Being the most caring airline starts with employing first-class people who go the extra mile for every single guest. Every single day.

Sharon M., a lead customer service agent based in New Jersey, was among nearly two dozen employees selected to star in a series of TV commercials that will begin airing before Sunday’s big game on Feb. 12.

As someone who has worked as a flight attendant, I know how difficult the job can be and have been so impressed with the Alaska Airlines team. Working with their employees was a joy. They are so attentive, thoughtful and were everything I have come to expect from Alaska.”

– Tan France

Our latest commercials promote the care and value we bring to our guests every day:

With the Alaska Airlines Visa® card, you + someone special can enjoy Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ to anywhere we fly – with no blackout dates – and no change fees.

Earn miles 30% faster on us compared to other U.S. airlines—and Alaska miles never expire.

The dream team

Our employees experienced a real-life Hollywood casting call when they auditioned for their parts, received call-backs and showed up on the day of filming at Mineta San Jose International Airport for hair, makeup and wardrobe.

“I think it’s great that Alaska asked us to be part of something so amazing,” said Sunny S., a customer service agent in San Jose who played an extra in the commercials. “We are employees, we are frontliners, we understand the airline industry. To have that moment to be in a commercial and to be asked by Alaska to do so, it was a warm feeling.”

Our employees are at the heart of our brand and it’s their remarkable, caring service that makes Alaska so special. We’re thrilled to have them be such a core part of our new commercials,” said Eric Edge, managing director for marketing and advertising at Alaska Airlines.

In his commercial debut Ryan D., a senior analyst on our strategic crew planning team, shared a meaningful moment with one of our flight attendants, played by Hikma S., when he signed: “Thank you.”

Ryan, who radiates kindness and is Deaf, says he was excited to learn “on-set” he would be given a bigger role than he was originally cast—one that fulfilled his desire to represent the Deaf community.

“The company really does care about the Deaf community and that’s very important to me. I think it was amazing to see actual employees in these commercials,” said Ryan. “It shows the company wants us to be a part of the brand and that’s really cool.”

Care shouldn’t be rare. 

At Alaska, we care wherever—and whenever—we can—for our guests, employees and communities.

Care includes having more nonstop flights from the West Coast than any other airline, while offering the most generous loyalty program in the skies.

It means keeping our earth healthy through sustainable practices and being the first U.S. airline to eliminate onboard plastic-use (shout out to Boxed Water™️ & our recent move to ditch plastic cups for good).

It means showing up for our guests in big and small ways to make their day. Care is reflected in everything we do, and we hope you see it for yourself. Share your stories with us on social using the hashtag #AlaskaCarelines.

As the title sponsor of San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade & Festival, we’re proud to celebrate not only the year of the Rabbit but also the year of the Cat—and all the communities this holiday touches.

For MyHoa Tran and Esther Chan, the New Year means more than turning the page in a calendar. For their families, celebrating the first moon of the Lunar New Year can be a multi-day-long event that goes back generations. It means families getting together, renewal, fortune and delicious dishes steeped in tradition.

Tran and Chan, members of our Air Group Pan Asians (AGPA) business resource group (BRG), share what makes this time of year special for them and how even the name of the holiday differs based on where you are from.  

While Lunar New Year is the general term for the start of the traditional lunisolar calendar, the holiday also has different names in specific cultures. People from Chinese culture call it Spring Festival, or Chūnjié, Koreans call the New Year Seollal, and Vietnamese refer to it as Tết.

In most Asian cultures that celebrate Lunar New Year, 2023 is the year of the Water Rabbit. However, Vietnam does not have the rabbit as part of their zodiac animals and instead celebrates the Year of the Cat.  

Celebrating Vietnamese Tết

Cleaning the house: Tết starts the month before with a ceremonial cleaning of the house from top to bottom, followed by decorating. “In the South, where I’m from, we use yellow apricot blossoms, which represent the spirit of Tết,” Tran said. “We also use marigolds-symbolizing longevity, chrysanthemums, cockscombs and paperwhites.”

