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Alaska Airlines has announced that it’s opening a new pilot base. As reported by the Anchorage Daily News, the carrier will be basing Boeing 737 pilots at San Diego International Airport beginning in June 2026. This comes as Alaska Airlines continues to build up its presence in San Diego, and the airport is now Alaska Airlines’ fastest-growing hub.
Alaska Airlines primarily focuses its operations in Seattle-Tacoma, and it also has secondary options in Portland, Anchorage, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The carrier has been struggling in Los Angeles and San Francisco compared to its other operations, while its build-up in San Diego has been rapid and so far, lucrative. As such, the carrier is now making a firm commitment to maintaining the city as a hub.
A New Base For Alaska Airlines Pilots
Alaska Airlines has announced that it’s opening a Boeing 737 pilot base at San Diego International Airport. Bidding will take place between December 15 and December 28, and the results will be announced on January 6, 2026. The new base will officially become operational on June 1, 2026.
In total, Alaska Airlines intends to place 70 first officers and 80 captains in San Diego, for a total of 150 pilots. In addition, the carrier intends to place another 100 pilots later in 2026, with the transfer to take effect in the fall. Pilot bases are not always indicative of an airline’s desire to establish a hub (United has pilot bases in Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Orlando to save on hotel costs), but Alaska has been steadily growing its San Diego operations.
Alaska Airlines has long been focused on the Pacific Northwest, but the carrier’s main hub in Seattle-Tacoma has become capacity-constrained. The airline is shifting some flights to Portland, but it’s also made a serious effort to compete in Southern California. It inherited operations in Los Angeles and San Francisco from Virgin America, but these have been challenging environments for Alaska Airlines. Part of the growth in 
San Diego International Airport will be coming from pilot displacements in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Alaska Airlines’ Strategy In California
Most airline hubs are positioned geographically to capture domestic traffic flows and are located in relatively large cities to take advantage of local demand. Alaska Airlines, however, is different in its network strategy. Seattle is the main hub, while Portland serves as the backup hub to Seattle. Anchorage is the main hub for the state of Alaska. The California hubs were inherited from Virgin America.
Alaska Airlines uses its two California bases mainly for local travel rather than as a traditional connecting hub. San Diego is also being built up in a similar manner. San Diego doesn’t have the same level of local demand as San Francisco or Los Angeles, but at the same time, it has far less competition. The only competitor in San Diego is Southwest Airlines.
Southwest is larger than Alaska Airlines in San Diego, but Southwest as a whole has been struggling with making profits and retaining a loyal customer base. Alaska Airlines has high customer loyalty and is one of the most-liked airlines in the entire country. As such, while it’s premature to determine whether Alaska can push Southwest out of San Diego, the carrier certainly has a high chance to claw market share away from Southwest.
LAX’s 5 Largest Airlines Based On Market Share
The airport handles millions of passengers annually.
Alaska Airlines’ Struggles In California
Alaska Airlines ultimately inherited its California hubs from Virgin America, a carrier that struggled to make money for much of its existence. But the reasons as to why Virgin America struggled to compete in Los Angeles and San Francisco are largely the same as those why Alaska Airlines is having difficulties today. The carrier is cutting pilot staffing by roughly 25% in both airports, with the displaced pilots going to San Diego.
Los Angeles is a bloodbath. It has intense competition from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, all of which are similarly sized with little real advantages over one another. San Francisco, meanwhile, is dominated by United Airlines, which has an extensive domestic network and a massive network to Asia. This makes it difficult for Alaska Airlines to compete, especially when considering how important loyalty and credit card revenue are to airlines.
