Alaska Airlines adding 3 flights from Sonoma County to Southern California, starting with Burbank

Alaska Airlines, the largest carrier operating out of Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa, is expanding service to Southern California with a new flight to Burbank and two additional flights to Orange County and San Diego.

Alaska will for the first time offer a daily departure to the Hollywood-Burbank Airport starting June 1.

An additional daily flight to both the John Wayne Airport in Orange County and the San Diego International Airport will begin on Sept. 8. Alaska already offers a flight each day to Orange County and San Diego.

The three new flights will bring Alaska’s total departures from Sonoma County to 11 by June and 13 by September. Currently, the airline operates seven flights out of the local airport, up from just a few during the throes of the pandemic last year.

Brett Catlin, an Alaska vice president, said the expansion of service to Southern California is an opportunity to take advantage of tourist travel to Sonoma County, which is expected to ramp up this spring and summer as pandemic restrictions are relaxed and more people are vaccinated.

“For us, Sonoma has always been more tourism focus, so (the expansion) plays well for our leisure business but also where demand is today,” Catlin said.

In March, over 13,800 passengers passed through the gates at the Sonoma County Airport, more than double the number in February, according to airport data. That’s still 30% fewer passengers than in March 2020 ― when the pandemic first halted nonessential travel ― and 58% fewer than in March 2019.

Catlin said the reasoning behind adding the Burbank flight is that many travelers in the Los Angeles area opt to fly out of the smaller airport instead of braving traffic to the Los Angeles International Airport located near the coast.

Cut-rate airline Avelo is also planning a daily flight between Burbank and Sonoma County starting April 28. It will be the carrier’s first move into Wine Country and the first flight between Sonoma County and Burbank.

Catlin said Alaska had long aimed to introduce its Burbank flight, but that the plan was put on hold because of the pandemic.

“We’re aware of the competitive environment, but it doesn’t really change our behavior,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Ethan Varian at ethan.varian@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5412. On Twitter @ethanvarian.