Alaska Airlines has made this announcement:

To align with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations and to keep employees and guests safe, face masks will be mandatory for guests starting May 11 and for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air employees who cannot maintain six feet of social distance from guests or co-workers, starting May 4. This includes pilots, flight attendants and customer service agents.

Guests will be expected a to bring their own mask and will be required to wear it throughout the airport and flight experience. Additional supplies will be available for anyone who forgets a face mask. Specific details about the face mask requirements will be shared with guests later next week and in pre-trip communications before their date of travel. The temporary policy will be reevaluated periodically as guidance evolves.

The face mask requirements are a few of several safety and social distancing measures Alaska Airlines is taking at the airport and in the air to support our employees and guests.

Other measures include:

• Expanded enhanced cleaning on flights, which includes use of high-grade, EPA registered disinfectants to sanitize critical touchpoints like tray tables, seat belts, overhead bins, armrests and lavatories.
• Expanded use of electrostatic sanitizing spray to disinfect aircraft interiors.
• Limiting the number of passengers onboard and blocking middle seats on large aircraft and aisle seats on small aircraft through May 31, 2020.
• Enhanced and more frequent cleaning of airport counters, lounges and high-traffic areas.
• Social distancing floor decals rolled out this week at airports to remind guests and employees to remain separated by at least six feet.
• Providing disposable surgical and re-usable fabric masks for employees.
• Continued use of hospital-grade air filters on all planes. These HEPA filters are proven effective in removing airborne particles and cycle new air into the cabin every three minutes.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we fly. Safety is our number one priority and wearing masks will make air travel safer for everyone. We’re all in this together,” said Jeffrey Peterson, president of Alaska Airlines Master Executive Council, Association of Flight Attendants.

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 115 destinations across the United States and North America, providing essential air service for our guests along with moving crucial cargo shipments, such as food, medicine, mail and e-commerce deliveries. With hubs in Seattle; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska, the airline is known for low fares, award-winning customer service and sustainability efforts. With Alaska and its Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 800 destinations worldwide. Learn more about Alaska at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

SOURCE Alaska Airlines

Alaska Air Cargo announced it will fly passenger jets as cargo-only flights to carry essential goods like mail, medical equipment, e-commerce packages and food throughout its domestic network. Filling the passenger cabin with cargo will backfill the loss in capacity across the continental United States and Hawaii after passenger flights were reduced.

“We’re determined to help protect the resiliency of our nation’s supply chain by connecting critical cargo to the communities we serve during this public health crisis,” said Torque Zubeck, managing director of Alaska Air Cargo.  “Our teams have been working tirelessly since March to identify the safest and most effective processes to increase our cargo capacity as quickly as possible.”

Alaska Air Cargo tests loading freight into the passenger cabin of an Alaska Airlines 737-900 in Seattle. Alaska will be utilizing passenger jets as freighter only aircraft to maximize critical cargo shipments of essential goods.

In addition to Air Cargo’s dedicated three freighters, six Boeing 737-900 aircraft will be utilized as cargo-only aircraft.  Boxes, mail and other items will be placed on and under seats, in overhead bins and in closets – to offer 13,500 more pounds of cargo than what a passenger-only flight could carry. In total, each flight will carry up to 30,000 pounds, which includes belly capacity.

If approved by the FAA, the passenger-only aircraft would begin flying throughout the United States in May.

Alaska Air Cargo Facts 

• Cargo freighters: 3 Boeing 737-700s
• Passenger-to-cargo planes: 6 Boeing 737-900s
• Cargo flown annually: 200 million+ pounds
• Seafood flown: 30 million+ pounds per year
• Destinations in Alaska we serve: 19 stations, only three connect by road
• Around 60% of our cargo business touches the state of Alaska in some way
• Total destinations served in 2019: 100+
• Freighter-only flights flown in 2019: 5,487

From Alaska Airlines blog:

Since making the difficult decision to reduce our flying due to the coronavirus, we’ve been looking at other ways to utilize passenger aircraft to carry essential goods to people and businesses who need it most.

On any given day before the coronavirus dramatically changed travel, we carried about 400,000 pounds of cargo per day in the “bellies” of passenger aircraft – where luggage is stored. By utilizing passenger aircraft as freighters we’ll be able to backfill some of 45% loss in capacity across Lower 48 and Hawaii where passenger flights have been reduced by 80%.

