Domestic air travel is booming. In late October, TSA checkpoints recorded the highest single-day number of screened passengers (opens in new tab) since March 2020, or almost 2.5 million fliers. But the way people fly is changing, as carriers add monthly payment plans (opens in new tab), the ability to lock in fares (opens in new tab) and even pay-by-month subscription services (opens in new tab) that allow travelers to book multiple roundtrip flights at a fixed monthly rate.
This week, Alaska Airlines announced that its Flight Pass Program (opens in new tab) will expand to cover flights from San Francisco to Salt Lake City, a burgeoning tech hub whose fortunes have risen (opens in new tab) even as layoffs mount.
The timing also coincides with the opening of the winter sport season. If you’re an avid snowboarder, this Tahoe’s slopes are hoping for some much-needed snow, but many of Utah’s ski resorts are projected to open (opens in new tab) in the coming weeks.
Payment plans and subscription services are proving popular with younger cohorts of frequent fliers, such as college students.
Alaska in particular seems to be expanding its presence in Northern California. Earlier this year, the carrier brought on Bay Area coffee entrepreneur and breakout TikTok star Nick Cho as a spokesperson. Cho, a cofounder of Wrecking Ball Coffee, led an effort to nudge Berkeley’s North Shattuck neighborhood to drop a racist nickname (opens in new tab) designed to attract upscale foodies. But Gen Z might know Cho best from his genial “Your Korean Dad (opens in new tab)” videos.
And if your inner child yearns for a pre-flight flapjack, SFGate reported that Alaska Airlines’s lounge at SFO comes with an automatic pancake maker (opens in new tab).