This West Coast Airline Is Eliminating Over A Dozen Routes In 2026, Leaving Travelers With Fewer Options

Travelers on America's West Coast, especially those living in Los Angeles and San Francisco, will have fewer choices when it comes to airlines in 2026. This is because Alaska Airlines is discontinuing roughly 15 routes that have been servicing these major cities, as well as San Diego and San Jose, according to Simple Flying. Alaska Airlines has been removing these routes since the start of January this year, with about six more to be cut in May and June.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are the hardest-hit cities, losing four and seven routes, respectively. Some of these are major travel routes for the Bay Area, including flights to Boston, Austin, Orlando, Newark, Burbank, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. Other routes already eliminated from Los Angeles include flights to Reno, San Jose, and Las Vegas. For San Jose residents, flights to Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, and Guadalajara will be axed in May. San Diego, meanwhile, already saw its Atlanta route with the airline cut in March.

These changes have frustrated frequent flyers with the airline who now have fewer options for earning loyalty miles. "I am left in shock that Alaska is canceling so many routes of the Bay Area. So nice to find out right after wife and I just opened a bunch of cards to get more Alaska miles and be more loyal to Alaska," one frequent flyer wrote on the r/AlaskaAirlines subreddit. However, the airline insists it's not pulling back completely from the West Coast or even the Bay Area, as it's opening up more routes that may yield stronger traveler interest and business growth.

A lack of demand is the main reason airlines permanently cancel flights, which is partly why Alaska Airlines has cut these routes. There is a lack of demand for the airline, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where United and Delta have a stronger presence. However, it's also replacing most of these cuts with new routes in cities where it has a much better chance to grow its customer base. So, it's more of a strategic move for the airline than a sign that its popularity and capacity have completely tanked.

Alaska Airlines plans to create new routes in cities such as Portland and Seattle. In San Diego, it's also adding new routes where it feels it can fill out more seats. There's also some good news for the Bay Area, with plans to add more flights from San Francisco to Hawaii by summer. This includes non-stop routes to Lihue and Kona, home of the iconic Kona Coffee Belt, a lush region of coffee farms and scenic vistas. "As we add 13 new routes to our network next spring, we'll be adjusting some of our flying — reducing mainline service in San Francisco and regional flying in Los Angeles — to make room for this growth," an Alaska Airlines spokesperson was quoted as saying by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Travelers living in San Diego already have new routes to Dallas, Oakland, Santa Barbara, and Tulsa. Additionally, people in Seattle can now fly to Tulsa and Arcata-Eureka with Alaska Airlines, while those in Portland should be able to fly to Baltimore, Idaho Falls, Philadelphia, and St. Louis by the middle of May. So, while Alaska Airlines is cutting routes, it may still save you tons of money from San Diego to Honolulu and elsewhere.