Good read
https://crankyflier.com/2025/10/27/2...san-francisco/
The “Alaska is leaving SFO” framing still doesn’t match what Cranky Flier actually reported.
Cranky was explicit: “With all of this growth, there had to be losers.” That’s not opinion; that’s a fleet constraint. Alaska is only getting six new 737s next year, due to MAX delivery delays, which left the us with fewer aircraft than planned. That forced capacity reallocation whether anyone liked it or not.
Leadership also said the SFO and LAX cuts are “all about opportunity.” In plane (get it lol) terms, this is chasing higher margin flying. Alaska is reallocating scarce aircraft to PDX and SAN, where incremental capacity improves unit revenue, network relevance, and competitive positioning and building market and taking the fight to southwest. Everybody wants Alaska to not tuck tail and run. They are choosing their opponent smartly why go after a Goliath in sfo when you can take on southwest in a wealthy high yield market that is SAN. SFO, by contrast, is a highly competitive, lower margin environment where additional flying delivers diminishing returns.
Cranky’s line that they focused on markets that can be “sacrificed” is the key business insight. SFO represents sunk cost flying routes where pulling capacity doesn’t materially harm the network because demand is already served by multiple competitors. From a capital standpoint, it’s rational to redeploy aircraft from lower return, defensive markets to places where margins and scale improve.
This isn’t a retreat or a statement. It’s finite airplanes + margin optimization under delivery constraints. Airlines don’t allocate aircraft to preserve presence; they allocate them to maximize returns. And it’s a business its sole purpose is make money.
And since this is strictly about margins and yield discipline, the implication cuts both ways. If Alaska can consistently identify and pursue higher return flying, then it can also afford to put a credible JCBA on the table. Strong yield performance and disciplined capital deployment are exactly what support an industry leading JCBA. They can afford to pay us UA rates, 18 long call and cap conversions
It’s not personal. It’s not symbolic. It’s just business.