Alaska Airlines closing New York pilot base
Now that Virgin America has mostly been absorbed, Alaska Airlines plans to pull its aircraft and crew out of New York.
It is set to close its New York base in September to bolster its west coast operations, having requested that more than 100 east coast based pilots relocate to California with just a few months’ notice.
"This was a difficult decision — but a necessary one — based on the need to match our pilot staffing with the geographic areas on the West Coast where we deploy our aircraft every day. All of our JFK-based pilots are being offered the opportunity to transfer to either Los Angeles or San Francisco," the airline told CNBC.
Alaska Air currently serves both LA and San Francisco five times a day from New York and also flies transcontinental to Newark.
Alaska will still offer flights to and from JFK but likely less frequently.
The airline had already announced new nonstop transcontinental services from San Jose, California, and an additional daily flight from Seattle from the summer.
There are currently 14 flights a day from the New York/Newark area.
Alaska purchased Virgin America for about $2.8 billion in 2016 which significantly increased its transcontinental network and presence on the east coast.
As a result Alaska Airlines became the fifth-largest US airline with an average of 1,200 daily flights.
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