jetBlue has announced its intentions on flying from Long Beach, California to Anchorage, Alaska next summer and, yes, this probably has some people rubbing their eyes to see if they read this right.

It’s an odd choice in my opinion since flying to Alaska requires a bit more general pilot knowledge and jetBlue doesn’t have any other traffic there.  That means they have to establish themselves in the city even if with contractors and without more flights headed there, I don’t know why one would do it.

One possibility is that this is about aircraft utilization.  Alaska flights are one of those things where you can get away with strange(ish) flight departures and arrivals.  Alaskans don’t seem to mind odd times and I wonder if this isn’t a flight that will depart late afternoon, arrive in Alaska in the evening and then do a quick(ish) turnaround for a “redeye” back to Long Beach where it will likely be used to fly a different flight during the day.  The flights times would make it work.

It’s notable that right now, Alaska Airlines doesn’t have a non-stop between LA and Anchorage.  In fact, it appears no one does.  That might just make the whole effort worth it or it might point out that there is a reason why nobody is doing it.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax