When it’s time to plan a trip, there are a couple of key considerations: How do you get there and how much does it cost?

Alaska travelers take it for granted that most big trips include a stop and a layover in Seattle. That’s certainly true for more international journeys, unless the trip includes a flight to Frankfurt on Condor’s nonstop from Anchorage.

But that mandatory Seattle stop is changing, even though there will be 27 nonstop flights each day this summer.

While ticket prices change on the fly, the process of blocking out where a plane will fly takes time and effort. There are many moving parts, including crew, ground handling and maintenance.

So the airlines have been working on new summertime flights since earlier this fall. And the lineup is pretty good. There’s also some welcome news on the airfare front.

Just a few days ago. Alaska Airlines announced plans to fly nonstop from Anchorage to three new destinations this summer: Boston, Spokane and Boise. Travelers prefer to fly nonstop. It’s faster and there are fewer opportunities to avoid missed connections, lost bags and other possible trip interruptions along the way.

The flights to Boston start on Saturday, June 13, 2026. There’s just one flight per week this year, which is one way Alaska Airlines tests out a route.

Alaska Air plans two flights per week (on Wednesdays and Saturdays) between Anchorage and both Boise and Spokane, starting on Wednesday, June 10.

Two other nonstop routes from Anchorage that had once-a-week service last summer now will get two flights per week: Anchorage-San Diego, starting May 16, and Anchorage-Sacramento, starting June 13.

Three Alaska Air destinations will get one flight per day, starting May 13: Anchorage-San Francisco, Anchorage-Denver and Fairbanks-Portland. That’s the same date that Alaska upgrades its Anchorage-Las Vegas from two flights a week to daily service, in response to Southwest Air’s nonstops starting May 15. The Anchorage-Los Angeles schedule also increases on that date (May 13) from one to two daily flights.

More nonstops come online on June 10: Anchorage-Minneapolis and Anchorage-New York/JFK. Also on that date, the Anchorage-Chicago schedule increases from one to two daily flights.

Alaska Airlines also offers daily nonstops to Phoenix and Honolulu. Between Anchorage and Portland, Alaska offers five daily flights during the summer.

Delta Air Lines is resuming several popular nonstop flights from Anchorage in May: Anchorage-Detroit (May 21), Anchorage-Salt Lake City (May 16) and Anchorage-Los Angeles (May 22).

Delta offers year-round nonstops from Anchorage-Seattle (3-6 daily flights), Fairbanks-Seattle (1-2 daily flights), Anchorage-Minneapolis (1-3 flights per day) and Anchorage-Atlanta (Saturdays only).

Delta’s Anchorage-Atlanta flights feature a wide-body Boeing 767 plane with lie-flat “Delta One” suites, one of just a few domestic routes. Delta resumes daily Anchorage-Atlanta flights on May 21.

American Airlines’ nonstop flight from Anchorage to Dallas operates through Jan. 6, 2026. Then there’s a two-month gap before the flight start up again on March 8.

On May 21, American Airlines resumes daily service on two routes: Anchorage-Chicago and Anchorage-Phoenix.

United Airlines flies from Anchorage to Denver each evening year-round. On May 21, United will start flying three times each day, in response to Southwest Air’s new nonstop which starts on May 15. On June 26, Denver adds a fourth daily Anchorage-Denver nonstop, just in case Southwest didn’t get the message.

May 21 also is the day United resumes its daily nonstops to Newark, Washington, D.C., and Houston.

On March 5, United resumes its nonstop flight from Anchorage to Chicago. On April 30, United adds a second flight for the summer.

Up in Fairbanks, United resumes daily flights to Chicago on April 30 and to Denver on May 21.

[Workouts at the airport? Some fliers can already smell the sweat.]

Other airlines planning nonstops to Anchorage include Sun Country, with one to two daily flights to Minneapolis starting May 16, WestJet with two weekly nonstops from Anchorage to Calgary and Southwest, with daily flights to both Denver and Phoenix. Condor Airlines plans three flights per week from Anchorage to Frankfurt starting May 16.

A big driver for the additional flights is the cruise industry, which is on track for a robust 2026 season. There are several new entrants in the cruise market, including MSC cruises, Virgin Voyages, Windstar Cruises and Azamara.

Still, airline watchers speculate there will be plenty of capacity in the interstate jet market, which means fares will be cheaper.

One example right now: Delta offers Basic Economy fares between Anchorage and Seattle for $196 round-trip. Travel between Jan. 12 and March 31. The upcharge to Main Cabin for advance seat assignment and mileage credit is $80 round-trip. Alaska Airlines quickly matched the Basic fare, but Alaska charges more for the upcharge to Main: $100 round-trip.

United Airlines is getting in on the discount fares, offers cheap rates to three Florida destinations from Anchorage: Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. All are available for $336 round-trip is Basic Economy. Remember, with United, you cannot even take a small carry-on aboard without getting charged extra. The upcharge to Main is $100 round-trip.

After Delta dropped the fare to Seattle, Alaska Airlines dropped its rates to Delta hubs in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Detroit. But there’s a twist.

