Alaska Airlines has announced the upcoming launch of a new route to Canada. As of May 16, 2024, the airline will offer daily flights between Seattle (SEA) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
This route will become the sixth destination in Canada for Alaska Airlines, and it also comes on the heels of the announcement of a new partnership with Porter Airlines.
Alaska Airlines’s New Seattle–Toronto Route
As of May 16, 2024, Alaska Airlines will operate daily flights between Seattle (SEA) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ).
Toronto will become the Seattle-based airline’s sixth destination, which comes in addition to flights to Victoria (YYJ), Vancouver (YVR), Kelowna (YLW), Calgary (YYC), and Edmonton (YEG).
In the 1990s, Alaska Airlines operated flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ); however, this new route announcement becomes the airline’s first destination in Eastern Canada from Seattle.
Eastbound from Seattle, the flight is blocked at 4 hours 35 minutes, while the westbound flights from Toronto are scheduled to run 5 hours 15 minutes.
The new route will operate year-round, and the flight times are as follows:
- AS972 Seattle (SEA) to Toronto Pearson (YYZ), departing 7am and arriving 2:40pm
- AS973 Toronto Pearson (YYZ) to Seattle (SEA), departing 3:40pm and arriving 5:55pm
Alaska Airlines plans to operate the Boeing 737-900 aircraft on this route. It’s worth noting that this is a different aircraft than the Boeing 737 MAX 9 that was involved in a safety incident in January 2024.
Passengers will have the choice between two classes of service on this route, with multiple options for the economy cabin.
The flights have been loaded on the Alaska Airlines website, and flights can be booked throughout the schedule.
Booking Alaska Airlines’s New Seattle–Toronto Route
If you have your eye on this new route, it’s available for booking with cash and Alaska miles.
For cash bookings, one-way flights in economy start at around $261 (CAD), and average out at around $388 (CAD) eastbound or $466 (CAD) westbound. In First Class, you can expect to pay around $900–1,000 (CAD) per direction.
You can also book these flights through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, and using the calendar function, it’s easy to see the lowest prices for flights in either class of service.
Flights in economy begin at 10,000 miles; however, the price can rise to 20,000 miles during periods of higher demand.
Flights in First Class, which is for all intents and purposes a North American business class product, start at 25,000 miles, and rise to 50,000 miles for a good portion of the calendar.
We value Alaska miles at 2.1 cents per mile (CAD). When you take the taxes and fees into consideration, you can get a value of over 3 cents per mile for booking on this route in either class of service, assuming you can find prices at the lowest level.
If you’re sitting on a stash of Alaska miles, a booking on this route can result in decent value; however, keep in mind that you might be able to squeeze more value out of your points for long-haul premium bookings instead.
In March 2024, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan will be going through a major transformation, including changes to its award charts. At that point, we project that the “starting at” prices will be set at 12,500 miles in economy and 40,000 miles in First Class.
Therefore, if you plan on booking this route, you may wish to do so before the changes take effect, as it could result in lower award pricing.
Conclusion
Alaska Airlines will begin year-round daily service between Seattle (SEA) and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) on May 16, 2024.
Passengers can choose between two classes of service on this route, which will be operated by the Boeing 737-900 aircraft.
The flights are available to be booked throughout the schedule, either using cash or Alaska miles.
