Last Direct Asia-Anchorage Flights to End

Many of Anchorage's international passenger flights were piggybacked off of other routes, meaning only a few seats on the flight were sold for Alaskans as they were picked up on the way. McMurren says China Airlines is leaving because of money, but Parrott says other factors are also involved.
 
“In particular, there are regulations imposed by customs and border protection and (the Transportation Security Administration) that make it economically very difficult for an international carrier to operate through here,” Parrott said.
 
“Anchorage is too small of a market to warrant non-stop service from Tokyo to Anchorage,” McMurren said. “Or guess what? We'd have it by now.”
 
Parrott said the bottom line is that your next flight to Asia is going to cost a lot more.
 
“You can't go direct without going to Seattle or Portland now, and that's something we want to get away from,” Parrott said.

One bright spot in Anchorage's international passenger flight options are charter flights to Europe. Edelweiss is beginning service to and from Zurich, Switzerland. It joins Condor Air which provides direct service to Frankfurt, Germany.
 
On the domestic front, Alaska is seeing more seasonal carriers, including discount airline JetBlue.

Contact Todd Walker at twalker@ktuu.com