Seattle becomes RDU’s third West Coast non-stop destination

Alaska Airlines will start daily non-stop service between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Seattle, beginning Oct. 1.

“Our loyal customers tell us they want new and exciting non-stop destinations, and we are listening,” John Kirby, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of capacity planning, said in a news release. The Seattle-based airline also announced non-stops from Seattle to Charleston, S.C., and Nashville, Tenn.

“The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority is excited to welcome Alaska Airlines to our community,” Mike Landguth, the RDU Airport Authority CEO, said in a news release. “Service to Seattle has been at the top of our list of most wanted destinations and rounds out the service now offered from RDU to the West Coast.”

More than 146,000 passengers travel between RDU and Seattle each year, many of them with ties to biotechnology and life sciences industries.

RDU also has non-stop flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Along with Seattle, surveys of local travelers point to San Diego as a desired West Coast destination, along with overseas service to Paris and Frankfurt.

Alaska Airlines will use a 163-seat Boeing 737 for its 7-days-a-week service, departing RDU at 5:50 p.m. and arriving in Seattle at 9 p.m. The return flight leaves Seattle at 8:40 a.m. and arrives at RDU at 4:50 p.m.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Seattle becomes RDU’s third West Coast non-stop destination."