Northern Pacific Airways (Anchorage Ted Stevens) has announced the extension of its "highly successful flights" between Ontario International, California, and Las Vegas Harry Reid, through October 2, 2023, the introduction of more B757-200s, and is planning services to Mexico in the IATA winter.

Chief Executive Officer Rob McKinney informed ch-aviation by email that the route between Las Vegas and Ontario, east of Los Angeles, has "a very steep booking curve, so the normal need to have a long lead schedule is not as necessary".

"We are about a week from adding the second plane, but even then, it is a small fleet," he added. "We are getting more and more charter requests and are still working on a Mexico service for this winter. We are choosing to just do short-term schedules Los Angeles [Ontario]-Vegas to give ourselves more flexibility into the fall, based on the timing of the arrival of the third plane and work already on the books," he explained.

Northern Pacific Airways already has four B757-200s owned by its parent, FLOAT Alaska, which also owns regional carrier Ravn Alaska (Anchorage Ted Stevens). McKinney heads all three companies and other Alaska-based ventures. He said the dates for the next two B757-200s to enter into service would be December 2023 for N629NP (msn 27810) currently in maintenance at Jacksonville Cecil Field, FL; and March 2024 for N630NP (msn 27811) currently stored at Roswell.

On August 24, the airline announced its autumn schedule, defying earlier media reports flagging it would stop selling tickets after August and raising doubt about the start-up's future. It said flights would operate three times a week, on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Previously, the carrier operated the route twice weekly on Fridays and Sundays before expanding the schedule.

"Building on the momentum of a fantastic summer, we are delighted to introduce our exciting fall schedule. Flights on this popular route are available for booking through October 2, 2023, and we can't wait to take you on this unforgettable journey," the airline said.

Following numerous delays and plan changes, Northern Pacific Airways commenced operations on the Ontario-Las Vegas route on July 14, 2023, with one B757-200, N628NP (msn 27809).

The airline initially intended to operate flights between the US and Asia with a layover in Anchorage Ted Stevens, but had to change its plans due to ETOPS limitations resulting from the air space closure due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Northern Pacific Airways announced it would operate charters in addition to schedules, in line with a partnership with Air Planning, a large group air charter broker.