Alaska Airlines is starting its first transcontinental flights from Portland, restoring business-friendly service the city lost years ago.
The flights from Portland to Boston and Orlando will be the first such nonstops since Delta dismantled its Portland hub in the 1990s. Before deregulation of trans-Pacific flights, Delta operated daily nonstops from Portland to at least six cities in Asia and major cities in the U.S. It dropped almost all of those when it was allowed to shift the flights to Los Angeles and Atlanta.
The flights are another win for PDX, which has gradually wooed airlines to restore nonstop service -- a key amenity for area businesses. Incentives are behind Lufthansa's nonstops to Frankfurt and Northwest's to Tokyo. Presumably Alaska also sees potential profit in restoring nonstops.