Alaska Airlines continues to grow its Portland hub with a new flight from Oregon’s capital to Nashville.
Beginning 14 March 2024, Alaska will offer daily service between Nashville and Portland, a city it has served for more than 20 years. The service will operate year-round, departing Portland in the morning and Nashville in the late afternoon.
Nashville will be the airline’s 53rd destination from Portland, which Alaska touts as the most of any airline.
“We’re always focused on better connecting the Pacific Northwest with new nonstops in our network,” said Kirsten Amrine, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of revenue management and network planning, in a statement. “We know there’s a strong desire among our guests for an easier way to travel between Portland and Nashville. Our new flight will connect two exciting regions that both have extensive, festive entertainment and sports scenes, as well as growing business centres.”
The inaugural flight will be operated by the airline’s newest Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, which seats up to 178 passengers. The aircraft also features Alaska’s refreshed First Class seating, where passengers can enjoy complimentary breakfast from Portland to Nashville and dinner service from Nashville to Portland, Alaska Airlines confirmed to T+L.
Alaska will continue to receive deliveries of more than 50 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft through 2027, although the airline states that “newly delivered aircraft may operate without Wi-Fi for a short period of time”. When the jets are equipped with high-speed satellite Wi-Fi, passengers can purchase it for $8 for the entire flight.
The airline continues to add new service from its Portland hub to destinations across the country. This week, Alaska launches daily, year-round service to Miami and resumes seasonal service to Bend, Oregon, on Thanksgiving Day.
In total, Alaska serves more than 120 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and beyond, with brand-new service to the Bahamas and Guatemala beginning next month. The airline will join the Oneworld alliance in 2021, allowing passengers to travel to more than 1,000 destinations and earn and redeem Alaska Mileage Plan miles on partner airlines such as American Airlines and British Airways.