Ravn Alaska customers will now have more flight options when flying in western Alaska. Starting today, Ravn passengers can take a direct, round-trip flight from Anchorage to Kotzebue.
Jim Hickerson is the President of Hageland Aviation, one of the three airlines that make up Ravn Alaska. He says the timing and the market were right for Ravn to add this new flight for people flying in the region.
“It was an excellent opportunity to bring a flight in to Kotzebue direct from Anchorage and work together with Hageland Aviation and Corvis to provide good customer service there for our passengers,” Hickerson said.
Dash-8 planes with room for 29 to 37 seats will be used to take passengers to Kotzebue and back to Anchorage.
Ravn’s customers on this plane, who Hickerson refers to as “one-stop shoppers,” will be able to catch this flight in the middle of the day and land in time for their connecting flight to whichever community they call home.
“That’s one of the very positive things about this new service is that a passenger — much like our other villages/communities we serve — a passenger will be able to come in on the morning flight from their village and make a connecting flight on the Dash flight going to Anchorage in the same day,” Hickerson said. “And likewise, when they come home in the afternoon, they’ll be able to land in Kotzebue from Anchorage and likewise make the afternoon flights and be able to come home.”
This does not require hiring more staff, but instead, Ravn is sharing the load of an added flight across its existing team of pilots and ten Dash planes.
The first direct flight from Anchorage to Kotzebue departed at 10:15am this morning.
