Category Archives: Alaska Airlines

Alaska CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

From the Alaska Airlines blog. Written by Brad Tilden, CEO.

This trip was the first of many for our leaders at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air for the coming year. Called “Leader Immersion,” our managing directors and up will spend a week in the operation. It’s kind of an “Undercover Boss,” without the disguise, as one of our employees said.

The Great Land is beautiful, even in January. The low temperatures create a beautiful frost on the trees and there is something really wonderful and peaceful about the mornings here, (where it is currently staying dark until around 10 a.m.). I was in Anchorage, Alaska for a week in early January on the suggestion of one of our employees, who challenged me to job shadow – walking in our frontline employees’ shoes. It sounded like a good idea to me.

Anchorage

My week started with my flight from Seattle to Anchorage. The Seattle-based flight crew – Shannon Novito, Angela Bolton, Kris McCloskey and Kimberly Sagmoen (pictured above) – were awesome. I had a great time visiting with them, interacting with our guests onboard, and serving a beverage or two. I sat on the flight deck for the last 40 minutes of the flight and was impressed with the expert airmanship of Captain John Lien and First Officer Levi Breidenbach who navigated us into Anchorage amidst a low blanket of fog.

brad anchorage CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

I spent the next several hours in the Anchorage airport learning from Kiana Baluyut, a designated trainer customer service agent. Kiana was extremely patient with me, even when she had to explain the same entries and transactions many times. She taught me how to check-in, scan and tag bags, and deal with special service requests. It was wonderful getting to meet so many of our guests while at the ticket counter.

Dutch Harbor

The next day, I was off to Dutch Harbor on PenAir, one of our commuter partners. Alaska Airlines provides scheduled service to 20 cities in the state of Alaska, the majority of which have populations of under 10,000 people. And we provide jet service in many cases, several times a day! This is something that truly makes us unique as an airline.

Ramp & cargo operations

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When I got back to Anchorage, I headed over to the ramp operations center. This important team schedules airport operations, such as baggage and cargo connections and manages the departure coordination process. Niki McDade is a fantastic departure coordinator. Here, she helped me work Flight 155 from Anchorage to Nome and Kotzebue.

brad cargo 1 r CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

I spent the bulk of Wednesday in our Anchorage cargo operation, an experience I can only describe as humbling. There was an amazing sense of teamwork among our folks there, and a clear focus on our customers who live in small villages in the state of Alaska. Here I am with my coach for the day: Jacob Scanlan.

Maintenance & Engineering

attach r CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

Later that night, I began the night shift with our Maintenance & Engineering team, and with our Stores team (who provide all the aircraft parts). It is amazing to see maintenance technicians start their shift. There isn’t a lot of talking, but hangar doors start opening, bells are going off, tugs are getting hooked up to airplanes. It’s great teamwork and a finely tuned operation. I was able to observe Sig Sigurdson, Tom Genziano and Marc Sheldon conducting a borescope inspection on one of our aircraft engines.

brad ramp r CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

Thursday, I joined our ramp team. In the photo above, I am sending Flight 80 off with Jose Inga, Bill Trivett, Mike Freeman, Josephine Calderra, Eric Henry and Todd Seitz. Below, Josephine and I loading bags in the aircraft belly. I want to thank Eric, my ramp coach for the day, the entire Anchorage ramp service agent team who were very kind and welcoming and who tolerated all of my questions and mistakes.

brad ramp 2 r CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

Red Dog Mine

img 0589 r CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

I then flew out to Red Dog Mine to see our operation in the Arctic. It was a clear day and Alaska’s natural beauty really came through. The photo above is of Runway 3 at Red Dog, on our approach.