“We’re determined to make sure our nation’s supply chain stays robust and resilient, connecting critical cargo quickly to the communities we serve,” said Torque Zubeck, managing director of Alaska Air Cargo. “Our teams have been working hard to identify the safest and most effective processes to increase our cargo capacity as quickly as possible.”

Trying to pull off a passenger-to-freighter operation is no easy task. A team of 40 people have been working on the effort since March. If approved by the FAA, we could begin flying passenger aircraft dedicated to cargo within the United States as early as May.

We aim to utilize the passenger cabin on five Boeing 737-900 aircraft – placing cargo boxes, mail and other items on and under seats, in overhead bins and in closets – creating room for an additional 13,500 pounds of cargo than a traditional passenger flight. In total, each flight will carry up to 30,000 pounds, including belly capacity.

“Our cargo customers depend on us as much as we do them to fuel our supply chain with life-saving medical treatments, medical supplies and perishable foods that have a short shelf life,” said Rick Bendix, cargo marketing and business development program manager. “With the decrease in cargo capacity, this innovative approach allows to meet the demand of cargo customers whether “mom and pop” businesses or large freight forwarders who are working tirelessly to keep the critical goods moving.”

This week, a team of employees tested loading an aircraft, securing the shipments and mapping a safe and viable process for leveraging passenger cabin space to ship critical cargo. Protecting the areas of the passenger cabin where cargo will be stowed was incorporated in the test to ensure the passenger aircraft can easily return to carrying our guests when needed.

According to Anthony Johnson, Alaska Airlines senior engineer, the overhead bins are designed for stowage of carry-on luggage and are durable. However, we need to protect the seats by removing the life vests from under the seats and covering the leather with a protective fabric.

Our roots set us up for success

We’ve been delivering cargo to the state of Alaska for 88 years since our founding as McGee Airways. For some pilots, such as First Officer Bill Jacobson, flying the freighters is especially rewarding because he gets to see the impact cargo has on Alaska communities.

“Cargo is hugely important in the state of Alaska. We’re really the lifeline to many communities and bring things necessary to everyday life, like groceries, medicine and machine parts, just to name a few,” Jacobson said. “You usually meet the plane at one of our cargo buildings. When we’re walking through the cargo facilities, I’m often in awe of the variety of goods we’re hauling all over the state.”

These remote communities aren’t always connected by roads to the outside. When the grocery store is out of fresh produce or milk in remote communities in the state of Alaska, residents look to Alaska Airlines to deliver the supplies.

Alaska Air Cargo tests loading freight into the passenger cabin of an Alaska Airlines 737-900 in Seattle. Alaska will be utilizing passenger jets as freighter only aircraft to maximize critical cargo shipments of essential goods.

“Our cargo customers depend on us as much as we do them to fuel our supply chain with life-saving medical treatments, medical supplies and perishable foods that have a short shelf life,” said Rick Bendix, cargo marketing and business development program manager. “With the additional aircraft, we’ll be able to move these goods, as well as e-commerce orders, quickly and efficiently across the country keeping supply chains flowing and supporting our logistics and freight forwarding customers.”

From Alaska Airlines blog:

Alaska Airlines Employee Volunteer Teddie at Auburn Food Bank during Alaska’s Week of LIFT.

This is a difficult time for many, and food security is a challenge across our communities. Last week, the United Nations projected that because of COVID-19, the number of people facing severe food insecurity worldwide could double to 265 million. And here in the United States, unprecedented levels of job displacement and supply chain disruption have created a crisis for countless families, many seeking help for the first time in their lives.

Supporting the growing demands on our local food banks is a critical need and isn’t new for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Every year, our employees rally together in a “Pack the Plane” food drive and collected enough donations to fill an equivalent of over 20 cargo aircraft (providing almost a half-million meals) last year. During our inaugural “Week of LIFT” of volunteering in our communities last October, our employees worked at several West Coast food banks to pack meals and sort goods to help feed those in need.

So, when we found ourselves with fresh food on hand following the suspension of our inflight service last month, we worked with our kitchen partners to donate 273,000 meals to community food banks in 16 states, like our hometown partners Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline.

