New and increased flights bring more international travelers to Alaska

Russia’s Yakutia Airlines is new to Alaska (Alexander Sizov - airliners.net)

New and increased services to Alaska by several international airlines have been announced, allowing even more international travelers to visit. Russia’s Yakutia Airlines is completely new to the state offering seven summer flights to Anchorage from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Korean Air will operate flights between Japan and Alaska for the first time (four summer flights) joining its current seven summer flights from Korea to Alaska. Japan Airlines will start service from a few new cities (Naha, Kagoshima, Matsuyama, Okayama, and Niigata), offering 21 summer flights. German airline Condor has increased its total number of flights to 73 this summer. According to a new state research study released in April by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, international visitation to Alaska is on the rise, increasing 10 percent to 154,000 visitors during the summer of 2011. Australia recently topped the United Kingdom as the primary origin of international visitors, followed by Europe and Asia. For more information on visiting Alaska, go to www.TravelAlaska.com.