The first daily, direct flights to and from San Luis Obispo and Seattle began Thursday with a party at the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.
The Alaska Airlines direct flight leaves the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport each morning at 8 a.m. and arrives in San Luis Obispo at 10:42 a.m. The return flight will depart San Luis Obispo at noon, destined to arrive at Sea-Tac at 2:38 p.m.
Passengers will be carried on a 76-seat, two-cabin Embraer 175, which is similar to a Boeing 737.
Alaska Airlines spokesperson Eloisa Valdez said Seattle is an easy city to find connections to other places.
“You can fly to Alaska connecting that same day. You can fly to Canada. So it gives you, the people at San Luis Obispo an option,” Valdez said.
SLO County Airport officials recently announced daily direct flights to Denver, Colorado will start in June.
KCBX Correspondent Tom Wilmer contributed to this story.