Alaska Airlines Launches Nonstop Service Between San Diego and Atlanta

Updated: October 14, 2025, 7:35am CDT

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Nonstop Service Begins May 2024
How To Book
Final Thoughts

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It’s been an exciting day at Alaska Airlines, as the Seattle-based carrier has launched a new route between San Diego (SAN) and Atlanta (ATL).

Let’s take a look at the new route!

Nonstop Service Begins May 2024

Alaska says it will begin daily nonstop service between San Diego and Atlanta. The flight will depart San Diego in mid-morning and arrive in Atlanta in the late afternoon. The flight will then return to San Diego in the early evening.

The new flight looks like it will be operated on Alaska’s Boeing 737-900, which has 16 first-class seats, 24 premium-class seats, and 138 coach seats.

This announcement bumps the number of nonstop destinations served by Alaska at San Diego to 37. The route begins flying on May 16, 2024.

Alaska Airlines over Seattle — An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft. Image Credit: Alaska Airlines

In a statement, Alaska said it wanted to offer more nonstop routes from San Diego, California’s second-largest city. San Diego is also the state’s third-busiest airport, behind Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO).

“Not only are San Diego and Atlanta popular destinations for leisure travelers, but both are also major business hubs. We’re excited to connect the cities, especially since Atlanta is our largest unserved transcontinental market from San Diego.”

Bottom Line:

This new route competes directly with Delta Air Lines, whose global hub is Atlanta. Delta offers daily, nonstop service between San Diego and Atlanta.

How To Book

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased directly from Alaska Airlines.

Flights are available starting at $169 each way if booking with cash. But this is also a great time to use your Alaska Airlines MileagePlan miles — tickets start at just 20,000 miles each way, plus taxes and fees. In comparison, Delta flights on the same route start at 27,000 SkyMiles each way for the same dates next year.

You can earn Alaska miles by flying the airline, transferring points from Marriott Bonvoy, or dining out with Mileage Plan Dining.

Final Thoughts

This is without a doubt a strategic add from Alaska Airlines, as it hopes to chip away at Delta loyalists on either side of this route on the heels of Delta’s massive SkyMiles changes. In fact, Alaska also announced a status match opportunity aimed squarely at Delta’s elite flyers.

And with award rates being quite a bit cheaper than Delta’s, this will be an exciting route to watch when it begins next year!