Alaska Airlines begins daily nonstop service from Washington to San Diego

Airport and airline leaders gathered Thursday at Dulles International Airport to celebrate the launch of Alaska Airlines daily nonstop service to San Diego.

Alaska Ribbon Cutting
Cutting the ribbon were (L-R): Paul Bobson, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Vice President for Airline Business Development; David Carlisle, Alaska Airlines Director of Network Planning and Scheduling; Richard Golinowski, Airports Authority Vice President and Dulles Airport Manager; Ian Chyun, Airports Authority Airline Business Development Director. Photo credit: @Dulles_Airport

The inaugural flight, a Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft, departed Dulles Gate B65 at 10:12 a.m. At the gate, passengers were treated to novelties including toy penguins, luggage tags and sunglasses before boarding the plane.

Speaking on behalf of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Vice President for Airline Business Development Paul Bobson said, "Today's flight represents the capstone on a record-breaking season for Washington Dulles and the Airports Authority. From April through June, eight airlines--four of which were new entrants--launched 11 different routes across our airports, including today's San Diego launch."

The event concluded with a ribbon-cutting at the gate and sendoff for the San Diego-bound passengers.

Water Arch Alaska
Alaska Airlines inaugural flight from San Diego to Washington was welcomed with a water arch salute. Photo credit: @Dulles_Airport

Alaska serves 33 cities from San Diego, including Washington Dulles.

Flights between Washington and San Diego will operate daily on the following schedule:

Alaska Flight Sch

Future passengers can book travel at Alaskaair.com