That sparked an idea about how to further support families have the food they need to thrive. Last week, the Alaska Airlines Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit, pledged $200,000 to provide 896,000 meals to 14 local food banks across Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. Together, we’ve donated over 1 million meals, but hope to double our impact by inviting our employees and guests to join us, if they can.

“This crisis has changed so much in our country – but the values of our employees have not. They and our partners, including our Chief Football Officer Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara, Starbucks, and many others inspire us to do more,” said Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaska Airlines Vice President of External Relations. “Between now and the end of May, we’re encouraging our guests, partners and employees to join us in the #MillionMealsChallenge to help fuel another 1 million meals for local food banks feeding our communities.”

The Alaska Airlines Foundation was founded in 1998 as a way to support the communities we serve through ups and downs – including during lean times like these. “We’re thankful to have foundation funds to be able to directly support people who need it most,” said Birkett Rakow, who also serves as chair of the Alaska Airlines Foundation board of directors.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air agreed to general terms with the U.S. Treasury regarding their participation in the Payroll Support Program (PSP) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The airlines are currently working through the detailed agreements necessary before the Treasury will disburse funds and expect to finalize those agreements later this week.

“We are grateful for and humbled by this support,” said Brad Tilden, Alaska Air Group’s Chairman and CEO. “This aid will bring immediate and sorely needed liquidity to the airline industry and will enable all airlines – including Alaska – to continue serving our customers and to keep our people at work, while we adjust to an extraordinary reduction in demand.  All of us at Alaska want to express our deep appreciation to President Trump and Vice President Pence, to Secretaries Mnuchin and Chao, to those working at the department of the Treasury, and to all members of Congress – especially members from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and other key states we serve. These leaders have worked around the clock to support the aviation workforce and our nation’s critical transportation infrastructure.”

The program will provide Alaska and Horizon with a total of $992 million, to be used exclusively for the cost of employee payroll and benefits. The funding is expected to cover about 70% of budgeted costs through Sept. 30, 2020, and was based on similar costs reported by the airlines for the period of April through September 2019.

“Our employees are tremendous, serving our guests and running a safe and reliable operation every day,” said Tilden. “They’ve continued to do so through this crisis, to safely fly those who need to travel, deliver critical groceries, supplies, and other cargo across our network, including remote parts of Alaska. This federal support enables us to take care of them through a time of near-zero revenue. They have faced challenges before and come out stronger. And we have every expectation that we will do so again this time.”

Of the $992 million in funding to be disbursed under the PSP, $267 million will be in the form of a loan and must be repaid to the government. Additionally, the Treasury will receive the right to buy 847,000 non-voting shares of Alaska Air Group at a price of $31.61/share.

Under this program, Alaska also agreed to additional conditions such as no involuntary furloughs or changes to rates of pay through Sept. 30, 2020, continued suspension of dividends and share repurchases until Sept. 30, 2021, limits on executive compensation through March 24, 2022, and continuation of service as reasonable and practicable under a Department of Transportation rule.

Alaska and Horizon also communicated to the Treasury their intent to apply for $1.128 billion in federal loans through a separate program authorized under the CARES Act. This process is still ongoing. Funds loaned to Alaska and Horizon through this program will support short-term liquidity needs and must be paid back in full.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Alaska Airlines has made this announcement:

With the announcement on Sunday of RavnAir Alaska stopping all operations, Alaska Airlines expressed deep concern for the Ravn employees and communities in the state impacted by the news.

“Having served Alaska for 88 years, Alaska Airlines has a special appreciation for the unique reliance most Alaskan communities have on air service,” said Brad Tilden, Alaska Airlines chief executive officer.  “During this difficult moment, our hope is that air carriers across Alaska will make every effort to ensure continuity of service to all the state’s remote communities.  We are committed to working with those airlines, the Governor’s Aviation Advisory Board, Alaska Air Carriers Association, and the affected communities to connect Alaskans now and into the future.”

