Alaska Airlines, (NYSE: ALK) is an airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States, near Seattle.[3][4][5] It operates four hubs located at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Portland International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.[6]
History
The airline traces its roots to McGee Airways, which flew its inaugural service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay in 1932 with a Stinson single-engined, three-passenger aircraft. Mergers and acquisitions produced changes in the name and saw business expand throughout Alaska. As of 1942, the airline was known as "Alaska Star Airlines." The name Alaska Airlines was adopted in 1944 having narrowly beat a competitor applying for the name.[7] Alaska Airlines moved to the jet age when it introduced a Convair CV-880 in 1961. Alaska's sister (and wholly owned) airline, Horizon Air, was founded in 1981 to serve communities using routes vacated by larger airlines after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. In 1985, Alaska Air Group was formed as a holding company for Alaska Airlines. A year later the holding company acquired Horizon Air and Jet America Airlines, which merged into Alaska Airlines in 1987. The airline employs 9,866 staff (at March 2007).[8]
Destinations
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Alaska's route system spans more than 92 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. During the 1980s Alaska Airlines operated a unique interchange of aircraft and aircrews to Texas with first, Braniff International and subsequently American Airlines, after the demise of the colorful Dallas based carrier in 1982. The airline operated charter flights to the Russian Far East starting in the late 1960s, and was known for the 1988 Friendship Flight to Provideniya that broke the old Soviet border.citation needed The airline began scheduled operations to the Russian Far East in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, but suspended the service in 1998 following the Russian financial crisis. The airline flew MD-80 aircraft on these routes.
Alaska has historically been one of the largest carriers on the US west coast as well as to and within the State of Alaska, with strong presences in Seattle, Portland, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles Metro Area (serving all five LA-area and three Bay Area major airports). With the delivery of 737 Next-Generation aircraft starting in 1999, Alaska began launching more long-haul flights. In 2000, Alaska started service between Anchorage and Chicago. In 2001, the airline was granted slot exemptions by the Department of Transportation to operate a nonstop flight from Washington National Airport (DCA) to Seattle, which was halted after a few days due to the September 11, 2001 attacks[9]. The service resumed the following year, with an additional flight from Washington National to Seattle added in 2004, as well as new non-stop service between Washington National and Los Angeles.
Other long-haul flights from Seattle were launched starting in 2001, including flights to Washington Dulles (2001[9], route has since stopped), Orlando (2002)[10], Miami (2002)[11], Newark (2002) [12], and Boston (2003)[13]. In October 2007, Alaska Airlines began service to Hawaii and currently provides non-stop service to Honolulu and Kahului, Maui from Seattle and Anchorage as well as service to Lihue, Kauai from Seattle. Alaska recently announced new service from Seattle to Minneapolis/St. Paul beginning October 26, 2008 and to Kona beginning November 17, 2008.
Alaska Airlines' regional carrier, Horizon Air, is closely integrated into Alaska's operations, with Alaska and Horizon sharing many routes. Alaska and Horizon are owned by the same parent company, Alaska Air Group. The airline's frequent flyer program is called Mileage Plan. Alaska Airlines is not part of any of the three major airline alliances, but Mileage Plan airline partners include prominent members of SkyTeam, such as Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Korean Air, Northwest Airlines, KLM, and Air France, as well as members of Oneworld, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas.
Fleet
The Alaska Airlines all-Boeing fleet consists of the following aircraft as of September 2008:[14]
As of September 2008, the average age of Alaska Airlines' fleet is 7.4 years.[15]
On June 15, 2005, Alaska ordered 35 Boeing 737-800 aircraft worth $2.3 billion (at list prices) plus options for 15 additional aircraft and purchase rights for another 50, making it one of the largest orders for the 737-800.[16] The first of these aircraft was delivered in January 2006, with deliveries scheduled to continue for the next six years. The MD-80 was in service for [[Alaska Airlines for more than 30 years from the time of the first delivery.