Between Anchorage and Atlanta, Alaska Air is offering Basic fares for as little as $343 round-trip. Fly between Jan. 21 and Feb. 14. But the upcharge to Main is crazy: $175 round-trip. The price from Anchorage to Detroit on Alaska Air is compelling: just $341 round-trip. But the upcharge to Main is a buzzkill: $198 round-trip.

The Basic rate on Alaska Air between Anchorage and Salt Lake is sweet: $264 round-trip. The upcharge to Main is sour: $169 round-trip.

[Smaller items don’t go in overhead bins. Flight attendants are cracking down.]

In fairness, Delta also is guilty of overcharging for the upcharge to Main.

Between Anchorage and Boston, Delta is offering Basic seats for $336 round-trip, traveling between Jan. 9-March 31. The upcharge to Main is $100 round-trip.

But it’s a different story with tickets to Washington, D.C. Delta dangles a great price for Basic: $344 round-trip. But then comes the sticker shock on the upcharge to Main: $180 round-trip.

There still are a couple of golden rules when it comes to shopping for airline tickets:

1. When airlines are mad at each other, the traveler wins.

2. The big print giveth and the fine print taketh away.

San Diego State has put itself into an unenviable and unusual position. The Aztecs are going to have to win the Mountain West Conference to get a spot in the NCAA Tournament because their non-conference resume is nowhere near as impressive as it usually is.

SDSU lost 68-45 to the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night on a “neutral” floor in Phoenix, AZ. It was the lowest point total for the Cats this season. But, as has been their Achilles heel for years now, SDSU’s usual stellar defense doesn’t matter much when they can’t score the basketball.

They looked great for the first 18 minutes. Tae Simmons made a layup to give the Aztecs a 27-20 lead and the Aztecs were in control of the #1 team in the country. The Aztecs made just three of their next 21 field goal attempts, allowing the Wildcats to methodically take control.

Arizona finished the half on an 8-0 run and made things infinitely worse after the break, outscoring the Aztecs 40-18 over the final 20 minutes. For the game SDSU shot just 7% (1-for-14) from 3-point range but it wasn’t so much the errant shots that led to the blowout. The Aztecs held AZ to 38% from the field and 24% from 3-point land.

The problem was on the backboards. The Wildcats outrebounded the Aztecs 52-28, collecting a whopping 20 offensive rebounds and keeping San Diego State from getting any runout buckets that might get their offense going.

Add to this setback a 40-point loss to 2nd-ranked Michigan (which in reality doesn’t look all that bad since the Wolverines also beat Gonzaga by 40 and Auburn by 50) and an ugly home loss to Troy and SDSU is just 6-4 on the young season. They have one more non-conference game at home against Whittier on Monday afternoon before diving fully into Mountain West play with a trip to San Jose State on December 30.

One lucky Southern Californian has won over $2.3 million after numbers were drawn for the Powerball jackpot on Saturday night.

Although no winner hit all six numbers for the $1.5 billion jackpot, one ticket matched five numbers and will take home $2,323,527.

The winning numbers were 4, 5, 28, 52, 69 and a Powerball of 20. The Power Play multiplier was 3x.

The SoCal ticket that hit five numbers was sold at Wright’s Market at 2691 Ventura Blvd. in Oxnard.

The Powerball jackpot will rise to an estimated $1.6 billion for the next drawing on Monday, Dec. 22 – the game’s fourth-largest prize ever and the fifth-largest among all U.S. lottery jackpots.

If a player wins Monday’s jackpot, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize estimated at $1.60 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $735.3 million. Both prize options are before taxes.

If the winner selects the annuity option, they will receive one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments that increase by 5 percent each year.

The new prize marks only the second time in Powerball history that the game has produced back-to-back jackpots exceeding $1 billion. The only other time was in 2023, when a $1.08 billion jackpot was won on July 19, followed by a $1.765 billion jackpot on Oct. 11. Both jackpots were won in California.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million and the overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 24.9. 

Top 10 largest U.S. lottery jackpots across Powerball and Mega Millions:

• $2.04 Billion – Powerball – Nov. 7, 2022 – CA
• $1.787 Billion – Powerball – Sept. 6, 2025 – MO, TX
• $1.765 Billion – Powerball – Oct. 11, 2023 – CA
• $1.602 Billion – Mega Millions – Aug. 8, 2023 – FL
• $1.60 Billion est. – Powerball – Dec. 22, 2025
• $1.586 Billion – Powerball – Jan. 13, 2016 – CA, FL, TN
• $1.537 Billion – Mega Millions – Oct. 23, 2018 – SC
• $1.348 Billion – Mega Millions – Jan. 13, 2023 – ME
• $1.337 Billion – Mega Millions – July 29, 2022 – IL
• $1.326 Billion – Powerball – April 6, 2024 – OR

Lottery officials noted that so far, the 45 consecutive Powerball drawings without a jackpot winner have raised over $100 million for public schools in California.

“Every California Lottery game sold contributes to the Lottery’s mission of raising extra money for California’s public schools,” lottery officials said. “These funds support a variety of programs across the state.”

Powerball tickets are $2 per play and drawings take place every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday night at 7:59 p.m.