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Champions never rest: new Russell Wilson TV commercial debuts

Russell Wilson training camp - Champions Never Rest

One hot summer day not long ago, 40 production crew members, 13 Alaska Airlines employees and one star quarterback gathered on a middle school football field in Seattle for an elite training camp.

Champions never rest, after all, which is why we enlisted the support of our Chief Football Officer Russell Wilson to design a camp that only he could imagine.

Wilson, the starting quarterback for the champion Seattle Seahawks, led Alaska employees through a high-stepping obstacle course, a lost teddy bear running drill, snack delivery accuracy training – #snackuracy – and more.

This is an exclusive sneak peek at the first of three brand-new Alaska Airlines TV commercials featuring Wilson, shot on location in Seattle over the course of a 12-hour day. It will air on TV stations from Bellingham to Vancouver, Washington beginning Aug. 7.

New: see the outtakes.

Top seven destinations for fall foliage

Denali, Fairbanks in the autumn

Autumn is near and people are getting ready for an explosion of color that will light up the country. However, if you talk to a “leaf peeper,” (someone who travels to see the changing colors of fall foliage) you’ll learn that sight is only one part of the story. The crunch of leaves underfoot, the perfume of an apple orchard or the comforting smell of a wood fire are all parts of a true autumnal trip.

To really immerse yourself in leaf-peeping you have to stand among the trees and there’s no better way to get there than Alaska Airlines. Join us to experience some of the nation’s greatest sights with our top seven destinations for leaf-peepin’ this fall.

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After a curveball in travel plans, baseball player gets a lift from Horizon

When a recently promoted minor-league baseball player mistakenly got off the airplane in the wrong city, a Horizon Air employee stepped up to the plate to deliver him to his final destination 90 miles away.

Customer service agent Andrew Joshu drove from Great Falls, Montana, to Helena to help Sthervin Matos make it to the ballpark just in time for the first pitch.

Moments later, in his first game with his new team, Matos hit a home run.

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Alaska Airlines employees bring Alaska to Minnesota

Joanne_birthday_1

Joanne Mambretti had been to every state in the country, save one – Alaska. She had planned a birthday trip to finally check it off her bucket list when a breast cancer recurrence made her too ill to go.

That’s when a group of Alaska and Menzies Aviation (Alaska’s ramp, passenger and cargo handling service) employees decided to take Alaska to Mambretti in Minneapolis.

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5 things to know about Horizon Air

For those not familiar with the heart and history behind Horizon Air, the nation’s seventh-largest regional airline, here are five things you might not know.

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Onboard cocktails: celebrate summer with a ginger sunrise

You don’t have to be at cruising altitude on “#TravelTuesday” to enjoy one of our favorite onboard cocktails.

This refreshing take on a classic gin-orange buck (an old name for a cocktail with ginger) is shared by Erik Chapman, barman at Seattle’s Sun Liquor Distillery, a small, local business which produces the premium gin, rum and vodka served onboard Alaska Airlines flights.

Flying today? Ask for orange juice and ginger ale with your Sun Liquor Hedge Trimmer Gin – and don’t forget the lemon garnish.

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A machine that prints pancakes

How many breakfast chefs does it take to make 180 pancakes in an hour?

None, if you have a pancake machine.

For those of you who’ve spent any time in an Alaska Airlines Board Room, you know what we’re talking about.

If you haven’t, imagine an office printer. But instead of paper, it prints fluffy, delicious pancakes.

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Shipping 353 pounds of vinyl memories on Alaska Air Cargo

One hot night in the early 1960s in a tiny music hall in New Orleans, a group of jazz musicians got together to pay tribute to Sam Morgan’s Jazz Band, some three decades after Morgan’s death. New Orleans jazz scene regulars Kid Howard and Kid Sheik were there, on the trumpet and cornet, respectively. Ken Mills of Preservation Hall fame was there to facilitate.

The band had been playing for a little while when they were interrupted by a frantic pounding on the door. It was an elderly man who’d heard the music wafting through the streets and come running.

“Sam Morgan’s back! Sam Morgan’s back!”

My grandfather cries when he tells this story.

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A local’s guide to Mazatlán

Mmm, Mazatlán.

Alaska Airlines customer service agent Karen Solis says she likes to joke with her customers. “The first step they see is immigration and I get to make their first smile in Mazatlan.”

Between its golden beaches, local seafood and renowned nightlife, it’s easy to see why this resort town on the Pacific Ocean is such a popular vacation destination.

But for those who crave an experience that’s a little more off the beaten path, it’s worth a round of “what do the locals do?”
Alaska Airlines customer service agent Karen Solis has lived most of her life in the “Pearl of the Pacific,” and offers these hyper-local tips.

She says most people probably have no idea that the world’s tallest natural working lighthouse is in Mazatlán, that 30 percent of all vegetables eaten in Mexico are grown in Sinaloa, or that the people of Sinaloa are known throughout the country for their beauty.

Book your flight: destination Mazatlán.

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Busting the myth of bad airplane food: Alaska Airlines chef uses science to make food fly

A team of experts plate and sample every single dish before it is added to the menu. In this photo, Alaska Airlines onboard food and beverage product manager Kirsten Robinett examines a first class meal in a recent menu quality check. Pictured here: Cucina Fresca penne with herb-roasted chicken breast and broccoli florets.

Let’s be frank. Meals don’t always taste so great at 35,000 feet.

Why does airplane food taste so bad?

Taste buds are dulled and even the most carefully prepared dishes are, at best, reheated leftovers. It’s no wonder that airline food has a bum rap.

But Alaska Airlines’ chef and a team of onboard food and beverage experts have spent the past few years working to change that.

“We don’t want to just have good airline food – we want to have good food, period,” says Lisa Luchau, director of Alaska Airlines’ onboard food and beverage services.

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Alaska Airlines employee drives 5 hours to help customer make it to fishing trip on time

A college student’s Alaska adventure was nearly derailed before it even started – until Alaska Airlines employees went above and beyond to deliver him to his final destination.

When Flight 139 from Chicago to Anchorage was diverted to nearby Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson because of unexpected fog May 5, many customers needed help rearranging plans and making connections.

A 21-year-old man on his first visit to Alaska was especially worried.

Andrew Quinones had booked a chartered halibut fishing trip – “something I’d dreamed of doing since I was a kid,” he said.

The boat was scheduled to leave the next morning out of Seward, about 125 miles south of Anchorage – a 2 ½-hour drive.

Because of the time it took to transport customers from the Air Force base back to Ted Stevens International Airport, buses weren’t running to Seward at that time of the evening, and taxi fare probably would have cost more than airfare.

“I was stressing out,” Quinones said. “I had already paid for my fishing trip and would not be able to get a refund. I also had prepaid my hotel in Seward and could not receive a refund on that as well. I was worried that I would be stranded in Anchorage with no hotel or way of transportation.”

That’s when the Alaska Airlines team in Anchorage got creative.

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Flying in a time capsule to honor veterans

As much as he appreciates the Bombardier Q400’s sophisticated flight deck technology, Horizon Air Captain Rob Sandberg quite enjoys stepping back in time. He can often be found at the controls of World War II fighter aircraft, flying for a worthy cause close to his heart.

For the past seven years, the Seattle-based pilot has been a member of the Condor Squadron, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit group that preserves and flies AT-6 aircraft at military funerals, sports team games, airshows and other community events. Founded in 1965 by a group of World War II fighter pilots, the squadron’s mission is to remember and honor those who’ve flown for the U.S. military.
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