Alaska Airlines Opens New Reservations Call Center in Phoenix

Alaska Airlines today opened a new reservations call center in south Phoenix, replacing the airline’s Tempe, Ariz., facility operated since 1989. Alaska invested $5 million to develop the 30,000-square-foot leased space into its most modern call center.

The facility serves customers who call Alaska’s reservations phone line, (800) ALASKAAIR, and specializes in serving elite-level frequent fliers and Spanish-speaking customers. The center employs 270 agents, including a growing number of bilingual employees.

"We are thrilled to open this new state-of-the-art facility, which underscores our deep commitment to our Phoenix-based reservations sales agents and the important service they provide our customers," said Lane Kemper, Alaska’s director of reservations sales. "This center plays a particularly critical role in serving Alaska’s Spanish-speaking customers in their language of choice, and we’re pleased to expand our group of bilingual agents here."

The center employs 30 bilingual agents, who earn higher wages than their counterparts, and aims to double that number by the end of 2007. Alaska will hold a recruitment event open to bilingual and English-speaking candidates at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, at an off-site Phoenix location. For more information, visit the careers section of the airline’s Web site at alaskaair.com or call (206) 392-2640.

The new Phoenix facility is located at 14601 S. 50th St. The airline employs about 850 reservations agents at centers in Phoenix; Boise, Idaho; and Seattle.

Alaska Airlines began flying to Phoenix in 1985. Today, it operates an average of six daily flights between Phoenix and Seattle, and three daily flights between Phoenix and Portland, Ore.

Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, serve 92 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada and Mexico. This year Alaska Airlines celebrates its 75th anniversary, marking the airline’s growth from a single-aircraft operation in 1932 to one of the largest U.S. carriers. For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: caroline.boren@alaskaair.com

SOURCE: Alaska Airlines