Why Alaska Airlines Will Fly Between Kansas City and Cancun.

Alaska Airlines will launch a seasonal route from Kansas City International Airport (MCI) to Cancun International Airport (CUN) on January 18th, 2024, which will not originate at any of the airline’s major West Coast hubs. This route will stand out within the carrier’s enormous North American network because it is one of the few that does not use a major airline hub.

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, which recently combined with Hawaiian Airlines, has long used a hub-and-spoke business model, with aircraft departing only from its hubs.

This operating model, which is used by most airlines in the United States and around the world, has long been at the heart of Alaska Airlines’ success. Carriers can reduce operational expenses while also providing passengers with access to the majority of destinations by flying through hubs.

Commercial airline route networks have changed dramatically in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, as many airlines have begun to shift to a point-to-point model of flying, which involves completely bypassing hubs and operating nonstop flights directly between the destinations passengers wanted to visit.

For legacy airlines, this was dangerous because it required expanding their route networks into uncharted regions and potentially incurring additional expenditures.

Nonetheless, while low-cost carriers were previously the primary operators of point-to-point flights, Alaska Airlines and other legacy carriers have continued to expand their non-hub nonstop services, paving the way for a world where network strategies were far less simply defined.

Alaska Airlines’ new nonstop flights from Kansas City to Cancun reflect the company’s large-scale shift to a point-to-point operation.

This new route was launched alongside several other nontraditional services.

The additional flights from Kansas City to Cancun began on July 10th, 2024, when the airline stated that its network would expand to 18 new leisure destinations during the winter of 2025.

These nonstop routes have created connections between city pairs that previously did not have a direct service. These flights connect population centers in the central and Western United States to ski areas in the Rockies and other mountain ranges, as well as sunny locations in Mexico and the American Southeast.

According to the airline, Alaska’s choice to grow into a variety of distinct, non-traditional areas demonstrates its ongoing commitment to improving the passenger experience. The airline’s new flights will connect travelers to snowy and warm destinations during the winter season.

Following the announcement, the airline’s executive team has used similar messaging.Kirsten Armine, Alaska Airlines’ Vice President of Revenue Management and Network Planning, issued the following statement in response to the start of these flights:

“We’re thrilled to offer convenient connection for guests across our network with this expansion—whether checking destinations off their bucket lists or setting off to their favorite winter getaways, we’ve put together an exciting range of options from tropical destinations across Mexico to the most popular ski slopes in North America.”

Alaska Airlines is relying heavily on ski resorts.

In recent years, the most successful airlines have been those that are prepared to expand their route networks in order to cover previously underserved areas and capture passenger demand for such services. Alaska Airlines intends to use a similar strategy with its most recent route expansion.

For starters, the airline plans to introduce new nonstop flights to Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), the major airport serving the popular ski resort of Vail.

These new flights will be Alaska Airlines’ first to the Colorado airport, as well as the first direct flights to Vail from Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and San Diego International Airport.

Despite serving a new market (and a very high-end premium leisure market at that), these flights are not as notable as some of the others slated to be launched by the airline this year, as they both fly through an Alaska Airlines hub.

The airline also intends to operate flights from San Diego to Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), providing easy access for those wishing to ski at the several resorts in the Lake Tahoe area.

The airline is also introducing flights from John Wayne International Airport (SNA) in Orange County and Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Boise Airport (BOI) in Idaho, providing travelers with an efficient travel option to ski slopes near Boise.

The airline will also operate flights from Boise to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN), providing customers with easy access to many Montana ski resorts.

There is no doubt that Alaska Airlines has recognized the type of visitor that visits several of these ski destinations as one they would like to target after the merger.

The airline is operating seasonal flights from non-hub airports to several sunny places.

Departure Airport:	Arrival Airport:	Route Frequency:
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)	Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR)	1x weekly
New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)	Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR)	4x weekly
Kansas City International Airport (MCI)	Puerto Vallarta International Airport (PVR)	1x weekly
Sacramento International Airport (SMF)	Los Cabos International Airport (SJD)	5x weekly
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)	Liberia International Airport (LIR)	1x weekly

The airline will continue to extend its footprint in winter sun markets, adding additional flights from non-traditional gateway locations to Mexico and Central America.

We’ve already highlighted the new route from Kansas City to Cancun, which will be operated by one of the airline’s Boeing 737 MAX planes.

Interestingly, this route would only operate once a week and will be seasonal, ending in early June. Here are five such sun destination routes that Alaska Airlines has either established or plans to operate soon:

Across the board, Alaska Airlines is expanding into the leisure sector by providing winter flights from non-traditional markets to sunny resort destinations in Mexico and South America.

This travel group, which is willing to base their schedules on the one or two days per week that an aircraft flies, is predominantly young and eager to travel.According to the BBC, courting young clients has long been a priority for leisure-oriented airlines.

Furthermore, by operating only one flight each week, Alaska Airlines can ensure better load factors on these routes. The airline hopes to overcome competition from full-service airlines by expanding into new regions, as well as to succeed in smaller cities where legacy carriers still demand passengers to take connecting flights.

Furthermore, the US commercial aviation industry has always required carriers to compete strongly, resulting in a bit of an up-or-out market.

Airlines that fail to expand and continue to attract new passengers will eventually struggle to achieve profitable outcomes. Alaska Airlines, which has completed perhaps the two most high-profile acquisitions in the US aviation business over the last decade, clearly believes in this concept.

In 2016, the airline bought Virgin America, expanding its reach from coast to coast. In late 2023, Hawaiian Airlines was included into the system. With solid cash flows and a drive to expand, it’s no surprise that Alaska is taking some unexpected approaches.

So, what is the bottom line for the flight from Kansas City to Cancun?

Alaska’s latest network expansion, which will include once-weekly flights from Kansas City to Cancun, exemplifies the airline’s overall development approach.

The airline wants to investigate if it can operate point-to-point flights between smaller markets, and routes like this provide an excellent opportunity to assess the viability of such network expansions.

Meanwhile, residents of the Kansas City area will now have another nonstop connection to Cancun, making it the third carrier (after Southwest and American) to offer direct flights on the route.

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