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Holiday Lift Guide: Ideas for lifting people up

With turkey leftovers crammed in the fridge, we dash into the holiday season with bells on.

Or not.

While some manage to finish their holiday shopping on Black Friday, many of us struggle to find the perfect gift for the people we love.

At Alaska, we talk a lot about lift – that gravity-defying moment when an airplane takes flight, and those small acts of kindness that turn a stressful travel experience around. This year, instead of a traditional gift guide, we’ve identified ways we can lift people up for the holidays.

The Alaska Airlines Holiday Lift Guide inspires uplifting experiences you can offer to those in your life who make yours a little easier. We believe small gestures have the power to make a big difference.
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Tahoe City: Come for the world-class skiing, stay for the small-town vibe

I’d only been to the Tahoe House Bakery two times before, but the women behind the counter addressed me by my first name when I ordered a bacon cheddar scone and a decaf latte.

“Good morning, Jo.”

I smiled honestly, but nervously, caught off-guard by the familiarity and the friendliness. As I waited for my drink, I noticed she called everyone by their first names and I decided she must be a genius or a savant of some sort. Why was it so hard for me to believe someone was just friendly? Had I lived in New York and San Francisco for so long that I had forgotten what genuinely friendly people acted like?

It’s a vibe I’ve felt over and over since moving to Tahoe City, California for the winter. For years, my husband and I had visited for the skiing, but we recently moved for six months to enjoy the small town feel and slower pace of life. Maybe I did want strangers to call me by my first name.

When you think of iconic ski towns, you typically envision Park City, Aspen or Jackson Hole. That’s fair. But Tahoe City should be on the list too. In fact, it should be high up on the list and congratulated for its more low-key sensibilities. Despite the town’s modesty, there are few places in the world where you can ski 10 very different resorts within an hour of where you’re staying. And with a growing population, Tahoe City is home to a vibrant local community that offers so much more than just skiing and snowboarding.
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Leading the West Coast with 50% women on our board

Alaska Air Group’s female independent board directors. From left: Phyllis Campbell, Patricia (Patty) Bedient (seated), Helvi Sandvik, Susan Li and Marion Blakey (seated).

‘It starts at the top’

Alaska Airlines Lead Director Patty Bedient is proud to serve on our board with 50 percent women, arguing diversity and inclusion starts at the top of an organization. We couldn’t agree more.

“It means we ‘walk the talk’ on diversity at the board level,” she says.

Today, Women Inc. Magazine recognized Bedient as well as Phyllis Campbell, Marion Blakey, Helvi Sandvik and Susan Li as five of the Most Influential Corporate Board Directors in 2018. At Alaska, we’re proud to be the only airline – and only West Coast Fortune 500 company – to achieve gender parity among independent board directors.
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Ohhh, the possibilities at Paine Field! Tickets now on sale for 18 daily departures to 8 cities

UPDATE 1/22/19: We’re postponing our scheduled start of service from Paine Field until March 4, 2019. Our latest post has all the details.

ORIGINAL POST 11/15/18: If you live north of Seattle and throughout Snohomish County, we’re ready to make your day with some news you’ve probably been waiting to hear: We’re now selling tickets for 18 daily nonstop flights between Paine Field in Everett, Washington, and eight West Coast cities.

Say hello to Alaska flights at a more convenient, brand new airport terminal, and goodbye to a potentially much farther drive south to Sea-Tac Airport.

The first day of scheduled service is Feb. 11, 2019, subject to government approval. The all-jet service from Paine Field will be provided by Horizon Air flying the Embraer 175 aircraft featuring first class and premium class cabins. Read More

A West Coast pub at cruising altitude

Whether I’m traveling for business or pleasure, I look for ways to relax and enjoy my time in the air, which typically involves enjoying a cold craft beer and a snack. Lucky for me, Alaska Airlines’ beer menu offers nothing but craft beer. The company’s rotating West Coast brews – along with a new line of feel-good retail snacks – pleases a variety of palates with a range of choices.

When considering beer and snack options, I approach my decisions the same way whether on the ground or in the air. I peruse the beer menu, make my decision and then look for a snack to accompany the flavor attributes of my beer. As I whiz across the sky at cruising altitude, I want to feel like I’m relaxing at the local pub.
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Honoring veterans: A message from Horizon Air COO and former Black Hawk pilot

Constance von Muehlen was appointed chief operating officer at Alaska Airlines on April 3, 2021. Read more.

