Alaska Airlines is headquartered at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in Washington state and of its five hubs in the United States, only one is located in the state that gives the carrier its name. This might seem strange, but a look back at the airline’s history helps illuminate how the sixth-largest carrier in America became so prominent on the West Coast.
Alaskan roots
The beginnings of Alaska Airlines can be traced back to 1932 when a pilot named Linious “Mac” McGee began flying travelers on a three-passenger Stinson from Anchorage. Also around this time, Wesley “Earl” Dunkle, an Alaskan mine owner, provided a loan to three pilots who founded Star Air Service. In 1934, McGee Airways and Star Air Service merged. The new venture was the largest carrier in Alaska at the time, with 22 total aircraft.
In 1937, the carrier acquired Alaska Interior Airlines. That same year, Linious McGee sold Star Air Service. The new owner renamed it Star Air Lines, and the carrier began operating as Alaska Star Airlines in 1943. After purchasing four smaller operators in the state, Alaska Star Airlines changed its name to Alaska Airlines in 1944.
As we have previously outlined, Alaska Airlines quickly outgrew its home base at Merrill Field in Anchorage and had to seek out larger accommodations in western Washington. The airline first moved to Paine Field in Everett, but the airfield was needed for military operations during the Korean War. Alaska Airlines moved its corporate headquarters to downtown Seattle in 1953 but kept its maintenance hangar at Paine Field. In 1963, the airline consolidated its operations at SeaTac Airport, where it maintains its headquarters to this day.
Strategic expansion results in West Coast hubs
The year 1951 marked a turning point for Alaska Airlines as it was authorized to fly from Anchorage and Fairbanks in Alaska to Seattle and Portland. However, the airline experienced severe financial difficulty in the two decades that followed. The carrier advocated for deregulation of the skies, knowing that it would not be able to expand its operations or become profitable with limited service.
In 1979, Alaska Airlines’ business had contracted such that it was only serving one destination in the lower 48 states—Seattle. But the carrier’s wish was granted when deregulation occurred. It began offering service to Southern California, Spokane, Boise, Phoenix, and Tucson. The airline then acquired Horizon Air, which had a hub in Portland, Oregon, in 1986.
Additional expansion in the 2000s proved pivotal for Alaska Airlines as it sought to become a major player in transcontinental aviation. The carrier spread its wings to Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Newark, Orlando, Washington, D.C., the Hawaiian Islands, and several destinations in Mexico.
Alaska Air Group announced the acquisition of Virgin America in 2016, which was based in San Francisco and had hubs in that city as well as Los Angeles. This action, along with the earlier acquisition of Horizon Air enabled Alaska Airlines to obtain service hubs in these prime West Coast cities in addition to its existing hubs in Anchorage and Seattle. With supplemental focus cities like San Diego and San Jose, the airline now averages 959 departures per day from the West Coast.
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