Boise flights to Moscow hit pause for summer. It returns better than before by fall

The Treasure Valley’s only commercial flight to North Idaho is taking a summer sabbatical.

Alaska Airlines, the Boise Airport’s primary air carrier, will pause its nonstop route back and forth from the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport starting in May. The flight is scheduled to return for twice-a-week service in late August.

Alaska, which has flown the Boise route to the regional border-town since summer 2021, plans to shift it to one daily flight starting Oct. 1, according to its online booking calendar. The route will operate every day of the week at least into early February 2025, which is as far out as Alaska currently allows bookings.

“Demand for travel between the two regions declines during the summer months,” Boise Airport spokesperson Sean Briggs told the Idaho Statesman by email. “We are excited to see the service continue this fall when the University of Idaho and Washington State University are back in full swing.”

The Seattle-based airline launched the flight to Pullman, Washington — with the airport located just 6 miles west of the city of Moscow over the state line — after striking a deal with the U of I. The state’s namesake college agreed to subsidize the flight for three years at up to $500,000 annually to guarantee Alaska at least 10% profitability.

The U of I has made the full $500,000 payment to Alaska in each of the first two years of the deal, university spokesperson Jodi Walker told the Statesman. Nearby WSU has an agreement in place to cover up to $100,000 of those annual guarantees to Alaska, WSU spokesperson Phil Weiler said by email.

The third subsidy payment to Alaska comes due at the end of the contract, which lapses in August.

“The relationship with Alaska Air continues to be a great one, and we value their continued support of the direct flight between Moscow and Boise,” Walker said by email. “With the universities out of session for the summer, these flights are much harder to fill. The flight schedules are up to Alaska to set, and this in no way violates the contract. We look forward to our continued partnership and for the flights to resume in the fall as students return to our campuses on the Palouse.”

She said she was unsure whether negotiations were underway for an extension of the contract with the airline.

Boise’s in-state flights historically struggle

The Pullman-Moscow flight is the Boise Airport’s lone intrastate route among the 26 nonstop destinations its nine commercial airlines fly. Alaska travels to half of them, making it Boise’s lead air carrier.

Routes within Idaho remain a priority for the airport on its list of target destinations. The others include: Anchorage, Alaska; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Honolulu; New York City; Orlando; and Washington, D.C.

But past in-state flights have failed to take hold.

Alaska at the end of 2022 folded a flight between Boise and Idaho Falls after just six months because of labor costs, staffing shortages and low booking numbers, an Alaska spokesperson told the Statesman at the time. The airline hadn’t operated the route since 2010 before giving it another shot more than a decade later.

In summer 2018, Alaska also previously ceased a flight between Boise and Lewiston when it chose to consolidate operations 25 miles north in Pullman, KLEW-TV in Lewiston reported.

In each case, ticket sales for both flights averaged only about half the plane’s capacity, or what is known in the industry as load factor, Briggs said. That isn’t sustainable for an airline to maintain a route, he said.

“While the airport has had success in recruiting nonstop service within Idaho, there are several factors that go into airlines halting flights, including not aligning with their network, fleet changes and load factors,” Briggs said. “For those flights to be successful, the airlines need to see greater demand from passenger traffic into and out of Boise associated with those regions.”

Alaska’s final Boise-to-Pullman flight is May 13. It returns on Aug. 23 before transitioning to daily service in the fall.

Alaska did not respond to a list of questions about the route from the Statesman.

In the interim, Treasure Valley air travelers who need to get north can fly aboard Alaska’s daily nonstop flights between Boise and Spokane, Washington. The eastern Washington city is located 30 miles west of the Idaho border.

When Alaska restores its nonstop flight to Pullman, air travelers will arrive at the airport’s new 50,000-square foot terminal. The $90 million project is expected to open to the public by this summer, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

“The students will be welcomed into the new terminal, which will further enhance the experience,” Walker said. “I cannot speak for Alaska, but we certainly look forward to them continuing a direct flight.”