Alaska Airlines has been on the front page of the aviation news for more than one reason in the past weeks. Just before the end of 2023 the airline announced that it would be buying Hawaiian Airlines. While in the early stages of 2024 it was at the center of attention for reasons I’m sure they would have liked to avoid, when one of their 737-9s had one of its plug doors pop off the plane mid flight. However today we’re back to more lighthearted news to talk about the opening of the latest Alaska Airlines route expansion. Today I’m looking into flight AS972 from Seattle to Toronto.
More Canada For Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines announces its first flight to eastern Canada from its hub in Seattle Tacoma (SEA) International Airport. A flight that strengthen the ties to Canada further after having announced a partnership with the growing Porter Airlines.
The flight will widen the offering to passengers travelling from Seattle or Alaska frequent flyers to get to the largest city in Canada. An important route and network expansion for the carrier.
The Schedule of Alaska Flight AS972 Seattle to Toronto
The flight is quite a long one, by Alaska Airlines standards. The outbound, Seattle to Toronto sector, clocks in at 4 hours 35 minutes while the return sector is even longer at 5 hours 20 minutes.
The airline firmly believes that there are the volumes to make this route work and to make of it a profitable service. The fact that it’ll be from day 1 a daily service proves that.
As for the schedule it’ll be an early flight out of Seattle with a late afternoon return. Here’s more precisely how it’ll work:
| Flight Number | Departure Airport | Code | Departure Time | Arrival Airport | Code | Arrival Time | Flight Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | AS972 | Seattle | SEA | 07:00 | Toronto | YYZ | 14:40 | 4h 35m |
| AS973 | Toronto | YYZ | 15:40 | Seattle | SEA | 18:00 | 5h 20m |
Quite a tough day for the crew on these two flights too I’m sure with such a long turnaround operation.
The Plane For the Route
Surprise surprise the aircraft is (drumroll) a Boeing 737. That’s the only aircraft type Alaska Airlines operates, so no surprise. However the variant will be the 737-900 so no MAX on this new service.
These planes feature a 2 and a half cabin configuration, featuring:
- 16 First Class (domestic) seats in a 2-2 layout
- 162 Economy Class seats including 24 premium seats at the front of the cabin.
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