Alaska Airlines announced today it has finalized an agreement with biofuel company Gevo Inc., to purchase its most significant sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) offtake commitment to date – 185 million gallons of SAF over five years starting in 2026. This agreement was developed alongside others in the oneworld alliance.

In April 2021, Alaska announced the company’s commitment and roadmap to achieve carbon net zero by 2040, and established a five-part path to achieve that goal. The path includes operational efficiency, fleet renewal, sustainable aviation fuel, electric or hybrid-electric aircraft over the long term and credible carbon offsets only as needed to achieve our targets if technology does not advance fast enough to close the gap without. Of this path, sustainable aviation fuel provides the greatest opportunity to decarbonize in the near and medium term, and Alaska has been working for over a decade to first test and then use SAF.

In 2016, Alaska and Gevo made history by flying the world’s first commercial flight using forest residuals from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., powered by a 20 percent blend of SAF. Today, Alaska is using SAF in its operations in California and works with multiple producers and other partners to use and facilitate the development of additional SAF supply in the future.

In September 2020, oneworld became the first global airline alliance to announce a target of carbon neutrality by 2050, establishing its commitment to long-term sustainability for the industry. The alliance followed up that commitment with an intermediate goal to achieve 10% SAF use across the member airlines by 2030.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Alaska Airlines made this announcement:

This summer, Alaska Airlines guests can veg out on board with more gluten friendly, plant-based and vegan meal options available in all cabins.

We’re listening to our guests who told us that they are looking for more plant-based menu options when traveling. Our new vegan option, called the “Soy Meets World,” is a vegan salad developed in partnership with Evergreens, a West Coast-based company that makes gourmet, freshly chopped salads.

We serve freshly prepared meals and snacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner & always include a vegetarian option. This summer, we’re excited to offer guests our ”Soy Meets World” salad, a new vegan friendly option.

We’re proud to offer our guests a variety of fresh and seasonal meal selections and thirst-quenching beverages on our flights.

Today, we have the most comprehensive domestic food and beverage program in the industry. We offer three meal options in First Class, including our Signature Fruit & Cheese on flights as short as 550 miles.

We also offer ample food options in Premium Class and Main Cabin, which include up to four fresh options on flights over 1,100 miles and up to five snack items on flights over 223 miles, such as the Mediterranean Tapas Pack (vegan and gluten-free).

Now through October, guests can enjoy fresh summer flavors that include berries, summer squash, corn, citrus and tomatoes.

Our Soy Meets World vegan salad includes roasted broccoli, fresh cucumber slices, scallions, pickled carrots, fried tofu and brown rice served over a bed of crisp romaine and baby lettuce greens, topped with roasted cashews, fried onions and paired with a Tamari Chili-Lime dressing.

Alaska makes it easy to get the meal(s) you want. Enjoy fresh ingredients inspired by the West Coast, from snacks to freshly prepared meals, by pre-ordering your favorites ahead of your flight using your reservation on our app or alaskaair.com.

Snacks and Picnic packs do not require pre-order and are available on board most flights over 2 hours.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):

Alaska Airlines made this announcement:

Today, we’re announcing that we will become the first U.S. airline to launch an electronic bag tag program later this year.

Electronic bag tags will allow guests to skip the step of printing traditional bag tags at the airport. Travelers will be able to activate the devices from anywhere—their home, office or even car—up to 24-hours before their flight through our mobile app.

“This technology allows our guests to tag their own bags in just seconds and makes the entire check-in process almost all off-airport,” said Charu Jain, senior vice president of merchandising and innovation at Alaska.”

The activation is done by simply  touching the phone used for check-in to the electronic bag tag, which has an antenna that powers and reads the information transmitted from the phone. The e-paper bag tag’s screen will then display the guest’s flight information.

Alaska’s electronic bag tags will display the guest’s flight information. 

Our electronic bag tag program is expected to reduce the time spent dropping-off checked luggage by nearly 40%. 

In March, we launched a new self-bag drop system at San Jose International Airport, where guests can save up to a little more than four minutes. Our goal is to modernize travel at every major city we fly, from reimagining the lobby to testing innovative technology that streamlines the airport experience.

Alaska Airlines is the first U.S. airline to pioneer this innovative electronic bag tag program here at SJC,” said San José Mayor Sam Liccardo. “This program will modernize the check-in process and provide a more sustainable option for travelers.”

Rollout of the electronic bag tag program will happen in several phases. The first phase will initially include 2,500 Alaska Airlines’ frequent fliers who will begin using the electronic bag tags in late 2022. Mileage Plan members will have the option to purchase the devices early next year.

Alaska Airlines made this announcement:

Carbon transformation company Twelve, Alaska Air Group Inc., and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on advancing the market for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) to include fuels derived from recaptured CO₂ and renewable energy, and working toward the first commercial demonstration flight in the United States powered by Twelve’s E-Jet^®.

Through the first-of-its-kind agreement, Twelve, Alaska, and Microsoft will work to advance production and use of Twelve’s E-Jet^®, a low carbon jet fuel produced by a power-to-liquids process leveraging the company’s carbon transformation technology, which uses only renewable energy, water, and CO₂ as inputs to transform CO₂ into a variety of critical chemicals and materials conventionally made from fossil fuels. As part of the work outlined to advance the scalability and use of the technology, the companies will work toward a demonstration flight using E-Jet^®, and to supply the fuel to address some of Microsoft’s business travel on Alaska.

“By producing our drop-in E-Jet^® fuel from captured CO₂, we can rapidly and efficiently close the carbon cycle and allow businesses to sustainably use emissions to power their own business travel,”. said Nicholas Flanders, Co-Founder and CEO of Twelve. “Partnering with progress-minded brands like Alaska Airlines and Microsoft adds thrust as we work towards delivering industrial-scale volumes of E-Jet^®.”

“Alaska is on a path to net zero by 2040, which will require sustainable aviation fuels like Twelve’s E-Jet^®,” said Diana Birkett Rakow, senior vice president of public affairs and sustainability at Alaska Airlines. “We are committed to making SAF more widely available, at an affordable price, helping bring new alternatives to market, and using these fuels in our operation – a path that requires public policy action and private partnerships like this one. We’re excited to work with Twelve and Microsoft to advance Twelve’s E-Jet^® fuel, turning captured CO₂ and renewable energy into fuel for our airplanes.”

“Addressing emissions from the economy’s hardest-to-abate sectors, such as aviation, will take commitment from all stakeholders,” said Elizabeth Willmott, Carbon Program Director at Microsoft. “Building on our Climate Innovation Fund investment in Twelve and relationship with Alaska Airlines, this collaboration provides an opportunity to accelerate decarbonization in the aviation industry by exploring how to use low carbon fuels produced by renewable electricity, like Twelve’s E-Jet^®.”

Produced using Twelve’s carbon transformation technology and in partnership with Emerging Fuels Technology, E-Jet^® is a fuel with over 80 percent lower lifecycle emissions. Transitioning to E-Jet will not only reduce reliance on fossil fuels but will release fewer particulates and reduce impacts on neighboring communities. In March, Shopify, one of the largest corporate purchasers of long-term carbon removal, announced the first purchase of E-Jet^® through the company’s Sustainability Fund.

SAF is a core part of Alaska’s five-part pathway to net zero by 2040. Since 2010, Alaska has worked with various public and private partners to advance public policies needed to jumpstart the nascent SAF market, create new offtake agreements and cultivate partnerships to accelerate market development. Alaska was also a founding member of the Aviators Group of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Buyers Alliance, announced at COP26, bringing an operator’s perspective to collaborations driving demand and supply.

Alaska Airlijnes aircraft photo gallery:

Alaska Airlines is celebrating its 90th anniversary by giving all employees the gift of travel:

While many of us were instructed to stay home during the pandemic, airline employees were part of the essential workforce who remained on the front lines. Each day brought new challenges, regulations and precautions that our people had to carefully navigate while continuing to care for our guests, communities and each other.

