Alaska Airlines Initiates Commercial Flights In Paine Field

Alaska Air Group’s (NYSE:ALK) wholly-owned subsidiary — Alaska Airlines — yesterday commenced commercial operations from Paine Field-Snohomish County Airport in Everett. The first flight was headed toward Portland, OR.

By mid-March, the low-cost carrier plans to operate 18 daily nonstop flights connecting Paine Field to eight West Coast cities — Las Vegas, Orange County, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego and San Jose. Currently, Alaska Airlines is plying on the routes utilizing the Embraer 175 aircraft that features extra legroom and several improved modern amenities in the premium as well as first class.

Apart from boosting connectivity with West Coast cities, the new commercial flight services are expected to be time savvy and reduce traffic congestion for travelers commuting on these routes. Aided by strong demand in these routes, the new flights are also anticipated to draw substantial traffic and boost passenger revenues.

Notably, the newly-initiated services are expected to boost economic development in Western Washington by providing ample opportunities for new businesses to emerge in this region. Alaska Airlines has always actively contributed to the region’s economic development. Evidently, it contributed $7 billion to Washington's economy in 2017 together with local vendors, manufacturing partners and technology providers.

We note that Alaska Airlines is constantly making efforts to expand services. To this end, the carrier recently launched a daily nonstop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and El Paso International Airport. Simultaneously, it has begun daily nonstop flights connecting El Paso with San Diego. In December 2018, Alaska Airlines commenced a new nonstop service connecting Sacramento International Airport with Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole on the Hawaiian Island.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Alaska Air Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Investors interested in the Zacks Transportation Sector may consider Azul S.A. (NYSE:AZUL) , Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) and SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

All the three stocks boast impressive earnings surprise history. Azul outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 97.9%. Frontline outpaced the consensus mark in each of the trailing four quarters with an average of 69%. SkyWest outpaced the consensus mark in each of the trailing four quarters with an average of 16.9%.

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