Weekend Wanderer: Vancouver, British Columbia to Bend, Oregon
No trail is too tough to master for professional mountain biker, Geoff Gulevich. Residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Geoff is an outdoors enthusiast who always has his fiancé, Brianna, and Go-Pro traveling by his side. He just returned from an Instagram takeover in Bend, Oregon as part of Alaska Airlines’ Weekend Wanderer series. For more…
Buying Boeing planes? How Alaska has done it for 50 years
Irv Bertram (pictured above) has handled the paperwork for Alaska’s aircraft purchases for the past four decades. In the 50 years Alaska Airlines has been buying and flying Boeing planes, acquiring aircraft has never been easier. First, the airline has the cash to buy jets fresh off the assembly line in Renton. Second, Alaska is…
Video: Alaska’s quirky 1980s ads that landed director in Advertising Hall of Fame
Pausing from a TV commercial shoot back in the day is Director Joe Sedelmaier (front, center). Can you guess who was Alaska’s then-CEO in this photo? The unconventional Alaska Airlines TV ads from the 1980s and ’90s got a little fresh air at this year’s American Advertising Hall of Fame ceremony. The commercials were directed…
Alaska Airlines wins Freedom Award from Department of Defense
Just in time for Independence Day, Alaska Airlines has won the 2016 Freedom Award. The honor was announced today by Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. The Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award is the highest recognition given to employers by the U.S. government for their support of National Guard and Reserve members. Only 15 companies…
Alaska Airlines’ beloved ‘Spirit of Alaska Statehood’ airplane officially retires
When Alaskans celebrated 50 years of statehood in 2009, Alaska Airlines decided to honor its namesake state by painting a special Alaska-themed paint theme on a Boeing 737-400. But with a state so vast and unique, the company had difficulty coming up with a design that was inclusive of everything from the ice in the…
Isobuta-what? Alaska partners with Gevo to bring biofuel to commercial flights
Alaska Airlines today operated the first commercial flights using a 20 percent blend of renewable alcohol-to-jet biofuel produced by Gevo, a renewable chemical and biofuel company. The two flights originated in Seattle with destinations of San Francisco and Washington D.C. Alcohol-to-jet biofuel was just approved for use by ASTM International in March 2016 and is…
Weekend Wanderer: Austin, Texas to Ketchikan, Alaska
Based in Austin, Texas, Zak Zeinert is a travel and landscape photographer who loves exploring this planet with all of its beautiful sights and wonderful people. He just returned from an Instagram takeover in Ketchikan, Alaska as part of Alaska’s Weekend Wanderer series. For more Weekend Wanderer posts, make sure you’re following Alaska Airlines on…
5 must-do’s on Kauai, Hawaii’s Garden Island
Oh Hawaii, land of warmth and beautiful beaches, of delicious food and welcoming culture. I have a love affair with Hawaii. Working for an airline, I’m able to travel a lot and have been to the islands over 20 times — twice to Kauai in the last six months. The island of Kauai does have…
Who run the world? In Cordova, Alaska, it’s the salmon
For the 24 hours leading up to the Copper River salmon season opener each year, the fishermen of Cordova, Alaska may as well be 5-year-olds waiting for Christmas. The season doesn’t officially open until 7 a.m. on the mid-May morning chosen by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (this year on May 16), but…
Weekend Wanderer: Portland, Oregon to Santa Barbara, California
No terrain is too difficult to conquer for avid ultrarunner, Alex Borsuk. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Alex can likely be found hitting the trail with her partner in crime, Peanut, by her side. She just returned from an Instagram takeover in Santa Barbara, California as part of Alaska’s Weekend Wanderer series. For more Weekend Wanderer…
Composting is grounds for change on Alaska flights
Alaska Airlines serves up 37,000 cups of coffee a day on its more than 900 daily flights, brewed using more than 250,000 pounds of Starbucks coffee each year. Ensuring that those grounds go back into the earth and not into the trash is the goal of a new composting effort at Alaska Airlines. Gardeners know…
Love is in the air: An interview with the Bachelor’s Lauren B.
By Kathryn Drury Wagner for Alaska Beyond Magazine It’s an intense progression, becoming a reality TV star. One evening Lauren Bushnell was contemplating her dating life in Los Angeles, and the next, the path to becoming one of the most talked about and envied women in the country was laid out before her, a glimpse…