Alaska depends on aviation. Much of the state is wilderness, from the tundra of the north to the forests and mountain peaks of the south and central, and of course the remote island chain that extends deep out into the Pacific.
Dotted throughout the vast landscape are dozens of communities, ranging from modest towns of several thousand inhabitants to villages with several dozen. In many cases, especially during the winter, air travel is the only way to reliably connect to the bigger cities like Anchorage and Fairbanks. To meet that need, a plethora of small airlines exist to shuttle people and cargo around the state.
I’ve been interested in Aleutian Airways in particular for a few years now, after they popped up in late 2022 with a fleet of rare Saab 2000s turboprops. The airline operates out of Anchorage, with a small route map of seven destinations.
During a recent trip, I had enough time to book a short adventure to finally check them off the list. I settled on the shortest route on the map, Kenai. This was partly for connection reasons, as it was the easiest place to fly in on one airline and out on Aleutian. But it was also price: Kenai was half the cost of the next-most expensive option in their network.
Booking on the carrier’s website is a typical process. They offer three fare buckets: basic, standard and fully refundable. With no bags on this turn and burn adventure, I booked basic. Seat choice is free, and I popped myself into 4A.
After having landed in Kenai, I headed straight for the check-in counter, where a friendly agent printed a ticket in no time. The only major difference was having to share my weight, a requirement common with smaller (or very lightly loaded) aircraft. There is no security checkpoint at this airport, as all three carriers serving the airport operate under Part 135, which does not require it.
With an hour still to go, I decided to explore. As far as small airports go, Kenai Municipal is surprisingly large. A gift shop and small restaurant were both closed for the day, but a quirky, nautical-themed bar on the second floor was open. With a good view of the airfield and fun theming, I sat down to grab a drink.
The airport was pretty busy, even though it was already well into the off season. All three carriers came and went while I nursed a ginger beer, and the information board showed flights continuing well into the evening. A local told me this was nothing, and that during the popular fishing/hunting season there’s twice as many flights. And all of them, they insisted, were packed to the gills.
Today’s flight would not be quite so full. Fourteen passengers lined up at Gate 1 as boarding began. Like many smaller airports there aren’t any jet bridges (the last jet service in Kenai was in the mid-80s), replaced instead by a short walk out to the waiting airplane.
Aleutian operates the largest aircraft on this route by a mile, with the 45-seat Saab. Both of its competitors utilize far smaller 11-seat aircraft, which probably explains how the otherwise mid-size town supports all three carriers.
In any case, the Saab is still a small airplane. The 1-2 configuration is similar to the E145, in that taller folks have to duck a bit as they walk up the aisle.
The seats themselves aren’t much to see, basically a thermoplastic bucket with some padding. There’s a small fold-down tray table and a literature pocket for the safety card and sick bag.
Seat width is the commuter-aircraft standard of 17”, plus a 3” recline. On the plus side, legroom is 32” and the padding is a bit more substantial than it looks, making the seat above average for a commuter aircraft.
There’s no in-seat power, IFE or Wi-Fi, but it is the only plane on these shorter routes that comes with both a flight attendant and a restroom. Which is not nothing. They also have an inflight magazine (swoon), though my seat’s copy was missing (sad).
After a safety briefing from the flight attendant, the pilots fired up the engines.
With no real load to speak of, the plane leapt off the runway, quickly climbing to a low cruising altitude of 5000ft. We stayed there for six whole minutes before beginning the descent into Anchorage, with wheels on the ground only 18 minutes after departure.
As you probably guessed, that meant there was no inflight service. On longer flights, which includes literally every other route in their network, they do a typical snack and drink service. I’m told their speciality is a rice Krispie treat.
In the end, it’s the fastest way to get to Kenai from Anchorage. Aleutian’s competitor’s aircraft all fly at half the speed (not that 30 minutes is really all that much more than 18), and driving is three hours in good weather. Of course it comes at a steep price (from $115), but nearly everything does up here.
Most of the rest of Aleutian’s network extends out into the islands of its namesake, connecting Anchorage to further flung places like Cold Bay and Dutch Harbor. The routes are very expensive, often pricing out in the low four figures for a roundtrip. But when the only other option is a multi-day ferry ride across notoriously choppy seas, I’d take the plane every time.
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All images credited to the author, Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren
