Airline known for parts of its plane falling off mid-flight adds direct Toronto route
An airline that unfortunately made headlines all over the world earlier this month for having a door fly off an aircraft mid-flight has just added a new route between Toronto and a popular U.S. destination.
Alaska Airlines just announced its new non-stop flights connecting T.O. and Seattle on Friday, with service set to begin on May 16, 2024.
"We're always focused on better connecting the Pacific Northwest with additional nonstops in our network," a representative for the carrier said in a release about the new route.
"There's a strong desire by our guests for a Seattle-Toronto flight that connects a pair of exciting cities not only for leisure travel but also links key business centers between the U.S. and Canada."
Flights will fly out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport daily at 7 a.m. local time and arrive at Toronto Pearson International Airport at 2:40 p.m. EST. They will then depart the 6ix at 3:40 p.m. our time, landing in the West Coast city known for being the home of Starbucks, Nirvana, the Seahawks and the Space Needle at 5:55 p.m. PST.
Tickets are already available online and start at $199 per direction.
Alaska Airlines announced Friday it will begin daily nonstop service between Seattle and Toronto starting in May. https://t.co/SxV1ZkLdK8
— Joe Veyera (@JoeVeyera) January 20, 2024
This is the sixth Canadian destination from the fifth largest carrier in the continent, which, contrary to this latest safety incident, was actually named the second-best North American airline for on-time performance in a recent ranking that placed Air Canada dead last.
A member of OneWorld Alliance, Alaska Airlines had also been named Air Transport World's Airline of the Year in 2022 and J.D. Power's best North American airline for customer satisfaction in 2019 before the Jan. 5 disaster, in which a door plug weighing 60 lbs fell off Flight 1282 from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California at 16,000 feet.
Most of the blame is being placed on Boeing for bolt issues with the door plugs on its 737 Max 9 planes, hundreds of which were grounded across the globe after the recent scare that some experts are saying indicates "a possible crisis of competence" on the aircraft manufacturer's end.
But, both Boeing and Alaska Airlines are now being sued by four passengers who claim they were exposed to "distress, anxiety, trauma and physical pain" when the sudden gaping hole in the plane's body made them fear for their life.
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