Alaska Airlines' 10 longest Los Angeles routes

Alaska Airlines’ network in California is spread across more than a dozen airports. Of course, its most significant presence in the state is at Los Angeles International Airport, although San Francisco is not too far behind.

The carrier has an average of over 2,000 departures out of Los Angeles every month, and these range from short to medium-haul flights within the country to long coast-to-coast services as well as even longer flights internationally in the region.

Not only is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) a prominent hub on the US West Coast, but it’s also one of the busiest airports in the world. All three legacy US carriers – American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines – have hubs at LAX, but the airport is also a hub for other carriers. And one of them is Alaska Airlines.

Alaska is the fifth-largest carrier at Los Angeles Airport after Delta, American, United, and Southwest Airlines. Its annual passenger capacity at LAX is around 4.8 million, and it commands a 6.48% market share out of LAX.

It’s not common in the US for a fifth-largest airline at an airport to command a market share of more than 6%, but the consolidation of airline businesses over the years has led to this.

Alaska considers LAX as an important part of its network and realizes the importance of expanding operations there. As with all busy airports globally, getting desirable slots is often tricky. But Alaska Airlines managed to bag some additional slots when it acquired Virgin America in 2016.

The carrier’s recent merger with Hawaiian Airlines has further consolidated its position at several other airports in the United States, and LAX is one of them. Alaska has further benefitted from Hawaiian’s presence in Los Angeles, which was around 1.29% market share.

Alaska has an average of 4,000 return monthly flights out of Los Angeles International Airport. These range from nearby regional flights to San Francisco and Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas to transcontinental flights to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) serving the New York metropolitan area.

LAX itself is an important link to the United States and has some of the top international routes in the country by passenger numbers. These include flights to London Heathrow Airport (LHR), Incheon International Airport (ICN) in Seoul, South Korea, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) in Taipei, and Guadalajara International Airport (GDL) in Mexico. The last one is also served by Alaska Airlines, although due to its relatively short distance, it is not included in this article’s list of the carrier’s longest routes out of LAX.

For the list below, all data has been taken for the month of January 2025 from Cirium, an aviation analytics company.

10 Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)

2,288 miles

At number 10 is Washington Dulles International Airport to which Alaska has five scheduled flights in January. All five flights were in the first five days of the month, and the airline will no longer serve this route from February onwards.

Alaska deployed a Boeing 737-800 on two of these flights, 737 MAX 9 on another two, and one was flown by a 737 MAX 8. United Airlines is the biggest and the only other airline flying on the LAX-IAD sector.

The legacy carrier has 156 IAD-bound departures out of Los Angeles this month on its Boeing 757, 737, and even the widebody 787-9 Dreamliner. The total seats for return trips on this route, including the five Alaska services, are 66,836.

9 Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)

2,311 miles

It’s the other airport of Washington, D.C. that Alaska connects LAX with a lot more - Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. At 2,311 miles, this route is also slightly longer than that of IAD, pushing it to number nine on the list.

Alaska Airlines connects DCA with a daily flight from Los Angeles International Airport using one of its Boeing 737-800 planes. It faces competition from not one but two legacy US carriers – American Airlines and Delta.

American operates twice daily between the two airports using its Airbus A321 aircraft, while Delta flies once daily deploying a Boeing 757. In all, there are 248 return flights between Los Angeles and Washington National Airport, offering 44,578 seats.

Alaska Airlines was also one of the five airlines that were recently awarded new slots out of DCA . The carrier plans to launch flights from San Diego to DCA with a departure time of 14:10 and arriving in Washington, D.C. at 21:55.

Washington National Airport is closer to city center and many find that to be a lot more convenient. However, it has a perimeter rule that limits flights greater than 1,250 miles to 25 daily flights, including the five new slots.

8 Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL)

2,342 miles

Next on the list is Fort Lauderdale. With only five flights in January, Alaska scheduled two of those on a Boeing 737-900ER, and one each on a 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9. Delta Air Lines has 27 flights scheduled from LAX to FLL, while the biggest competition comes from JetBlue that has 129 flights to Fort Lauderdale in January using its Airbus A321 plane.

Fort Lauderdale is no stranger to long routes. In fact, the flight from LAX is one of the top seven longest flights out of the airport. Other destinations include Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

7 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)

2,345 miles

Alaska Airlines has a monopoly on this route and is the only carrier that flies between these two cities nonstop. The carrier has 23 flights scheduled in January to Anchorage from LAX, 20 of which are on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

6 Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

2,454 miles

Alaska has 79 return flights between Los Angeles and Newark in January operated on Boeing 737-800, -900, and MAX 9 airplanes, offering almost 14,000 seats. Of course, this is one of the busiest domestic routes for United Airlines, with Newark being one of its primary hubs.

The legacy carrier alone has 251 EWR-bound departures out of LAX. Of those, 143 are on the Boeing 757 while the rest are on widebody planes such as Boeing 787 and 777. Spirit Airlines is the third carrier that operates this route with its Airbus A320 family of planes.

5 Kahului Airport (OGG), Maui, Hawaii

2,486 miles

Alaska Airlines only scheduled two flights in January between Los Angeles and Maui, Hawaii. One is on the Boeing 737 MAX 8, and the other is on the MAX 9.

This is a busy route and Alaska faces competition from all three legacy carriers – American Airlines operates a daily flight on its Airbus A321 aircraft, Delta has 36 flights this month, and United has 37 flights on its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Hawaiian Airlines, which recently merged with Alaska, also has one daily flight scheduled on its widebody Airbus A330 aircraft.

4 Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS), Nassau, Bahamas

2,524 miles

This is another route on which Alaska Airlines has no competition and the first international route on the list. In January, the carrier scheduled 11 Nassau-bound flights out of Los Angeles International Airport. Eight of these are on the Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane, two on the -900 variant, and one on the MAX 8 aircraft.

3 Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Honolulu, Hawaii

2,556 miles

At number three is the largest airport in Hawaii, Honolulu, which is connected with Los Angeles through 31 flights by Alaska Airlines, amounting to 5,499 seats. The Los Angeles-Honolulu sector is quite popular, and several airlines serve this route. LAX is also a popular connecting point for passengers traveling to Hawaii from other airports in the mainland US.

American Airlines has scheduled 99 flights to Honolulu from Los Angeles in January, six of which are on widebody Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Delta Air Lines has 93 flights to HNL on its Boeing 767 aircraft, amounting to more than 20,000 seats.

United Airlines deploys two types of aircraft on this route – Boeing 777 and 757 – for a total of 74 flights, and budget carrier Southwest connects these two airports with a daily flight. Hawaiian, however, has the highest number of flights to HNL – 98.

2 Liberia International Airport (LIR), Costa Rica

2,627 miles

Another international route, Alaska Airlines offers two daily flights between Los Angeles International Airport and Liberia International Airport for a total of 11,448 seats. The carrier has only one airline to compete with on this sector – United Airlines, which operates once a week.

Of course, United has expansion plans to Costa Rica from another California city – San Francisco. Starting May 22, 2025, the carrier will connect San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with San Jose, Costa Rica's Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO).

1 Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), San Jose, Costa Rica

2,721 miles

The number one spot goes to another Costa Rica airport in San Jose. Alaska Airlines flies daily between LAX and SJO with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, offering almost 5,000 seats in January.

It competes with two other legacy carriers on this route – United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. The former has 13 scheduled flights with a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane while the latter has 23 scheduled services on a Boeing 757 aircraft.