Terminal & baggage services

My last day was working in the terminal and in baggage services. In the photo below, I am working with Mary Graham as control agent on flight 96. And then I had a great flight home with an awesome crew.

brad csa 1 r CEO Brad Tilden: My week in Alaska job shadowing frontline employees

I find myself smiling from ear to ear as I recount my visit. I have a deep sense of gratitude. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air have the best employees in the industry, and it was uplifting to spend more time with them. Like many of our employees, I came into the airline business because I love aviation, I love Alaska Airlines, I love being around our people and our guests. This was the perfect way to start a new year.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees receive nearly 3.5 weeks extra pay in bonuses

Alaska Airlines has made this announcement:

Employees of Alaska Air Group companies Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are receiving $120 million in incentive bonuses today. For most employees, this equates to more than 6.5 percent of their annual pay in 2018.

The company’s annual bonus, called Performance Based Pay (PBP), is determined by meeting or exceeding specific company-wide goals for safety, customer satisfaction, cost control, customer loyalty and profit.

“After a year of hard work, we’re incredibly grateful for our 22,000 fantastic employees who go the extra mile to put safety first and deliver the kind-hearted service we’re known for,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines’ president and COO. “For the 10^th year in a row, our employees have earned bonuses by exceeding targets for meeting our annual and monthly goals. On behalf of the entire leadership team, thank you for another incredible year.”

The PBP bonus is in addition to the approximately $15.7 million in monthly operational bonuses that employees earned over 2018 for achieving monthly on-time and customer satisfaction goals. The combined monthly, annual and one-time bonuses paid to employees total $136 million.

Geographic breakdown:

About $66 million in annual bonuses — nearly 55 percent of the total — is being paid to Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees across Washington
$28 million — or 24 percent of the total — is going to employees throughout California
$12 million is being paid to employees in Oregon
$8 million is going to employees throughout the state of Alaska

The employee bonuses come two weeks after the airline announced its 2019 jobs forecast and Washington economic impact study, highlighting the $7 billion Alaska has contributed to the state economy.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Alaska): Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N268AK (msn 36365) JFK (Fred Freketic). Image: 945414.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Boeing):

Video:

Alaska Airlines CEO on government shutdown

From Brad Tilden, Alaska Airlines CEO:

Every day, folks get up and go to work. It’s something that’s easy to take for granted – until we realize that some people are going to work and not getting paid.

In the aviation industry, it takes a complex orchestra of airline, government and other employees to keep our system operational and to ensure flyers get to where they are going in a timely and safe manner. All of us at Alaska Airlines would like to take a moment to thank the federal government employees responsible for keeping aviation safe throughout the year – especially over the last 30 days.

The current government shutdown is having a serious impact on the aviation sector and those who support the industry, and we hope it ends soon. There are roughly 48,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents and 15,000 air traffic controllers among the huge group of dedicated federal employees coming to work every day and not getting paid. They’re committed to the important mission of keeping aviation safe, yet these employees will miss their second paycheck this week. This is not right, and it’s not sustainable. We are calling on all of our leaders to return our system to normal and get these people paid.

During this uncertain time, it is encouraging to see people rally together to try and help those impacted by the shutdown. We’ve all seen many gestures of appreciation, most often in the form of a simple thank you to TSA agents and air traffic controllers for keeping us safe. There is a renewed appreciation for the importance of their work, and that is good.

Our guests here in the Pacific Northwest felt the effects of the government shutdown earlier this week. We made a tough decision to delay our start of service at Paine Field, a new commercial airport in Everett, Washington, due to the shutdown. As a result, we’ve had to re-accommodate or cancel thousands of our guests’ flights.

We expect the shutdown will become much more disruptive to the aviation system if it continues much longer.

With the industry driving more than 7 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and millions of jobs, we want our nation’s aviation system to be strong.

Brad Tilden, Alaska Airlines CEO

Alaska Air Group reports fourth quarter 2018 and full-year results

Alaska Air Group has issued this report:

Dividend Increase:

Announced today a 9% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $0.32 per share to $0.35 per share. This is the sixth time the company has raised the dividend since initiating the quarterly dividend in July 2013, with a cumulative increase of 250% since that time. The dividend will be paid on March 7, 2019, to all shareholders of record as of Feb. 19, 2019. Dividends are financed from operating cash flow and cash on hand.