As we inch our way to a new normal—happily seeing travelers’ pent-up desire to hop on a plane—Alaska is taking a moment to thank each employee for their relentless commitment to caring for our guests for 90 years & counting by giving them 90,000 miles to fly anywhere in the world.

“As we celebrate 90 years of flying, we wouldn’t be where we are today without our incredible people who work nonstop to keep things moving, even throughout a global pandemic,” said CEO Ben Minicucci. “When you think about how many airlines have come and gone since 1932, it’s an amazing achievement that we’re still here and stronger than ever—it’s because of the genuine care and hard work our people bring to our operation every day.”

The great thing about miles is they never expire and offer flexibility to travel not just on Alaska, but also on our oneworld partners like British Airways, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Finnair and our other airline partners. Travel awards begin at just 5,000 miles, and can be used to book First Class tickets, a relaxing stay at a hotel or tickets to an anticipated event—there are so many ways to use airline miles!

With 90,000 miles, you can plan a trip to almost anywhere in the world:

• For instance, a roundtrip flight from Seattle up and down the West Coast starts at just 10,000 roundtrip, which means you can get you up to nine roundtrip flights!
• Roundtrips from Seattle to New York start at 25,000 miles, or even visit Hawaii from San Francisco starting at 30,000 miles roundtrip.
• Want to travel internationally? A roundtrip flight to Europe from the West Coast starts at 60,000 miles through our oneworld partners. Mileage prices do vary so search for your travel dates to see the prices for the dates and cabins you want to travel in.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery (Boeing):

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) has reached a tentative agreement with Alaska Airlines that, for the first time in the carrier’s history, will put approximately 5,300 Alaska Airlines workers at the top of the airline industry’s pay scale.

The tentative agreement extension covers IAM members who work in Ramp, Stores, Clerical, Office and Passenger Service at the carrier. Alaska Airlines hubs include Anchorage, Alaska; Seattle-Tacoma; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; and Los Angeles.

If ratified by IAM members at Alaska Airlines, the four-year contract would:

• Raise base wage rates for all classifications to between 8.9% and 17.4% on Aug. 10, 2022.
• Further raise all base wages rates for all classifications by 2.5% on Aug. 10, 2023
• Base wage rate will also increase a minimum of 2.5% on Aug. 10, 2024 and Aug. 10 2025, subject to an industry review.
• In 2024 and 2025, the agreement calls for an industry review, which will give employees a minimum 2.5% base wage rate or the percentage required to match the top of the scale as the No. 4 airline, whichever is greater.
• No changes to strong existing medical and other benefits.
• Longevity pay increases starting after year 6 at 5 cents per hour, and topping out after year 12 and beyond at 35 cents per hour.
• Strong existing job security language extended until Sept. 27, 2028.

ALPA issued this statement:
Alaska Airlines pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), said firmly today that they’re willing to strike if agreement on a new employment contract cannot be reached. With nearly 96 percent of members participating, an overwhelming 99 percent of Alaska pilots authorized union leaders to call a strike if necessary and when the parties are permitted by the National Mediation Board (NMB) to take that action.

The vote follows informational picketing last month where over 1,500 off-duty pilots, nearly half of the pilots employed by the airline, and their supporters, lined airports and streets at every Alaska Airlines base, the largest event of its kind in ALPA’s history.

“For three years, Alaska pilots have been resolved in their commitment to reach a new agreement and today, we spoke with one unified voice, just like we did with our recent informational picketing event,” said Capt. Will McQuillen, chairman of the Alaska Airlines ALPA Master Executive Council. “For years, we have been working toward a market-based contract with reasonable solutions that address work rules, scheduling flexibility, and career-security issues that pilots at other companies enjoy, not a strike. Now is the time for management to respond and engage constructively at the bargaining table.”

Before a strike can take place, the NMB must first decide that additional mediation efforts would not be productive and offer the parties an opportunity to arbitrate the contract dispute. If either side declines the arbitration, both parties enter a 30-day “cooling off” period, after which pilots and management can engage in self-help—a strike by the union or a lockout by management.

Alaska Airlines aircraft photo gallery: