Why Newark Airport Gives Alaska Airlines a Bad Name

An Alaska Airlines flight arriving into EWR as a United 757 takes off (Jamsheed Motafram).

Lately when I returned to Seattle from Newark on my trip to New York, I had an awful experience flying out of there mainly due to the long lines at security, the crowded terminal and how poorly maintained it was. But not only that, I felt like Alaska’s check-in process was very rough at EWR because they do not have as strong of a presence there compared to JFK. Which is why I believe that Alaska should move out of EWR to focus more on their JFK operations. In my opinion, the factors that favor JFK are Alaska’s Oneworld allegiance, the terminal that Alaska inherited from the Virgin America Merger as well as United’s expansion at EWR.

Alaska’s Oneworld Commitment

A British Airways and Air France 777 at EWR. Even though British Airways flies to EWR, they have a larger presence at JFK, which would be more advantageous for Alaska (Jamsheed Motafram).

Unlike JFK, EWR doesn’t have as strong of a Oneworld presence. As a result, Alaska Airlines is at the mercy of United Airlines due in large part to them having a hub over there. Contrast this with Delta, who recognized this with Skyteam and decided to focus more on adding flights at JFK or LGA. Coincidentally, with the legacy carriers (Delta, American and United) all reducing their capacity in the New York Metropolitan area, it would be the perfect opportunity for Alaska to restructure their operations in the Big Apple.

American Airlines and Qatar Airways 777s at JFK. By focusing more on JFK, Alaska and/or Oneworld frequent fliers would have more connections to choose from at JFK (Jamsheed Motafram).

Even though we consumers would suffer because this would result in higher airfares, it would make sense for Alaska from a business perspective. The reason being so is because it would allow them to have more control on the prices that they set. Despite these higher prices however, frequent fliers with Alaska or any of their Oneworld partners can get more bang for their buck if they want to connect on Alaska through JFK if they want to fly to the West Coast. On the other hand, if you fly through EWR, you’ll have less choices when it comes to Oneworld flights. But there is another key advantage that can allow Alaska to expand at JFK.

Inheritance from Virgin America

An Alaska More to Love A321Neo at San Diego. By acquiring Virgin America, Alaska added more flights into JFK (Jamsheed Motafram).

When Alaska Airlines merged with Virgin America, the Seattle based airline inherited the gates in Terminal 7 at JFK International, which allowed Alaska to expand with more flights into JFK despite JFK not being a focus city for Virgin America. This allowed Alaska to also add their own lounge thus giving frequent fliers a better option to have a layover in NYC unlike EWR which doesn’t have any lounges for Alaska.

An Alaska 737 at Seattle Tacoma (Jamsheed Motafram).

Not to mention that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey along with the New York state government are putting more money in renovating the airport which could be a monkey wrench in Alaska’s New York plans in the short run. This is due in part to JFK Millennium Partners (who manage terminal 7 at JFK) planning to demolish Terminal 7 in 2028 to make way for an expanded terminal 6. However when complete, it would allow Alaska to expand in earnest into the 2030s which would allow them to make the jump to JFK as United begins to ramp up operations at EWR.

United's Ambitious Expansion Plans

Various United aircraft at EWR. As the COVID crisis starts to subside, United began making ambitious expansion plans and EWR is where the Chicago based carrier wants to expand (Jamsheed Motafram).

As the COVID pandemic is largely behind us, United seized the opportunity to expand their transatlantic operations at a massive scale. With Terminal A scheduled to complete phase 2 of their renovations by this summer, this will add more to United’s already massive expansion plans at EWR. Whether it’s to Stockholm, Dubai, or Malaga, Spain, the Chicago-based carrier is showing no signs of slowing down. So what does that mean for Alaska? Basically it means that it will be more crowded at EWR and it will be harder for them to avoid delays leaving EWR because United as previously mentioned has a stronger presence over there.

A Kansas City Southern locomotive in Seattle. Amtrak supported the merger with Canadian Pacific because of their on-time record with CP unlike Alaska at EWR competing with United (Jamsheed Motafram).

To use a railroad analogy, it’s like how Amtrak has more frequent delays on Union Pacific as opposed to Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad because the former doesn’t prioritize Amtrak on their trackage as opposed to latter. The same problem occurs here at EWR because Alaska and Oneworld have lower priority at EWR as opposed to JFK. Even though JFK is busier, at the very least Oneworld have higher priority due to British Airways’ frequent flights to London as well as the airport being a hub for American. So even though JFK is a busier airport than EWR, it’s the lesser of two evils for Alaska because at least they won’t be at the mercy at United Airlines like how they are at EWR.

Conclusion

A United A320 at EWR (Jamsheed Motafram).

In summary, Alaska Airlines needs to mothball their operations at EWR to focus more on JFK. The changes will take time due to factors outside of their control, but they can start planning right now so by 2028, they can be ready for more expansion at JFK which would allow them to move on from EWR. So, what do you guys think? Should Alaska Airlines leave EWR in the future? Let me know in the comments below and keep looking to the sky!