Financial Highlights:

Reported net income for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $23 million, or $0.19per diluted share, and $437 million, or $3.52 per diluted share. These results compare to fourth quarter 2017 net income of $315 million, or $2.55 per diluted share, and full year 2017 net income of $960 million, or $7.75 per diluted share. The 2017 financial information has been adjusted to reflect changes associated with the implementation of new revenue recognition and retirement benefits accounting standards that became effective Jan. 1, 2018.
Reported adjusted net income, excluding merger-related costs, special charges, and mark-to-market fuel hedging adjustments for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 of $93 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, and $554 million, or $4.46 per diluted share. These results compare to fourth quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $88 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, and full year 2017 adjusted net income of $791 million, or $6.38 per diluted share. This quarter’s adjusted results compare to the First Call analyst consensus estimate of $0.71 per share.
Paid a $0.32 per-share quarterly cash dividend in the fourth quarter, bringing total dividends paid in 2018 to $158 million.
Repurchased a total of 776,186 shares of common stock for approximately $50 million in 2018.
Generated approximately $1.2 billion of operating cash flow, and used approximately $960 million for capital expenditures, resulting in approximately $240 million of free cash flow in 2018.
Grew passenger revenues by 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, and by 5% compared to full-year 2017.
Generated full-year adjusted pretax margin of 8.9% in 2018.
Held $1.2 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of Dec. 31, 2018.
Reduced debt-to-capitalization ratio to 47% as of Dec. 31, 2018, compared to 53% as of Dec. 31, 2017.

2018 Accomplishments and Highlights:

Recognition and Awards

Ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers” in 2018 by J.D. Power for the 11^th year in a row.
Named “Best U.S. Airline” by Condé Nast Traveler in their 2018 Readers Choice Awards.
Mileage Plan™ ranked first in U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Travel Rewards Programs for the fourth time.
Ranked among the best U.S. airlines by Consumer Reports for economy flights and overall satisfaction by passengers.
Ranked No. 1 for performance and quality in the Airline Quality Rating study for the second year in a row.
Won the “Best Rewards Program” for Mileage Plan™ for carriers in the Americas region in the annual FlyerTalk Award for the second year in a row.
Top-ranked airline in America for the second year in a row by The Points Guy.
Received 17^th Diamond Award of Excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration, recognizing both Alaska and Horizon’s aircraft technicians for their commitment to training.
Ranked as one of only two U.S. airlines in the Top 20 safest airlines in the world for 2018 by AirlineRatings.com.
Rated “Best Airline Staff in North America” & “Best Regional Airline in North America” by Skytrax.
Won the 2018 APEX Passenger Choice Award for Best Food and Beverage in the Americas.
Ranked as the top U.S. airline in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the second consecutive year, receiving top scores for “corporate governance” and “efficiency.”

Our People

Ranked among Forbes’ 2018 “America’s Best Employers” for the fourth year in a row.
Awarded $147 million in incentive pay for 2018.
Reached joint agreements for all work groups except aircraft technicians.
Women Inc. magazine recognized Alaska’s female board members as five of the Most Influential Corporate Directors.
Launched Flight Path, a workshop for every Alaska and Horizon Air employee that includes a mix of presentations, open-and-honest dialogue and interactive activities focused on Alaska’s culture and future.

Our Guests and Product

Obtained a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, recognizing us as one airline.
Transitioned to a single Passenger Service System, enabling us to provide one reservation system, one website, and one inventory of flights to our guests.
Completed Premium Class rollout on our Boeing 737-800, 900 and 900ER fleets.
Began installation of next-generation Gogo inflight satellite-based Wi-Fi across the mainline fleet.
Added partnerships with Japan Airlines, Fiji Airways, Aer Lingus and Finnair.
Added 8 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft and 4 Airbus A321neo aircraft in 2018, bringing the total mainline operating fleet to 233 aircraft.
Added 25 Embraer 175 (E175) aircraft to the regional operating fleet in 2018.

