With more and more people receiving the Covid-19 vaccination, travel is returning somewhat to normal. But what defines the “new normal” is still up for interpretation. For many people, especially as school gets out, travel is top of mind. Road trips, or going camping outside of Boise or even to the Oregon Coast, become top priorities for many families.
For the wanderlusts, however, travel is a farther adventure. It means getting on an airplane and going to someplace new, someplace exciting, someplace fun. Airplane travel has been somewhat limited for the past year and a half. I had to cancel several trips last year and earlier this year, but I am a bit more optimistic as each week and month goes by.
“Want to get out of Boise? Here are your options
Alaska Airlines: Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Alaska has recently announced an expansion of their Boise schedule. I used their Route Map function to find the flights from Boise. You can use it to find all the flights from your favorite city or cities. Here are the non-stop destinations on Alaska from Boise: Austin; Chicago-O’Hare; Dallas-Fort Worth; Los Angeles, Portland (OR); Sacramento; San Diego; San Jose (CA); Seattle; Spokane.
Allegiant: This airline began its operations with seasonal weekly flights to and from Hawaii. This made it very convenient for travelers to get on a non-stop flight to one of the islands, but the once-a-week flight wasn’t convenient from a planning point of view. Advertising its service as “Cheap Flights” isn’t the most comforting for many passengers. From Boise, it flies to Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Orange County; Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, along with its seasonal service to Nashville and Palm Springs.
American Airlines: It seems that American has had a love/hate relationship with Boise for a long time. They would have a flight from here to DFW, but then they would pull it. Finally, after acquiring US Air, they now have some [what appear to be] permanent routes, although not many. They only two destinations that are not seasonal (such as Chicago-O’Hare) are Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix-Sky Harbor.
Delta Airlines: Commonly referred to as just “Delta,” it’s a legacy air carrier that is based in Atlanta, Georgia. It, along with Alaska and United, is one of the three major airlines that has consistently served Boise for the past twenty-five years. From Boise, it flies non-stop to (of course) Atlanta, but also to Los Angeles; Minneapolis (since ti acquired Northwest Airlines); Salt Lake City, and Seattle.
Southwest Airlines: Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Southwest is the world’s largest low-cost air carrier. An interesting business model (fly only one type of aircraft and go into the smaller airports), Southwest built quite the cult following. Flying on 737s allowed them to have a lower maintenance cost structure, but it really hurt them when all the 737-MAX airplanes were grounded following two fatal crashes. They have grown organically and by absorbing smaller local airlines. From Boise, Southwest flies to Denver; Las Vegas; Oakland; Phoenix-Sky Harbor; Sacramento; San Diego; San Jose (CA), along with seasonal service to Chicago-Midway; Dallas-Love Field, and Orange County.
United Airlines: Headquartered in Chicago, United is one of the world’s major airlines, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance of international airlines. I started flying on United in 1994 after I moved to Boise, and my employer was the airline’s biggest customer. So naturally that’s the airline I flew on and where all my business even since early retirement has gone. I enjoy the lifetime perks I have received as one who’s flown millions of miles with them. Out of Boise, United flies to Chicago-O’Hare; Denver; Houston; Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Those are the six carriers with year-round flights from Boise. JetBlue and Frontier offer seasonal routings, but it’s best to check with them directly for destinations and schedules.
Wherever you are headed this summer, whether it’s camping a few miles out of Boise, to the coast, or somewhere international, I hope your travels are safe and enjoyable!