Aviation Day: where future aviators learn how to take wing

Summary

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This weekend, Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air wrapped up their annual Aviation Day events in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.

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With nearly 4000 participants and over 600 volunteers in attendance across the three cities, Aviation Day provides local youth with the opportunity to learn about careers in aviation, interact with our employees across the business, and get hands-on experience with aircraft.

This weekend marked the conclusion of our 17th year hosting Aviation Day events, including a strong second year in San Francisco. Each year, Aviation Day draws thousands of children and teens in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco to explore careers at Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air and our many partners. The events provide the chance to see our aircraft up close and meet both our amazing employees and representatives from places like the FAA, local fire departments, fuel companies, and airports. Including the pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, and so many others, we are grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who helped make these events possible.

“You never know how a single moment of exposure could change the trajectory of someone’s life. At its core, Aviation Day is about inspiring the next generation; whether we are helping attendees see themselves in aviators who look like them, sparking curiosity with hands-on, interactive experiences, or teaching them about the wide variety of careers in aviation. For many students, this is a transformational moment and a glimpse into careers they may not have known existed.”

– Captain Kim Gabrelcik

Director, Base Chief Pilot at San Francisco International Airport, Alaska Airlines

Here are some visual highlights from this year’s events:

Nick Vanni (second from left) credits Aviation Day as a pivotal inspiration in his path to becoming a pilot. Today, Nick works as a customer service agent for Horizon Air and is enrolled in our Ascend Pilot Development Program.

Horizon Air Captain Allen Guttormson started the airline’s flight operations virtual reality program. In addition to his work at Aviation Day, Allen is instrumental in bringing in youth groups to experience VR pilot training throughout the year.

John Beadle (pictured left), a longtime captain at Horizon Air, has been flying a helicopter to our Aviation Day in Portland for 6 years. His son, Jake, (pictured right), is currently enrolled in our Pilot Development Program, and has joined his father in helping inspire the next generation of aviators.