Our Communities

Donated over $17 million and contributed more than 44,000 volunteer hours to support nonprofits in our local communities, focusing on youth and education, medical (research/transportation) and community outreach.

Alaska Air Group Inc. today reported fourth quarter 2018 GAAP net income of $23 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to $315 million, or $2.55 per diluted share in 2017. Excluding the impact of merger-related costs, other special items, and mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments, the company reported fourth quarter adjusted net income of $93 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $88 million, or $0.71 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The company reported full-year 2018 GAAP net income of $437 million, compared to $960 million in the prior year. Excluding the impact of merger-related costs, other special items, and mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments, the company reported adjusted net income of $554 million, or $4.46per diluted share for 2018, compared to adjusted net income of $791 million, or $6.38 per diluted share in 2017.

“In 2018, we achieved the vast majority of our integration milestones and passed through an inflection point in our financial performance,” said Alaska CEO Brad Tilden. “Our employees have shown great resilience through the integration, and thanks to their skill and dedication, we have strong momentum and a lot of optimism heading into 2019.”

Dividend Increase:

Announced today a 9% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $0.32 per share to $0.35 per share. This is the sixth time the company has raised the dividend since initiating the quarterly dividend in July 2013, with a cumulative increase of 250% since that time. The dividend will be paid on March 7, 2019, to all shareholders of record as of Feb. 19, 2019. Dividends are financed from operating cash flow and cash on hand.

Financial Highlights:

Reported net income for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $23 million, or $0.19per diluted share, and $437 million, or $3.52 per diluted share. These results compare to fourth quarter 2017 net income of $315 million, or $2.55 per diluted share, and full year 2017 net income of $960 million, or $7.75 per diluted share. The 2017 financial information has been adjusted to reflect changes associated with the implementation of new revenue recognition and retirement benefits accounting standards that became effective Jan. 1, 2018.
Reported adjusted net income, excluding merger-related costs, special charges, and mark-to-market fuel hedging adjustments for the fourth quarter and full year 2018 of $93 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, and $554 million, or $4.46 per diluted share. These results compare to fourth quarter 2017 adjusted net income of $88 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, and full year 2017 adjusted net income of $791 million, or $6.38 per diluted share. This quarter’s adjusted results compare to the First Call analyst consensus estimate of $0.71 per share.
Paid a $0.32 per-share quarterly cash dividend in the fourth quarter, bringing total dividends paid in 2018 to $158 million.
Repurchased a total of 776,186 shares of common stock for approximately $50 million in 2018.
Generated approximately $1.2 billion of operating cash flow, and used approximately $960 million for capital expenditures, resulting in approximately $240 million of free cash flow in 2018.
Grew passenger revenues by 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, and by 5% compared to full-year 2017.
Generated full-year adjusted pretax margin of 8.9% in 2018.
Held $1.2 billion in unrestricted cash and marketable securities as of Dec. 31, 2018.
Reduced debt-to-capitalization ratio to 47% as of Dec. 31, 2018, compared to 53% as of Dec. 31, 2017.

2018 Accomplishments and Highlights:

Recognition and Awards

Ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers” in 2018 by J.D. Power for the 11^th year in a row.
Named “Best U.S. Airline” by Condé Nast Traveler in their 2018 Readers Choice Awards.
Mileage Plan™ ranked first in U.S. News & World Report’s list of Best Travel Rewards Programs for the fourth time.
Ranked among the best U.S. airlines by Consumer Reports for economy flights and overall satisfaction by passengers.
Ranked No. 1 for performance and quality in the Airline Quality Rating study for the second year in a row.
Won the “Best Rewards Program” for Mileage Plan™ for carriers in the Americas region in the annual FlyerTalk Award for the second year in a row.
Top-ranked airline in America for the second year in a row by The Points Guy.
Received 17^th Diamond Award of Excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration, recognizing both Alaska and Horizon’s aircraft technicians for their commitment to training.
Ranked as one of only two U.S. airlines in the Top 20 safest airlines in the world for 2018 by AirlineRatings.com.
Rated “Best Airline Staff in North America” & “Best Regional Airline in North America” by Skytrax.
Won the 2018 APEX Passenger Choice Award for Best Food and Beverage in the Americas.
Ranked as the top U.S. airline in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the second consecutive year, receiving top scores for “corporate governance” and “efficiency.”

Our People

Ranked among Forbes’ 2018 “America’s Best Employers” for the fourth year in a row.
Awarded $147 million in incentive pay for 2018.
Reached joint agreements for all work groups except aircraft technicians.
Women Inc. magazine recognized Alaska’s female board members as five of the Most Influential Corporate Directors.
Launched Flight Path, a workshop for every Alaska and Horizon Air employee that includes a mix of presentations, open-and-honest dialogue and interactive activities focused on Alaska’s culture and future.

Our Guests and Product

Obtained a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration for Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, recognizing us as one airline.
Transitioned to a single Passenger Service System, enabling us to provide one reservation system, one website, and one inventory of flights to our guests.
Completed Premium Class rollout on our Boeing 737-800, 900 and 900ER fleets.
Began installation of next-generation Gogo inflight satellite-based Wi-Fi across the mainline fleet.
Added partnerships with Japan Airlines, Fiji Airways, Aer Lingus and Finnair.
Added 8 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft and 4 Airbus A321neo aircraft in 2018, bringing the total mainline operating fleet to 233 aircraft.
Added 25 Embraer 175 (E175) aircraft to the regional operating fleet in 2018.

Our Communities

Donated over $17 million and contributed more than 44,000 volunteer hours to support nonprofits in our local communities, focusing on youth and education, medical (research/transportation) and community outreach.

Alaska Air Group Inc. today reported fourth quarter 2018 GAAP net income of $23 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to $315 million, or $2.55 per diluted share in 2017. Excluding the impact of merger-related costs, other special items, and mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments, the company reported fourth quarter adjusted net income of $93 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $88 million, or $0.71 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The company reported full-year 2018 GAAP net income of $437 million, compared to $960 million in the prior year. Excluding the impact of merger-related costs, other special items, and mark-to-market fuel hedge adjustments, the company reported adjusted net income of $554 million, or $4.46per diluted share for 2018, compared to adjusted net income of $791 million, or $6.38 per diluted share in 2017.

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Airbus A319-112 N530VA (msn 3686) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 945344.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Airbus):

Fleet:

Route Map:

Alaska Airlines delays the launch of Paine Field service

Alaska Airlines has issued this statement on their blog:

We hope you can appreciate the adage “good things come to those who wait,” because we have an update to pass along about our planned flights at Paine Field.

Several key groups within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which conduct crucial certification and oversight work required for the start of commercial air service at Paine Field, are subject to furloughs because of the government shutdown. The FAA’s work on the environmental assessment continues. However, essential work groups within the FAA are furloughed and further delays are expected if the shutdown continues.

It’s a tough decision, but we believe the responsible action is to postpone the start of service at Paine Field. Originally set for Feb. 11, 2019, we’re now scheduling service to begin on March 4 – subject to receipt of all required government approvals.

If you bought a ticket for a Paine Field flight, your first question might be: what now?

Here’s what we’re doing for guests:

Guests with tickets for travel between Feb. 11 and March 4 will receive an email notification from us today that they’re automatically being confirmed, waiving any fees, on a new flight on the same travel date from Sea-Tac International Airport. It’ll be for a time that’s closest to their original Paine Field flight.
If guests wish to keep Paine Field as their departing or arriving airport for a new flight on March 4 or later, you can do that, waiving any fees, by calling us at 1-800-252-7522.
And if you prefer not to travel, we’ll provide a full refund to your original form of payment, waiving any fees. To make that happen, call us at 1-800-252-7522.