Oh, the food! Food preparation begins a week before the holiday. “We prepare roasted watermelon seeds, pickled onion, cabbage, and small leeks, dried candies, fruit trays, coconut candy, peanut brittle and a big pot of meat stew cooked in coconut juice,” she said.

On New Year’s Eve Day, the whole family gathers to prepare the traditional bánh tét, a savory-sweet rice cake, which takes about 24 hours to cook. “Everyone in the house has a job to do–be it the banana leaves, rice, cooking the meat (pork belly) or rolling and packing the cakes.

Ringing in Lunar New Year with loved ones

For software engineer Esther Chan, who hails from Mainland China and Hong Kong, being with family and friends is important.

Saige Adaro, 18, felt lost in 2020 when the pandemic brought an abrupt end to 10 years of studying dance – until an invitation to join a video class propelled her onto a new creative path. Holden Aniya, also 18, discovered a love for digital storytelling, which has helped her stay closer to her family while she pursues her dream of becoming an airline pilot. For both young women, an innovative digital media program serving elementary through high school students that is supported by the Alaska Airlines Foundation gave them new tools to express themselves and dream bigger.

Adaro and Aniya were among more than 3,300 students in Hawai‘i who participated last year in HIKI NŌ, a PBS Hawai‘i program that teaches students how to create PBS-quality videos telling the stories of their communities. HIKI NŌ, which received a 2022 grant from the Alaska Airlines Foundation, also cultivates professional skills that help students succeed in college and their future careers.

Students’ projects are released on a weekly PBS Hawai‘i broadcast, as well as the PBS Hawai‘i YouTube channel, and 90 schools across four islands participate. “It’s a huge thing for Hawai‘i kids, who are in sort of a little bubble,” said Aniya, who is now a freshman at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “HIKI NŌ is a great way for kids to get out there, speak to different people and share their stories with everyone.”

Adaro loved her work with HIKI NŌ so much that it changed her entire career path. She’s now majoring in screenwriting at Chapman University in California.

The Alaska Airlines Foundation is committed to creating opportunities for young people to inspire the next generation

The Alaska Airlines Foundation, a nonprofit grant-making organization, is dedicated to supporting programs for the next generation of leaders in aviation and beyond, particularly in the West Coast states we call home. HIKI NŌ is among 68 organizations in Hawai‘i, Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington that received grants from the Foundation in 2022 to equip and enable young people to pursue their career dreams.

Over the past 23 years, we have invested more than $4 million in grants for communities where Alaska Airlines flies. HIKI NŌ received past support from Alaska Airlines, and the 2022 Foundation grant came in the same year we celebrated 15 years of service to the Hawaiian Islands.

Cultivating skills for future careers

Adaro began to realize that filmmaking could be a viable career as she produced HIKI NŌ projects like “Sewing a New Normal,” which told the story of her school’s fashion program. “I loved being able to do a video about how that program has survived COVID and how it’s continuing to grow,” she said. “Just shining a light on something that often goes overlooked, that contributes a lot to students’ lives, was really gratifying and I loved doing it.”

Ryan Kawamoto, a director and vice president for Kinetic Productions in Honolulu, remembers getting his start in a high school video production class. Now, he’s mentored dozens of HIKI NŌ students. “Not all of them will go into the industry and that’s OK,” he said. “But they’re learning valuable soft skills like teamwork, communication, creative problem-solving, speaking skills and writing skills. The list goes on and on.”

Kawamoto offered Adaro a summer internship after her experience with HIKI NŌ. “It definitely opened so many doors for me,” said Adaro, who plans to pay it forward by becoming a future HIKI NŌ mentor. “For students all over the state, it allows them to explore an artistic side of the media industry, and it allows them to explore their passions. I owe a lot to it.”

The Alaska Airlines Foundation is now accepting new grant requests for 2023. More information on applying for a Foundation grant can be found here.