors and access to the forests, the Pacific coast, if you are not someone who participates in wine, there are actually a large number of things to do outside, whether it is beaches or hiking, or just amazing trees with the deciduous trees and fields, and there is just a lot that Northern California has to offer. ”
Destinations such as Santa Rosa occur in the recovery as passengers want to visit off-site destinations. To accommodate these passengers and ensure that they do not lose potential passengers, it adds this new flight. While it will not compete against Avelo over the total capacity, it will ensure it has an offer on the route.
Are you going to fly to Alaska on this route? What do you make of Alaska’s rationale behind the trail? Let us know in the comments!