“We know our guests who purchased tickets to and from Paine Field will be disappointed by this delay – so are we,” said Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines’ chief commercial officer. “There are certain things that are simply out of our control. We apologize if your travel plans need to change. But we remain eager and committed to giving you – our loyal guests – a much-needed airport alternative north of Seattle, and a great experience.”

We’re still moving forward to prepare for operations at Paine Field, including hiring and training our employees, who look forward to serving you in the coming months. And we’ll continue to work closely with the FAA as it completes its environmental assessment and other needed approvals.

It’s still not clear when the government shutdown will end. Why was March 4 selected as the new start of service date?

It’s a judgment call on our part because we don’t know when the government shutdown will end. We selected a new date for start of service that could allow time for a resolution, but not too far out in case the shutdown suddenly ended. We’re hopeful our operations at Paine Field will get up and running soon and we can get our guests going places.

If the shutdown continues, could Alaska be put in a position to once again delay start of service?

Unfortunately, yes. We can’t start flying at Paine Field until we have all the required, final government approvals. We’re making the best business decisions we can during a difficult situation.

Why not re-route all flights to Sea-Tac that are scheduled to fly between Feb. 11 and March 4 at Paine Field?

We are indeed moving a majority of the previously scheduled flights from Paine Field to Sea-Tac to accommodate our guests. We can also rely on our normal, robust flight schedule at Sea-Tac to get our guests to their destinations.

Revised flight schedule

Service Begins	Route	Flight Time
Mar. 4 only	Paine Field-Portland	10:00 a.m.-10:55 p.m.
Mar. 4 only	Portland-Paine Field	11:55 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
Mar. 4 only	Paine Field-Las Vegas	10:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Mar. 4 only	Las Vegas-Paine Field	1:55 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Mar. 4	Paine Field-Phoenix	12:00 p.m.-3:55 p.m.*
Mar. 4	Phoenix-Paine Field	4:55 p.m.-7:05 p.m.*
Mar. 5	Paine Field-Portland	6:30 a.m.-7:25 a.m.
Mar. 5	Portland-Paine Field	10:20 a.m.-11:20 a.m.
Mar. 5	Paine Field-Las Vegas	9:20 a.m.-11:50 a.m.
Mar. 5	Las Vegas-Paine Field	12:35 p.m.-3:20 p.m.
Mar. 5	Paine Field-San Diego	10:40 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Mar. 5	San Diego-Paine Field	2:20 p.m.-5:20 p.m.
Mar. 5	Paine Field-Los Angeles	11:25 a.m.-2:15 p.m.
Mar. 5	Los Angles-Paine Field	3:35 p.m.-6:30 p.m.
Mar. 5	Paine Field-Los Angeles	4:00 p.m.-6:50 p.m.
Mar. 5	Los Angles-Paine Field	7:55 p.m.-10:50 p.m.
Mar. 6	Paine Field-Portland	6:00 p.m.-6:55 p.m.
Mar. 6	Portland-Paine Field	9:35 p.m.-10:35 p.m.
Mar. 6	Paine Field-San Diego	7:45 p.m.-10:35 p.m.
Mar. 7	San Diego-Paine Field	7:45 a.m.-10:45 a.m.
Mar. 7	Paine Field-Los Angeles	7:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m.
Mar. 7	Los Angles-Paine Field	10:30 a.m.-1:20 p.m.
Mar. 7	Paine Field- San Francisco	8:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m.
Mar. 7	San Francisco-Paine Field	12:05 p.m.-2:20 p.m.
Mar. 7	Paine Field-San Jose	2:00 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Mar. 7	San Jose-Paine Field	5:45 p.m.-7:55 p.m.
Mar. 9	Paine Field-San Francisco	3:00 p.m.-5:15 p.m.
Mar. 9	San Francisco-Paine Field	6:10 p.m.-8:25 p.m.
Mar. 10	Paine Field-Los Angeles	7:10 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Mar. 10	Paine Field-Portland	9:05 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Mar. 11	Los Angles-Paine Field	7:05 a.m.-9:45 a.m.
Mar. 11	Portland-Paine Field	7:40 a.m.-8:40 a.m.
Mar. 11	Paine Field-San Jose	7:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m.
Mar. 11	San Jose-Paine Field	10:30 a.m.-12:40 a.m.
Mar. 11	Paine Field-Portland	1:20 p.m.-2:15 p.m.
Mar. 11	Portland-Paine Field	3:50 p.m.-4:50 p.m.
Mar. 11	Paine Field-Las Vegas	5:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Mar. 11	Las Vegas-Paine Field	8:40 p.m.-11:25 p.m.
Mar. 12	Paine Field-Orange County	8:00 a.m.-10:40 a.m.
Mar. 12	Orange County-Paine Field	5:50 p.m.-8:40 p.m.

