Anchorage Daily News

Alaskans looking to book a flight this week to the Lower 48 probably aren't feeling the holiday cheer.

As of Wednesday night, no seats were available on flights to Seattle -- Alaska's biggest hub for flight connections -- for the rest of the week.

No flights to Minneapolis or Chicago, either.

"We are definitely experiencing full-flight syndrome," said Nance Larsen, a spokeswoman for U.S. Travel, an Anchorage travel agency.

No kidding. Trying to get a flight out of Anchorage this week to the Lower 48 would be as tough as booking a flight to Washington, D.C., during the inauguration or to a city hosting the Super Bowl, said Terry Trippler, a travel industry analyst based in Minneapolis.

"My advice to people is to keep checking, keep checking. If you absolutely have to get out, you go to the airport and try standby," Trippler said Wednesday.

Christmas Eve next week looks like the day to travel, he added.

If waiting around until next week isn't an option, you didn't have many alternatives as of Wednesday night short of driving to Canada and boarding a plane to the Lower 48 from there.

ANNUAL SQUEEZE

The scarcity of seats on flights out of Anchorage during the holiday season is as predictable as spring breakup.

Most Alaskans know to either book their holiday trips early or bite the bullet and fly out on a quieter day at Anchorage's international airport -- say, Christmas Eve.

"If you haven't made your travel plans by now, you have to be very flexible," said Marianne Lindsey, a spokeswoman for Alaska Airlines.

But her airline and Delta Air Lines, which now owns Northwest Airlines, say it is possible that the annual squeeze in Anchorage may have worsened this year due to cutbacks by one of their former competitors.

This year, United Airlines pulled all of its flights between Anchorage and the Lower 48. Direct flight service between Anchorage and Denver ended in September.

For their part, Alaska and Delta claim their capacity in Anchorage is exactly the same as it was this time last year.

In fact, Alaska says it now operates bigger planes in Alaska that can carry more passengers.

"Our ability to carry passengers has increased and, unlike the rest of the country, demand has remained stable or increased," Lindsey said.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

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