Alaska Airlines Begins Flying to Costa Rica

Alaska Airlines inaugurated new service between Los Angeles International Airport and Costa Rica's two major international airports, further strengthening the airline's southern California focus city. The eight weekly flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to San Jose (SJO) and Liberia/Guanacaste (LIR), Costa Rica, started Saturday and Sunday respectively, and is the first international destination Alaska has launched since 1991, when the Seattle-based airline introduced seasonal service to Magadan, Russia.

"As the most popular Central American tourist destination for U.S. travelers, Costa Rica is one of the best places in the Western Hemisphere for adventure tourism," said John Kirby, Alaska Airlines' vice president of capacity planning. "With the addition of Costa Rica, Alaska offers up to 80 peak season weekly departures from Southern California to Latin America, more than any other airline."

Liberia is the gateway to the Guanacaste region in the western part of the country, renowned for surfing and sport fishing. While the capital city of San Jose, located about 130 miles from Liberia, boasts museums and historic Spanish colonial architecture. On the blog: Read an Insider's Guide to Costa Rica.

The new flights will be operated with fuel-efficient, next generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which feature free and premium entertainment direct to customer devices, as well as 110v and USB outlets at every seat for charging laptops, smartphones and tablets. Additionally, all flights feature food and beverages sourced with items from iconic Pacific Northwest brands. Customers can also rent inflight entertainment tablets, which include recently-released blockbuster movies, TV, Xbox games, music, and digital magazines.

Customers traveling from Los Angeles can connect to 21 destinations on Alaska Airlines' 600 weekly flights and earn and use award miles to travel to 84 nonstop destinations worldwide on partners American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air France, Aeromexico, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji Airways, KLM, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Korean Air, LAN and Qantas.

Since 2010, Alaska has entered 90 new markets, including 26 new cities. By the end of 2015, Alaska will have added  21 new markets, which includes 10 new cities.

Alaska Airlines Announces New Flights from Orange County to Santa Rosa and Reno/Tahoe
Also, Alaska Airlines will add new service from Orange County, California to Santa Rosa/Sonoma County, California and Reno/Tahoe, Nevada starting March 16, 2016.

"These new routes will bring low fares and an elevated flight experience to our valued Los Angeles area customers," said John Kirby. "With the addition of Santa Rosa and Reno, Alaska will offer 13 peak daily departures to six destinations, including Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, from Orange County's John Wayne Airport."

The flights will be operated by Horizon Air using 76-seat Q400 aircraft. Customers can reserve seats at no charge and enjoy complimentary snacks, soft drinks, Starbucks coffee and tea and Northwest wine and microbrews.