Alaska Airlines, Cascadia's dominant carrier, this week added a series of new nonstop flights to Mexico. More are likely on the way.
The airline added the first nonstops to Cancun from Seattle and to Los Cabos and Puerta Vallarta from Portland. Counting new flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles, the airline expanded its capacity to Mexico by 22 percent. Alaska is still dealing with on-time and performance problems, but recently said it may add more distant destinations.
What's interesting is that Alaska is increasingly courting non-vacation travelers. It recently added Spanish in-flight announcements, a Spanish web site and year-around nonstops to Mexico City and La Paz from Los Angeles. Will it eventually restore the business link between Seattle and Mexico Cty? (Vancouver has 11 nonstops a week, according to that airport.)