Nonstop flight schedule out of Anchorage shows airlines are betting big on 2022

If you want to fly somewhere, the best way to get there is on a nonstop flight. There are fewer opportunities for things to go wrong, whether it’s a flight delay or lost baggage.

Anchorage enjoys exceptional air service for a city its size. The state always has seen a huge increase in the number of travelers during the summer months. But the number of nonstop flights to new destinations is increasing even in the wintertime.

More flights leave for Seattle every day than to any other destination. Alaska Airlines has 14 flights each day. Delta has four flights.

That may sound like a lot. But in June, those numbers go up: 22 flights each day for Alaska and seven for Delta.

Scanning the schedules, it’s clear that the airlines are betting on a big travel season for 2022.

Up and down the West Coast, Alaska Airlines has the most flights. From Anchorage to Portland, they offer one daily flight in the winter and three per day in the summer. From Anchorage to Los Angeles, Alaska flies once a day, increasing to two daily flights in the summer.

No airline flies from Anchorage nonstop to San Francisco in the winter. Alaska resumes its daily nonstop on May 19. United Airlines returns with a daily nonstop on June 9.

I was looking for the American Airlines flights to Phoenix. The city is a big hub for American. But Alaska Airlines, American’s new oneworld alliance partner, now has a lock on all the nonstop flights. Right now, Alaska offers five flights each week. On Feb. 17, Alaska will increase to daily flights.

Alaska Airlines also will offer daily nonstops from Anchorage to Las Vegas, starting May 19. Until then, there are two flights per week.

Salt Lake City is Delta country. Delta flies four nonstops per week from Anchorage, increasing to daily service on May 5. The following month, on June 16, Alaska Airlines will inaugurate daily nonstop service between Anchorage and Salt Lake. That’s a big increase from the weekend-only service Alaska offered last summer.

Across the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Alaska is beefing up its schedule to offer daily Anchorage-Denver flights beginning May 19. United flies there every day — it’s the airline’s only year-round flight from Anchorage.

Frontier Airlines plans to resume its twice-weekly Anchorage-Denver nonstop on June 9.

There are no airline-related surprises in Texas for nonstops: American is flying from its hub in Dallas, offering a daily nonstop starting May 5. United will fly nonstop from Houston every day starting on June 3.

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Up in Minneapolis, Alaska Airlines is inaugurating daily nonstop flights, starting June 16. Delta has a huge hub in Minneapolis and flies nonstop from Anchorage five times per week until May 22. After that, Delta increases its flights to three times daily.

Sun Country Air also is based in Minneapolis and will resume its nonstops to Anchorage on May 6 with three flights each week. On June 2, Sun Country will fly to Anchorage nonstop every day.

Chicago also will be a three-airline city, in addition to Denver and Minneapolis. That’s a good indicator that prices will stay low, although rates are super-cheap right now.

No airlines fly nonstop from Anchorage to Chicago during the winter. But United resumes a daily nonstop on March 27. Alaska starts with a daily nonstop on April 19. Both United and Alaska will offer two flights each day during the peak summer season.

American Airlines also will offer a daily nonstop from Chicago to Anchorage starting May 5.

If you’ve seen a big Boeing 767 parked at the end of the B concourse in Anchorage, it’s Delta’s nonstop to Atlanta. The airline is offering a few Christmastime nonstops. Those flights end on Jan. 2. But they’ll be back starting on March 12 with Saturday-only flights. On April 15, the service increases to three times a week. Then, on May 27, Delta will offer daily nonstops to Atlanta.

United is bringing a Boeing 757 to fly nonstop each day from Anchorage to Newark, starting June 3.

To Hawaii, Alaska Airlines offers nonstops from Anchorage to Honolulu, Maui and Kona. While the Kona and Maui flights stop after April 2, the Honolulu flights continue through the summer.

Fairbanks travelers now can bypass Anchorage, since there now are four nonstops each day to Seattle, three on Alaska and one on Delta. In the summer, that doubles to eight flights, six on Alaska and two on Delta.

Other Fairbanks options include a daily Minneapolis flight on Delta, starting May 5, or a daily United flight to Chicago, starting June 3.

It’s likely more flights will be announced between now and May.

Last year, for example, Delta announced in the spring that it would fly nonstop from Anchorage to Detroit and New York.

But even with this slate of nonstop flights, Alaska travelers have more options than ever before.