Just a day after making some high-profile cuts to its network, Alaska Airlines is out with a big expansion in San Diego.

Alaska Airlines plans to launch this year three new routes from San Diego and increase frequencies on some other routes to and from the city, the carrier announced Tuesday.

How would I get there? Enter Alaska Airlines’ new direct flight from San Diego to Vail. I’d be taking the airline’s first nonstop trip between the beach and mountains, a sub-two-hour hop ...