Alaska commences Seattle-Cincinnati route following delay

Alaska Airlines is launching service on the Seattle (SEA)-Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG) route, starting the flights nine months after originally planning to do so.

The SEA-based airline had originally planned to fly the SEA-CVG route starting in May 2020, but postponed the service because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The route will be operated daily with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. CVG becomes the 95th destination served by Alaska from SEA.

"For years, we’ve heard from flyers and our corporate clients that they’d like Seattle's hometown carrier to connect Cincinnati with the Puget Sound region," Alaska VP-network and alliances Brett Catlin said.

"We couldn't be more excited to rollout our newest Midwest [US] destination adding the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region to Alaska’s network while furthering our commitment to Seattle.”

CVG CEO Candace McGraw noted that passengers from Ohio and Kentucky can benefit from Alaska’s “strong West Coast presence” and connectivity from SEA. “This new nonstop service from CVG to Seattle offers excellent schedule times and will enhance travel options for both business and leisure travelers . . . going to the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and Alaska,” she said.

Alaska said that, with its admittance to the Oneworld alliance at the end of March, CVG-originating passengers can utilize SEA as “a gateway to Asia.”

Photo credit: Getty ImagesAaronP/Bauer-Griffin

Aaron Karp

Aaron Karp is a Contributing Editor to the Aviation Week Network.