Alaska Airlines is adding a new route to the Big Easy from one of its West Coast hubs.

Starting in January, the Seattle-based carrier will offer nonstop, seasonal service from Oregon’s Portland International Airport (PDX) to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY).

The service will launch Jan. 6 and run through May 14. Booking is now open.

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Though it’s just a five-month span for the new route, it will certainly give Pacific Northwest travelers some more opportunities to travel to New Orleans at a key time of year.

On top of the city’s iconic Mardi Gras festivities early in the year, New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome will play host to the next Super Bowl on Feb. 9.

Route details

Alaska will operate the winter seasonal route with a Boeing 737 mainline aircraft on a daily basis. Here’s how the itinerary shakes out:

• PDX-MSY: Departs 9:05 a.m. Pacific time; arrives 3:30 p.m. Central time
• MSY-PDX: Departs 4:35 p.m. Central time; arrives 7:50 p.m. Pacific time

Growing its Portland, New Orleans capacity

The addition of New Orleans will give Alaska Airlines 55 nonstop destinations out of its Portland hub.

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Notably, though, Portland will be just the second city serving the Big Easy in its network. Right now, Alaska only operates a New Orleans nonstop from its home base, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

In fact, no carriers currently serve the Portland-New Orleans route, which makes it an intriguing option for travelers, leaders in both cities said.

“Portland has been the top unserved destination from New Orleans, and this new route not only strengthens the connection between our vibrant cities but also underscores our commitment to enhancing the travel experience for our community and visitors alike,” MSY director for aviation Kevin Dolliole said in a statement.

For Alaska’s part, the carrier’s seats out of Portland are set to grow just over 12% in 2024, even prior to launching this new nonstop in early 2025, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. However, its seats there still trail 2019 levels.

Bottom line

It’s worth mentioning that though this seasonal route will feed more traffic into New Orleans for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, Alaska will just barely miss another major event: the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl. That event will serve as one of the first-ever college football quarterfinal games this upcoming season.

Still, there’s nary a bad time to fly to a city with rich food and plentiful cultural and entertainment options like New Orleans — not to mention some top-notch hotels.

Related reading:

Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK – Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.60.

ALK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Alaska Air Group from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Alaska Air Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Alaska Air Group from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Alaska Air Group from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th.

View Our Latest Analysis on ALK

Alaska Air Group Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of ALK stock opened at $41.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.60 and its 200-day moving average is $39.77. Alaska Air Group has a 1 year low of $30.75 and a 1 year high of $57.18. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.61.

Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The transportation company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.09) by $0.17. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.62) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group will post 4.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alaska Air Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alaska Air Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,461,295 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $536,225,000 after purchasing an additional 47,871 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,439,909 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $212,543,000 after purchasing an additional 660,455 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in Alaska Air Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,966,594 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $170,533,000 after buying an additional 155,403 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Alaska Air Group by 16.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,554,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $94,712,000 after buying an additional 358,749 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 1,387,734 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $54,219,000 after buying an additional 253,984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.90% of the company’s stock.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Over 50 riders and drivers followed a black hearse through the streets of Anchorage Saturday afternoon honoring the life of Timothy Hoffman, who died during a memorial ride for his daughter earlier this month.

“We didn’t know we were gonna have this kind of turnout,” Donald Hoffman, Timothy’s big brother, said on Saturday. “As you can see by his family, he had many that loved him.”

Dozens of bikers filled the parking lot of the Alaska Cremation Society on Saturday as they waited to escort Hoffman’s remains from the cremation center to Faith Christian Community for his memorial service. Even Timothy’s dog, tucked into the arms of a loved one, came along to join the parade of cars and motorcycles.

“I feel good. I’m definitely honored to be Tim’s brother,” Hoffman said. “To ride amongst these great bikers, you know, we have different clubs here. They didn’t have to come. They came on their own.”

Hoffman, known to his loved ones as an avid Harley-lover, a hard worker, and someone who would give the shirt off his back, passed on June 3 while riding in a memorial ride for his daughter Cynthia Hoffman, who was murdered in 2019.

“He’s an advocate for justice,” Hoffman said. “We were just trying to carry on that tradition when we had a tragedy on the ride.”

According to Alaska State Troopers, Hoffman lost control of his motorcycle on the Park Highway. His wife Jeannie, who was riding with Hoffman, is still hospitalized from injuries sustained during the crash.

“She opened her eyes but they still say she’s not there. So there’s no brain activity,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said his family plans to continue holding the yearly memorial ride for Cynthia as they continue to seek justice for her murder. But he says next year, they will also be riding in Timothy’s honor whose death came on the fifth anniversary of Cynthia’s passing.

Another memorial will be held for Timothy next Sunday at the Carousel Lounge at 4:30 p.m. Riders will head to the Victims of Justice building before returning to the Carousel Lounge for karaoke and food.

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