As an officer and Black Hawk pilot in the U.S. Army, Constance von Muehlen commanded an Apache Air Cavalry Troop. Today she leads the Horizon Air team as Chief Operating Officer. Constance is a fantastic leader, focused on safety, service, respect and providing opportunities for others, especially veterans.

By Constance von Muehlen, Horizon Air COO

At 7 years old, I saw a helicopter take off and decided I wanted to pilot those amazing machines! I am grateful that, with a lot of determination, support, and luck – including an ROTC scholarship – my dream came true. Flying for the U.S. Army taught me the power of working together, that serving is as essential as leading and – perhaps most importantly – that each person brings a unique value to the team. I am extremely proud to be among those at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air who have served our country.
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New Anchorage hangar built to house two of our largest 737s

Flying Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft in the Last Frontier has its challenges: inclement weather, remote locations, the occasional seal or caribou occupying the runway. But with over 86 years of flying experience, we’re pretty adept at meeting challenges.

This is especially true when it comes to making sure our aircraft are maintained with a focus on safety and performance. To meet the rigors of flying in Alaska and beyond, we unveiled a brand new Maintenance and Engineering Facility in Anchorage, Alaska this week.


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Making respect real: Continued work to prevent and address sexual misconduct

When RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, partnered with us to host new trainings this summer, they’d never worked with an airline before. Sunitha Menon, who leads RAINN’s consulting work across industries, thought she’d seen it all.

Then she learned about airplanes.
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Alaska Airlines and Paine Field go way back – all the way to the ’40s

UPDATE 1/22/19: We’re postponing our scheduled start of service from Paine Field until March 4, 2019. Our latest post has all the details.

ORIGINAL POST 11/8/18: When we announced we’d be flying out of Paine Field Snohomish County Airport in Everett, Washington, we heard your cheers. What you may not realize is how loudly we’re cheering with you – and why.

By offering new commercial service, subject to government approval, from the North Puget Sound region in early 2019, we’re returning to our roots. Flying out of Paine Field is a homecoming for Alaska Airlines.

Retirees Dick Colin, Dick Zengel, Gene Munson and Carl Scott (Scotty) all started their Alaska Airlines careers at Paine Field. Photo courtesy of Nancy Juntwait.

In the late 1940s, we outgrew our home at Merrill Field in Anchorage as we added World War II surplus aircraft to our fleet. We needed a bigger base for charter flights, so airline President James Wooten made a deal with Boeing to house our operating headquarters at Paine Field – at the Boeing Service Center in the northwest corner of the airfield to be exact.
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Brad Tilden: Meet Kennie Luu, one of our best

By Brad Tilden, CEO

Chances are, if you’ve flown through Seattle, you’ve seen and may even know Kennie Luu. He’s the guy with a smile a mile wide. If you need something, he wants to help you.

Each year, Alaska recognizes the best of the best of our people with the Customer Service Legend Award — the highest honor an employee can receive. Kennie was selected with 14 others for recognition in 2018. Our Legends are the top quarter of 1 percent of all the people who have ever worked for our airline.

Let me tell you more about Kennie. His given first name is Khang, and he was born in Vietnam. His father was a university professor, and his mother raised him and his four brothers. In 1983, the family made the difficult decision to flee their homeland, which had come under communist rule. Assisted by the Salvation Army, the family spent three months in a refugee camp in Thailand before traveling to the United States. Aside from some clothing and a pair of shoes, Kennie left behind all that he had known, in search of a better life. He was 16 years old and recalls that his family didn’t even have a dollar in their pockets.
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3 feel-good #iAmAlaska stories we love

Lightening the load after climbing accident

Rock climber Ilana Jesse with her 10-month-old daughter after her accident.

A group of experienced climbers were about 1,500 feet up Hayes Glacier in the Eastern Alaska Range when a boulder about two feet in diameter was dislodged. Though Ilana Jesse tried to get out of the rock’s path, it hit another boulder and crushed her left hand.

“My hand was in extremely bad shape,” the climber said.

Jesse needed medical attention as quickly as possible. Her hand was at risk for amputation, so she was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, WA. Meanwhile, a bush pilot got the remaining rock climbers safely off the glacier.
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The fear of flying: Helping kids with autism ease into air travel

Temple Grandin, a well-known advocate for people on the autism spectrum, says children have to experience different things in order to develop.

“A child’s not going to find out he likes to play a musical instrument if you never expose him to it,” she said.

That could also be said of air travel, which many people with disabilities avoid because of fear. For children on the autism spectrum, it is particularly difficult, between clearing security and dealing with crowds, overwhelming noises and harsh lights.
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