Alaska Airlines has dropped prices for flights from Seattle to Portland, providing an alternative for holiday travelers impacted by the derailment of an Amtrak train that has blocked all of Interstate 5, near DuPont, Wash.
Earlier today, a Seattle to Portland flight cost $214 on Alaska, and now it is $99 following the decision to cut fares. For ticket-buyers, the new price doesn’t show up right away, but does appear when a flight is added to a customer’s cart on the website.
We have dropped all fares for today and tomorrow. We do have a hiccup on our website, but if you place in cart and check-out, the new lower price will be there. Thanks for sharing. -Michael
— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) December 18, 2017
It is unclear how long the discounted fares will last. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency, and I-5 will be closed through at least the rest of Monday, and possibly beyond.
Washington State Patrol reports that the 13 train cars derailed on the Mounts Road overpass about 50 miles south of Seattle. Amtrack said there were about 78 passengers and five crew members on board the train that derailed and tumbled from the bridge, hitting five vehicles and two trucks on the freeway below the bridge.
Amtrak says it was train No. 501, which was making its inaugural trip from Seattle to Portland. It was also the inaugural trip of the new $181 million Point Defiance Bypass project, which shifts trains to a new route along I-5.
