Alaska Airlines, the SeaTac-based air carrier, is reshuffling its schedule in Alaska to better utilize the planes in its fleet and that of its sister airline, Horizon Air.
The schedule changes also appears to be a defensive move by Alaska to counter moves by other airlines to connect Anchorage non-stop to vacation cities in the lower 48.
The airline announced this month that beginning in early March next year, it will use 76-passenger Q400 turboprop planes to fly between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Those planes will be operated by Horizon Air, Alaska’s regional airline subsidiary. Those flights, however, will be branded …