*Due to daylight saving time, the Phoenix flight times will change starting Mar. 10:

Paine Field-Phoenix 12:00 p.m.-2:55 p.m.
Phoenix-Paine Field 3:55 p.m.-7:05 p.m.

All images by Alaska.

First Look: Alaska Airlines paints its first Airbus A319

Photo of the Day: Alaska Airlines has painted the first ex-Virgin America Airbus A319 (N530VA).

N522VA will be the second A319 to be repainted at Victorville.

Alaska starts Sacramento – Kona service

Alaska Airlines begins nonstop service on December 20 between Sacramento International Airport and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole on the Island of Hawaii.

Alaska Airlines is expanding access to the Hawaiian Islands for Northern California residents looking to head to the beach. The new, three-times weekly flight is the only nonstop and fastest way for Sacramentans to get to visit the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Alaska also offers nonstop service from Sacramento to Maui, Hawaii.

Effective Dates	City pair	Departs	Arrives	Frequency	Aircraft
Dec. 20 – Jan. 5	Sacramento – Kona	12:15 p.m.	4:11 p.m.	Tue, Thur, Sat	737
Dec. 20 – Jan. 5	Kona – Sacramento	3:25 p.m.	10:52 p.m.	Mon, Wed, Fri	737
Jan. 6	Sacramento – Kona	11:45 a.m.	3:50 p.m.	Tue, Thur, Sat	737
Jan. 6	Kona – Sacramento	12:00 p.m.	7:25 p.m.	Tue, Thur, Sat	737

As Alaska continues to improve nonstop travel from key focus cities around California, the airline remains committed to low fares and excellent service for guests. With the lowest average fares and the most flights from the West Coast to Hawaii*, Alaska averages 29 daily departures to the Hawaiian Islands from 10 West Coast cities, which includes six California destinations: Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joseand Oakland.

Wear an ugly holiday sweater on December 21 – get early boarding on Alaska Airlines

In celebration of National Ugly Holiday Sweater Day, Alaska Airlines guests who wear their festive holiday sweaters to the airport on Friday, Dec. 21 can board their flight early. The one-day promotion will be celebrated by flyers and employees alike across Alaska’s 116-city network and includes all Alaska and Horizon Air flights. Festive holiday-themed boarding music and free holiday movies will play all month to help get guests into the holiday spirit.

Back by popular demand, this is the second year Alaska Airlines and its employees have embraced National Ugly Holiday Sweater Day, hoping to bring joy to travelers during the busy holiday travel season. All guests are invited to join in the celebration and share their memories on Twitter by tagging their photos and videos using the hashtags: #UglySweaterDay and #iFlyAlaska.

Airports are busier than ever in December. As a reminder, anyone traveling during the holidays is encouraged to arrive to the airport at least two hours before their flight given anticipated congestion at the airport. Learn our 8 tips to keep the “nice” in your holiday travel.

All photos by Alaska Airlines.