Inflight services
Meals
- Complimentary meals or light snacks are served to passengers in the first class cabin. Alaska offers various five dollar "Picnic Packs" for coach class on all flights. In 2006 the airline launched its buy on board meal program, known as Northern Bites, on most flights over three hours in length, including all transcontinental flights. [17]
- Since the mid-1970s, Alaska Airlines has included a card with many in-flight meals, which quotes a select verse from the Book of Psalms. [18]
Entertainment
- Alaska Airlines is recognized by the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) as having an "historic first" in Inflight entertainment by introducing in October 2003 the first portable, hard-drive based, audio-video-on-demand (AVOD) players that deliver a variety of film, TV, and audio programs. [19] The device, called the digEplayer was conceived and brought to market by an Alaska Airlines baggage handler named Bill Boyer Jr.[20] [21]
- Alaska Airlines received the "Airline IFE Service of the Year" award at the March 2004 IPEC/LARA Inflight Online Awards Dinner based upon the implementation of the digEplayer, which was awarded "IFE Product of the Year." [22]
- digEplayers are available for rent on most long-haul flights for $10 and can be reserved online. On flights between Seattle and Anchorage and Seattle and Fairbanks, digEplayers are available for $5. They are complimentary to passengers seated in First Class.[23]
Internet access
Board Room
Alaska Airlines' airport lounge is called the Board Room. There are six clubs, all located on the west coast. Board Room members also have access to the Continental Airlines President's Club, Delta Air Lines Crown Room Club, and Northwest Airlines WorldClubs. There are Board Rooms in:
Codeshare agreements
Alaska Airlines does not participate in any major global airline alliances, but the airline has codeshare agreements with several United States airlines. It currently has codeshare agreements with American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, PenAir, and Era Aviation. The majority of its codeshares are with American Airlines, and the two airlines both use the Sabre reservation system.
Alaska Airlines also has codeshare agreements with foreign carriers, such as Lan Chile, Korean Air, Qantas, Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific, and British Airways.
On July 8, 2008 Alaska Airlines announced Frontier Flying Service (d/b/a Frontier Alaska) as a new codeshare partner beginning in fall of 2008.
In October, 2008 it was announced that Alaska Airlines, and its affiliate Horizon Air, flights would be allowed as part of oneworld Global Explorer fares.[25]
Employees
As of March 2007, Alaska Airlines employs 9,866 employees.[8] Since 2005, Alaska has outsourced its baggage handling duties at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Menzies Aviation. Menzies also handles Alaska's ramp services at a number of other airports along the West Coast and in Mexico, while Alaska retains its own ramp employees in the State of Alaska. Alaska's heavy aircraft maintenance used to be performed by the carrier in Oakland, California, but since 2005 it has been performed by companies in Abbotsford, British Columbia, and Oklahoma City. The airline still performs routine maintenance at its hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Alaska's pilot group consists of approximately 1600 pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International.
Livery
Alaska's first livery consisted of the words "Alaska" in gold on its tails. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, a painting of an Eskimo, still used by the carrier, was added to the livery.
Three 737-400 aircraft feature special Disney paint schemes. Another 737-400 is painted to look like a giant salmon (known in aviation circles as the "Salmon-Thirty-Salmon"), while two 737-800's feature the "reverse scheme" livery with alaskaair.com painted on the sides. The colors of Alaska Airlines starting in the 1980s were blue and green. At the start of the 1990s Alaska's colors became ink blue and teal. Alaska also used to have Eskimos speaking phrases such as, "Thank you for flying Alaska" and wearing sunglasses. The fleet has another special 737-800 with Alaska's first color scheme to celebrate the carrier's 75th anniversary. In honor of Alaska's inaugural flights to Hawaii, five 737-800's feature the Eskimo with a Hawaiian lei around his neck.
Incidents and accidents
- On November 30, 1947, an Alaska Airlines Douglas DC-4 (Registration NC91009), flying as Flight 009 with routing Anchorage-Yakutat-Port Hardy-Seattle, crash landed while attempting to make an ILS approach at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle. The plane went off the runway, rolled down an embankment, struck a ditch, and continued onto the intersection of Des Moines Highway and South 188th Street where it struck an automobile, catching fire and spilling gasoline all over the area. Of the 28 occupants onboard, there were 8 fatalities, plus the person driving in the car. The cause of the crash was attributed to pilot error. [26]
- On January 20, 1949 Flight 8, a Douglas DC-3, was on routing Homer, Alaska-Kenai, Alaska when the plane struck the side of Ptarmigan Head 9 miles E of the center of the airway to Kenai. Of the 6 passengers onboard, there were 5 fatalities. The cause was determined to be the action of the pilot in straying off the designated airway.
- On March 2, 1957, an Alaska Airlines Douglas C-54B (Registration N90449) operating as Flight 100 routing Seattle-Fairbanks-Seattle "hit a mountain 3.8 miles from Blyn while on approach to Seattle. All 5 occupants perished. The Captain intentionally entered an area of low overcast in mountainous terrain."[1].
- On July 21, 1961, an Alaska Airlines DC-6A (Registration N6118C) operating Seattle-Shemya "crashed short of the runway due to the fact that the air traffic controller in the tower had forgotten to turn on the runway and approach lighting systems during a landing at night." All 6 on board were killed.[2].