Given the impact to residents of the state caused by the Ravn service suspension, Alaska Airlines, which currently serves 19 communities in the state of Alaska, is announcing the following actions:

• Alaska will maintain service to all points it currently serves in the state.
• Alaska will continue service to Kodiak with its own aircraft.
• Alaska will move up its normal summer seasonal service to King Salmon and Dillingham, starting earlier than scheduled.
• In support of the communities in the Aleutian Islands, as well as the seafood industry, Alaska is working with partners and regulatory agencies to initiate service to Cold Bay with the intention of providing access to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor. Service to Cold Bay will be with Alaska’s own aircraft.
• Alaska is working with the seafood industry and other key sectors of the state of Alaska economy on charter service to ensure critical work force movements during this period of reduced air service.
• Alaska will review other markets impacted by the Ravn suspension of service to consider how best to support affected communities.
• Alaska Air Cargo, a unit of Alaska Airlines, is optimizing use of its 3 dedicated freighter aircraft in the state of Alaska to ensure medical supplies, groceries and other essential shipments are delivered during this period of reduced air service.
• While currently under a hiring freeze driven by the COVID-19 crisis, Alaska Airlines’ human resources group will nonetheless host a job fair for Ravn employees impacted by that company’s cessation of service. We will work to provide these experienced airline workers with support in seeking new employment, including connecting with other companies that may be hiring.

“We believe these are important steps that Alaska Airlines can take to support the infrastructure of the state of Alaska and ensure the people and communities of the state remain connected during this incredibly challenging time,” said Tilden.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery (Boeing):

Alaska Airlines has made this announcement:

Alaska Airlines has announced plans to reduce its flight schedule for April and May by approximately 70% following historic and unprecedented falloff in demand related to the COVID-19 outbreak across the U.S. and beyond.

Flight schedules for June and beyond will be based on demand, but it is our expectation that reductions will be substantial for at least the next several months. As a result of the outbreak, government leaders across the country have appropriately encouraged social distancing and discouraged or restricted travel. As a result, Alaska – like other airlines – is seeing demand reductions of more than 80%.

Some of the actions being taken to reduce spending and improve liquidity are as follows:

• We are announcing today the suspension of our cash dividend and we have previously announced the suspension of our share repurchase program.
• We have drawn down $400 million on our line of credit and closed an additional secured loan for $425 million today.
• We are announcing officer pay reductions through Sept. 30 as follows:
  • 100% pay reduction for both the CEO and President of Alaska Airlines;
  • 50% for the President of Horizon Air;
  • 30% for EVPs and SVPs; and
  • 20% for VPs and MDs.
• Our Board of Directors have voted to take their own cash retainers to zero through Sept. 30.
• We are actively soliciting employees who are interested in voluntary leaves of absence, under which Alaska would continue to pay both health and travel benefits.
• We have suspended annual pay increases, plan to reduce hours for management employees, and will release contractors and temporary workers.
• We are aggressively managing all spending, including all spending for aircraft, buildings, equipment, leases, services and other areas. We will of course make all necessary investments in expense items to maintain the safety and integrity of our operation.
• We are working with all vendor partners to reduce spending in line with our reduced flight schedule.

Additionally, we have worked actively with the White House, The Treasury Department, and Congress on an aid package that could total $50 billion for passenger airlines if it is passed. “We appreciate that the federal government recognizes the essential nature of airline service to our economy and society, and the importance of aviation jobs,” said Tilden. “As we more fully understand the impact of these provisions, we will add to our plans to manage through this change.”

“These actions are unprecedented, but these are truly unprecedented times,” said Tilden. “Alaskahas been here for 88 years to serve our customers and communities and to provide good jobs for our people. It is imperative that we act swiftly and courageously to ensure that we’re here to continue our mission in the future.”

“We are ultimately optimistic about the future of our great airline,” said Tilden. “But it is clear that we are and will be under severe financial pressure for the foreseeable future and that is why these actions are essential.”

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery (Alaska):

Alaska Airlines celebrates its continuing growth with the announcement of new service to a brand-new destination for the airline: Cincinnati. Daily nonstop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is scheduled to begin on August 18.

Cincinnati becomes the 93^rd nonstop destination served from Alaska’s hub in Seattle/Tacoma. The route will connect two dynamic regions, each with thriving technology and business centers. The flights also make it convenient for travelers to connect to dozens of destinations across the West Coast using Alaska’s Seattle hub.

Flight times based on local times

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):