Alaska Airlines runs squirrely sales, like discounts tied to the number of Russell Wilson touchdowns, but customers can benefit if they pay attention (and if sports results break just right).
Right now airlines might as well try anything, because although over 1 million people crossed through TSA checkpoints on Sunday that’s still down over 60% year-over-year. So Alaska is at it with a new sale based on the height of waves in California and Hawaii.
For bookings October 20 – 23, and travel through February 10, 2021, Alaska will offer 10% – 30% off. They call them “Swell Deals”:
- 0-3 foot waves: 10%
- 4-6 foot waves: 15%
- 7-12 foot waves: 20%
- 13+ foot waves: 30%
Discounts are valid to or from Hawaii and California destinations: Santa Rosa; Oakland; San Francisco; San Jose; Monterey; San Luis Obispo; Santa Barbara; Burbank; Los Angeles; Ontario; Santa Ana; San Diego.
Waves are usually caused by wind but also by the sun’s and moon’s gravitational pull. For Alaska’s sale, Surfline will pull data from San Francisco; Oahu, North Shore; North Orange County, California; Oahu, South Shore; and Santa Cruz, California.
The highest waves determine the discount, which will change each day around Noon Pacific time and 5 p.m. Pacific time. The discount will only get bigger so if they hit a 20% discount with a 7 foot wave right away, 20% will stick (or increase) through Friday. That could be an odd incentive to avoid booking travel until Friday, seeing whether or not the discount gets bigger.
Terms and conditions:
Discount is valid between Alaska Airlines cities in the US and Canada (excluding Prudhoe Bay) and Burbank (BUR), Honolulu (HNL), Kauai (LIH), Kona (KOA), Los Angeles (LAX), Maui (OGG), Monterey (MRY), Oakland (OAK), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA), San Diego (SAN), San Francisco (SFO), San Jose (SJC), San Luis Obispo (SBP), Santa Barbara (SBA), or Santa Rosa (STS). Discount does not apply to government imposed taxes and airport fees. Cannot be combined with other promotions. Valid for up to 6 travelers on the same reservation. Travel is valid from October 20, 2020, through February 10, 2021. Blackout Dates of Nov 21, 24-25, 28-29, 18-20, Dec 23, 26-27, 2020, and Jan 1-4, 2021, apply. Travel on these dates will receive a 10% discount. Valid for new ticket purchases only. Discount code must be applied towards purchase of ticket by 11:59pm (PT) on October 23, 2020.
Great if you want to fly coach which I wont right now on longer flights
On the other hand flights to Hawaii have less than 6 seats sold on select flights example San/HNLetc.Of course not unexpected based on higher fares than the competition.
They need more than a sale to stir up traffic now
Find it hilarious Alaska is charging 80k in miles to Hawaii to travel First Class one way with no seats sold in the cabin.Really?
Or 40 K in miles to fly in first class on American in First Class
.Even revenue First Class is over priced on Alaska.We booked on Hawaiian in a bed for half of what Alaska is asking
Adding insult to injury no gold upgrades can confirm an upgrade and can’t be wait listed
I’m over their program.Probably get much worse once they join One World in March
One pandemic flushed Alaska Air down the toilet Sad
As a holder of both miles in my Alaska account and over 1500 dollars in my wallet account and also their co-branded credit card, I foresee that my future trips to Hawaii have taken on a new patina. Specifically, I started flying to the islands in 1990 and have gone back over 20 times since then. I took my wife there in 2001 for our honeymoon and she thought it was wonderful. Much of that excitement and emotional luster came from the fact that Hawaii was a distant location far, far away.
With the onset of the Covid issue the true nature of what the locals think of mainlanders has come to fruition and has expressed itself as downright prejudice, resentment and hate for the necessary evil we have become to their economy. I for one, as a Mexican-American who has always been thought of as a local because of my looks, knew even in 1990 that this whole “aloha spirit” nonsense was and is nothing more than marketing hype.
Waikiki is overbuilt – but who approved all of this ongoing high-rise construction and permitting more and more budget airlines, i.e. Southwest Air to bring more and more of the kind of cheap non-spending tourist that they regret visiting. If they want to come to grips with this “issue” of the “wrong kind of tourists” visiting then they only have their local city and state government officials to blame. They opened the door and now they must live with it.
This Alaska promo is just the kind of marketing gimmick of which I speak. They long for the high spending champagne crowd while target marketing the beer loving set. This is the tourist crowd they will continue to draw and rely upon while at the same time bad mouthing them. Go figure….