- On September 4, 1971, Alaska Airlines Flight 1866, a Boeing 727-193 operating Anchorage-Cordova-Yakutat]-Juneau-Sitka, crashed into a mountain in the Chilkat Mountain Range about 18.5 miles from the airport while on approach to Juneau. All seven crew members and 104 passengers were killed. The cause of the crash was determined to be misleading navigational information given to the flight, the failure of the crew to use all navigational aids and not performing the required audio identification of the navigational facilities [3].
- On April 5, 1976, Alaska Airlines Flight 60, a Boeing 727-81 (Registration N124AS) operating Juneau-Ketchikan, overran the runway while landing in Ketchikan after the Captain decided to attempt a go around at the last moment. One passenger died of a heart attack following the accident. The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error for initiating a go-around after commitment to landing and the pilot's "unprofessional decision" to abandon the precision approach[4].
NTSB animation of N963AS (Alaska Airlines Flight 261)
- On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, an MD-83, plunged into the Pacific Ocean near Point Mugu, California while preparing to attempt an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco and Seattle, killing all 88 people on board. In its final report, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined the cause of the accident to be failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew acme nut threads due to insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly by Alaska Airlines. NTSB further determined that the insufficient lubrication resulted from Alaska's extended lubrication and inspection intervals and from the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) approval of those intervals. NTSB also found that the lack of a fail-safe mechanism for the failure of the acme nut threads on the MD-80 design contributed to the accident. This incident, along with the earlier ValuJet crash, led to closer FAA oversight of airline maintenance operations.[5]. The accident was the subject of episode 6, season 1, of the documentary series, Mayday.
- December 26, 2005: Flight 536, which was headed from Seattle to Burbank, California, was forced to return to Seattle and make an emergency landing. The cause was a foot-long hole in the fuselage of the MD-83 aircraft, which caused the plane to lose cabin pressure. According to NTSB spokesman Jim Struhsaker, a baggage handler admitted to failing to immediately report bumping the plane at the gate with baggage handling equipment. The Associated Press quotes Struhsaker saying "The bump created a crease in the plane's aluminum skin, which opened to a 12- by 6-inch gash as the plane came under increased pressure differential at 26,000 feet. [27] [28]
References
- ^ a b Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook, 3rd, Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
- ^ alaskaair.com-Investor Relations-Corporate Profile retrieved 7/10/2008
- ^ "Media Contacts: Alaska Airlines," Alaska Airlines
- ^ "TOP INDUSTRIES." City of SeaTac. Accessed July 20, 2008.
- ^ "City of SeaTac Zoning." City of SeaTac. Accessed August 20, 2008.
- ^ Alaska Airlines Company Facts
- ^ HistoryLink Essay: Alaska Airlines
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International (2007-03-27), pp. 71-72.
- ^ a b Alaska Airlines Resumes Daily Service To Reagan National, Continues Daily Service To Dulles International
- ^ Alaska Airlines Announces New Service To Orlando
- ^ Alaska Airlines Inaugurates Seattle-Miami Service
- ^ Alaska Airlines launches Seattle-New York service
- ^ Alaska Airlines Introduces Boston-Seattle Service With $149 Fares
- ^ Alaska Airlines Fleet Facts
- ^ Alaska Airlines Fleet Age
- ^ "Alaska Airlines Orders 35 Boeing 737-800s". Alaska Airlines (2006-06-15). Retrieved on 2006-01-24.
- ^ Meal Service on Alaska Airlines
- ^ Smith, Patrick, "Ask the pilot: Would you like a little Old Testament with your coffee? How Alaska Airlines has been pushing the Bible for 20 years, and other tales of the religious skies.," Salon Magazine
- ^ WAEA Inflight Entertainment Historical Firsts
- ^ Alaska To Become First Carrier To Offer APS DigEPlayer Portable Video On Demand Entertainment System
- ^ Sky's the limit for a baggage handler's in-flight entertainment system
- ^ IPEC: Inflight Online Awards Dinner
- ^ Movies, Music, and More from digEplayer
- ^ Alaska Airlines Working With Row 44 To Launch Inflight Wireless Internet Service
- ^ http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-travel-options/round-the-world-fares/global-explorer
- ^ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19471130-0 Aviation Safety Network
- ^ ""Absolutely terrifying" flight after ground-crew mistake," The Seattle Times
- ^ "Alaska Airlines Sued in Jet Mishap," The Seattle Times
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