Alaska Launches Daily "Nerd Bird" Between San Jose And Austin

September 10, 2009 at 4:48 PM | by Omri | Comments (0)

Silicon Valley commuters were positively inconsolable earlier this summer when American Airlines put an end to their "nerd bird" flights, the route between San Jose and Austin. Happy times will soon be here again, though, because Alaska Airlines has committed to picking up the slack:

Alaska Airlines today will inaugurate nonstop service between San Jose, Calif., and Austin, Texas, officially resurrecting the popular "nerd bird" route. The flight will originate in Portland, Ore., and the airline will add another daily flight between the three cities starting March 14, 2010. "This route is a natural extension of our network and provides a vital link between these high-tech hubs," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience.

The first flight involves a Boeing 737-700 dubbed "Wi-Fi One" because - and we quote - "it seems only fitting to offer our tech-savvy passengers a way to stay connected to what matters most to them while in the air." The press release goes on to note that passengers will be able to connect to "Virtual Private Networks," which we imagine they inserted into the release because one of the CEOs has a nephew who told him that that's what the kids are into.

There's still only one daily flight, starting every morning in Portland. The flight will leave Portland at 6:20am, leave San Jose at 8:55am, and land in Austin at 2:15pm. Then out of Austin at 3pm, out of San Jose at 5:25pm, and touchdown in Portland at 7:10pm. The second daily flight - the one starting on March 14th - will be leaving Portland in the afternoons.

[Photo: Alaskan Dude]

Related Stories:
· 'Nerd Bird' Flies Again: Alaska Airlines Inaugurates San Jose-Austin Service [Reuters]
· Alaska Airlines Coverage [Jaunted]
· SJC Coverage [Jaunted]

Jaunted

Select a Destination:

In-Flight WiFi / Alaska Airlines / Airlines / Airline News / SJC / AUS / PDX / → All Tags