Alaska Airlines is discontinuing two routes and suspending another as it shifts its focus towards leisure travel markets.

Just days after revealing a significant expansion of its route map, Alaska Airlines is back with another update, this time focusing on cuts.

The Seattle-based airline announced plans over the weekend to eliminate two routes from its network and suspend one more, as initially reported by Cirium schedules and later verified by a spokesperson for the airline.

Alaska will no longer operate the San Diego to Cancun route and the Orange County, California to Bozeman, Montana route, effective immediately. These flights were initially expected to return for the winter season, but Alaska has informed TPG that they will be "removed from our schedules going forward."

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Moreover, the airline has halted its service between Los Angeles and Bozeman. This route was also intended to run during the winter season but is now suspended indefinitely. Alaska is no longer offering tickets for this nonstop route, although the airline informed TPG that these flights are "suspended," suggesting they may return in a future season.

Alaska attributed the route cuts to a "continuous evaluation of our route network." The carrier did not elaborate further, but the adjustments came shortly after announcing a significant 18-route expansion last week.

The expansion mainly aims to connect travelers to popular leisure destinations during the winter, with new routes added to places like Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, and Monterrey in Mexico, along with ski towns across North America such as Vail — a new addition for the airline — Reno, and Kelowna in British Columbia.

Historically, flights from Los Angeles and Orange County to Bozeman have catered to a West Coast carrier's efforts to enhance regional connectivity for leisure travelers. Alaska has a strong presence in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego, and Bozeman is gaining popularity due to its closeness to Yellowstone National Park and Big Sky Resort.

Given this, Alaska likely determined that its 18 new markets would be significantly more profitable than continuing to operate these three existing flights for another season.

Part of the reasoning might stem from Alaska's agreement with Apple Vacations to purchase a block of seats on each flight, making them profitable even without selling tickets to the public, as first reported by Brian Sumers of The Airline Observer.

Another possibility is that these routes underperformed. According to Department of Transportation data analyzed by Cirium, an average of only 34 passengers per day traveled between Orange County and Bozeman in the first quarter of this year, resulting in an average load factor of around 50% for a 76-seat Embraer 175 regional jet.

With Alaska exiting, the Orange County-to-Bozeman and San Diego-to-Cancun routes will lack any airline service. Travelers wanting nonstop flights between these destinations will have to drive to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) or arrange a one-stop connection from their home airport.

Meanwhile, American, Delta, and United already operate the Los Angeles to Bozeman route. Given the intense competition, it appears logical for Alaska to swap this Bozeman route for a new one from Boise, which will launch on December 19 as part of the major 18-route expansion announced last week.

Currently, there are no other airlines offering service from Boise to Bozeman.