Seattle-based 
Alaska Airlines
has made changes to its seasonal operation between Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale. The carrier will end the service in early January, which is more than four months earlier than originally planned.
The news comes as the carrier prepares to introduce
new routes from Los Angeles to Mexico, Washington, and Canada later this year
. The reshuffle will return the route’s demand to Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, which operate between the two cities year-round.
Moving up from May to January
According to Adrian Waltz, who tracks route changes indicated by aviation data and analytics provider Cirium, Alaska will end flights between its hub at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
and Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
“after January 2025.” Data shows that the seasonal service is set to begin on November 21st – just in time for the busy year-end holiday travel season.
Alaska will operate the route daily except for Thanksgiving Day on November 28th. In December, the operation will be dark on the 3rd, 4th, 10th, and 11th. The service will conclude on January 5, 2025, which was a major shift from last week, as flagged by Waltz. Previously, the carrier planned to operate the route through May 14, 2025. The flights were scheduled five times weekly on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Lessened demand?
Last year, Alaska started flights between LAX and FLL on November 17th, and it ran until March 13th of this year, according to Cirium. Strong demand on the route likely prompted the airline to originally schedule this year’s seasonal service to exceed last year’s operation by two months. However, that demand and profitability forecast perhaps changed, or there is another underlying reason behind its decision.
Photo: Alaska Airlines
Simple Flying contacted Alaska late Sunday with a request for comment on the matter, but a representative could not be immediately reached. It is unclear if the airline’s acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines was a factor.
When the route resumes in November, the carrier will deploy its Boeing 737-800
, -900ER, MAX 8, and MAX 9 across a total of 17 flights – offering nearly 2,970 seats. The same aircraft types will be utilized in December, except for the 737 MAX 8. The airline will offer just over 9,000 seats across a total of 51 frequencies. 10 flights are scheduled in January, offering 1,780 seats. Only the 737-900ER and MAX 9 will be used.
Loss of more than 42,000 seats
Just last week, Alaska planned to offer between 8,000 and 11,000 seats
per month from January to May 2025:
- January: 8,259 seats
- February: 8,225 seats
- March: 10,602
- April: 10,260
- May: 4,788
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
The route now ending in the first week of January represents a loss of 42,134 seats.
Delta and JetBlue both offer year-round flights between LAX and FLL. However, JetBlue dominates the route with as many as five daily frequencies on its Mint-equipped Airbus A321s, which accommodate 159 passengers. While Delta only operates the route once daily with its A321neos, the carrier has more capacity per flight, as the aircraft has 194 seats.