JAL announces new codeshare routes with Alaska Airlines

Japan Airlines (JAL) has announced that the carrier will open sales on additional codeshare routes with Alaska Airlines. The new routes became effective on Monday, December 3. These new codeshare routes will be available from March 31, 2019 when JAL plans to launch its highly anticipated nonstop daily service between Seattle/Tacoma and Tokyo-Narita International Airport.

JAL and Alaska will now offer codeshare flights on 55 routes through Seattle/Tacoma, adding 19 new destinations to JAL`s network. Through the enhanced partnership, JAL and Alaska will serve a wide range of destinations in the U.S. and Canada, providing seamless connectivity through Seattle/Tacoma.

Japan Airlines Tokyo (Narita) – Seattle/Tacoma Service

Route

Flight

No.

Dep.

Time

Arr.

Time

Effective

Period

Aircraft

Type

Days of

Operations

Tokyo (Narita)

– Seattle

JL068

18:05

11:05

March 31, 2019~

787-8

(SS8)

Daily

Seattle –

Tokyo (Narita)

JL067

14:20

16:30

(Next Day)

March 31, 2019~

787-8

(SS8)

Daily

Flights and schedules are subject to government approval

Codeshare Flight List (^★^New)
Select flights may become available after March 31, 2019
Flights and schedules are subject to government approval

Connections from/to SEA Airport

Albuquerque

(ABQ)

Boston

(BOS)

New York

(EWR)

Wichita

(ICT)

Minneapolis

(MSP)

Reno

(RNO)

Santa Rosa

(STS)

Walla Walla (ALW) ★

Burbank

(BUR) ★

Fairbanks (FAI) ★

Ketchikan

(KTN) ★

Oakland

(OAK) ★

San Diego

(SAN)

Edmonton

(YEG)

Anchorage (ANC) ★

Bozeman

(BZN) ★

Fresno

(FAT)

Juneau

(JNU) ★

Oklahoma City (OKC)

San Francisco (SFO)

Yakima

(YKM) ★

Atlanta

(ATL)

Washington DC (DCA)

Kalispell

(FCA) ★

Las Vegas

(LAS)

Ontario

(ONT) ★

San Jose

(SJC)

Kelowna

(YLW)

Austin

(AUS)

Denver

(DEN)

Spokane (GEG) ★

Kansas City (MCI)

Portland

(PDX)

Salt Lake City (SLC)

Vancouver

(YVR)

Bellingham

(BLI) ★

Detroit

(DTW)

Great Falls

(GTF) ★

Orlando

(MCO)

Pasco

(PSC) ★

Sacramento

(SMF)

Calgary

(YYC)

Nashville

(BNA)

Wenatchee

(EAT) ★

Washington DC (IAD)

Medford

(MFR)

Pullman

(PUW) ★

Santa Ana

(SNA)

Victoria

(YYJ)

Boise

(BOI)

Eugene

(EUG)

Houston

(IAH)

Missoula

(MSO) ★

Redmond

(RDM) ★

St. Louis

(STL)

Alaska Airlines suspends operations at Anchorage due to earthquake damage

Alaska Airlines has issued this statement:

We understand there’s considerable damage being reported at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, due to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit this morning. There are no reports of any injuries to employees or guests at the airport.

As a precaution, Alaska Airlines is suspending operations at the airport until at least 12:30 p.m. Pacific (11:30 a.m. Alaska) to allow for a thorough safety assessment of the facility and infrastructure. We are pausing arrivals and departures in and out of Anchorage during this time.

Photo: Frank K./Wikipedia.

ANC issued this status report:

The airport is open. The arrivals and departures ramps are closed. The commercial curb where taxis and shuttles arrive is available, follow traffic control.

TSA is screening passengers. Check with your airline for current information.

The N/S Terminals have sustained some cosmetic damage. Water mains were ruptured. All elevators and escalators are out of service. Electrical Power is working, and backup generators are on standby.