Alaska Airlines begins daily service from San Luis Obispo to Seattle

A little bit of aviation history was made Thursday at San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.

Under a brilliant blue sky, splashed with giant puffy clouds leftover from a mid-morning rain shower, Alaska Airlines touched down at the airport for the first time ever.

The flight begins non-stop daily service between San Luis Obispo and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“It’s a been a long time effort by a lot of people to get to today,” Visit SLO CAL President and CEO Chuck Davison. “The first new flight development here in almost 10 years, so the ability for us to bring Alaska into the market is a big win for us locally, a big win for our tourism economy, a big win for the locals who live here, just a really exciting time.”

At about 10:30 a.m., the plane, emblazoned with the company’s famous Eskimo tail logo, arrived about 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

On board were about 70 people, nearly 100 percent capacity for the Embraer 175 aircraft, which seats 76 passengers.

“The plane they’re using is perfect for this trip. It was smooth and comfortable the whole way,” said John Gallaher of San Luis Obipso, who was traveling back to the area after a business trip to Canada.

Before the plane arrived, the airport held a welcome party at the viewing deck. On hand were several local dignitaries, including county supervisors Adam Hill and Debbie Arnold.

“We worked with the airport to make sure anything we needed to do to get this service, even if that meant waving fees, making sure the airport manager attended every possible conference and meeting he could, that combined with the obvious interest from the community helped us sealed the deal,” said Third District Supervisor Adam Hill.

According to airport director Kevin Bumen, help from the Board of Supervisors was just one component needed to help secure the flight with Alaska.

“A lot of work, not just with the airport, but with a full partnership from support by the county Board of Supervisors, the EVC, Visit SLO CAL, numerous businesses. In a smaller market, it takes a coalition to bring an airline into the market,” said Bumen.

Bumen believes the route will be successful, especially considering the amount of analysis that was conducted.

“We do a lot of research and use our data and external data from consultants and the airline has their own data, we all look at it together and Seattle was one of our top three unserved markets, so it’s time, we’re ready to go,” said Bumen.

Ready to leave for the Emerald City was Evan Davies. The San Luis Obispo resident watched the preflight ceremony before boarding the plane to see good friends in Seattle.

“This opens up a whole new door,” said Davies. ” I’m only 2 1/2 hours away (from Seattle), so that’s like be in Thousand Oaks or something like that, so for the small cost of a ticket I get to fly up to Seattle.”

Both airport officials and Alaska Airlines note the two-and-a-half four flight will enhance travel opportunities for Central Coast residents.

“It’s going to bring many options to the people here,” said Alaska Airlines Sales and Marketing Manager Eloisa Valdez. A lot of connecting flights to Canada, the east coast, New York, Newark and Alaska.”

Valdez adds Alaska Airlines operates 118 flights daily, while providing service to 89 airports. She says the flight will allow travelers the ability to connect with 900 different destinations.

Among the various destinations is Reykjavik, Iceland, which is where the Harris family of San Luis Obispo was traveling to on Thursday.

“When we saw that Seattle was an option and then to get to Iceland was a direct flight, it was a no-brainer for us,” said Ryan Harris.

While the new flight allows Central Coast travelers direct access to Seattle, the same can be said for residents in the Pacific Northwest.

Davison notes Visit SLO CAL, the tourism marketing arm for the county, is now in the process of increasing awareness to residents in the Seattle-area.

“Seattle is a huge attraction market for us here in SLO County,” said Davison. “Those individuals up there in cold and rainy weather for six months out of the year, their ability to get down here to the sunshine and the rolling vineyard hills and the ocean is just a great opportunity for us to introduce our product to Seattle.”

Davison said Visit SLO CAL just initiated a new $400,000 marketing campaign, which includes digital and print advertising.

San Luis Obispo County representatives also attended the Seattle Food and Wine Expo and received favorable feedback from residents there.

Alaska Airlines will fly to Seattle daily from San Luis Obispo. Introductory fares start at $134 one way, with a 21-day advance booking. Round trip tickets with the special rate cost $268.