Alaska Airlines Upgrades First Class Food Service on Seattle-Los Angeles, Seattle-San Francisco Flights

Alaska Airlines has upgraded first class food service on 40 daily Seattle-Los Angeles and Seattle-San Francisco flights. The more substantial, upscale offerings include freshly prepared items such as fresh fruit, gourmet cheese, French toast, Asian rice noodle salad and Mediterranean penne pasta, replacing snacks such as warm nuts and pizza.

"These food upgrades further distinguish the first class experience on Alaska’s flights between Seattle and Los Angeles and San Francisco," said Greg Latimer, Alaska’s managing director of brand and product marketing. "With more frequent flights than any other carrier, convenient departure times, low everyday fares, a double-miles offer and more upscale menus, our service offers great value for business and leisure customers."

  New menus include (depending on route and departure time):

  * Large warm pastry, fresh fruit bowl and fruit yogurt
  * Hot French toast with maple syrup, scrambled eggs, bacon and fresh fruit
    bowl
  * Cheese and fruit plate with chevre, manchego cheese, crackers, red
    seedless grapes and Turkish apricots
  * Crudites plate with salami sandwich on onion roll, fresh vegetables,
    Greek vinaigrette dressing and chocolate from Seattle Chocolates
  * Asian rice noodle salad with chicken satay, Thai dressing, warm roll and
    chocolate from Seattle Chocolates
  * Mediterranean penne pasta with Tuscan chicken, warm roll and chocolate
    from Seattle Chocolates

In the main cabin on Seattle-Los Angeles and Seattle-San Francisco flights, Alaska offers a complimentary beverage and pretzel snack service. The airline also offers an "Anytime Picnic Pack" for $5 featuring natural and organic foods such as salami, cheese, crackers, dried apricots, sunflower seed spread, jam, a dark chocolate sandwich cookie and Emergen-C energy drink mix.

Starting April 27, Alaska will offer more frequent Seattle-California flights departing on the hour or half-hour. The airline will offer 15 daily roundtrip Seattle-Los Angeles flights on weekdays — three more than before — departing on the hour southbound and on the half-hour northbound. Alaska also will offer weekday departures nearly every two hours on the hour or half-hour for flights between Seattle and Oakland (seven daily roundtrips), Orange County (nine daily roundtrips, one more than before), San Diego (seven daily roundtrips, increasing to eight in June), San Francisco (eight daily roundtrips) and San Jose (seven daily roundtrips). The new flights are available for purchase at alaskaair.com or by calling (800) ALASKAAIR.

Qualifying customers can earn double miles on Seattle-Los Angeles and Seattle-San Francisco flights for most of 2008. Customers qualify for Alaska’s "SEA Double" offer by flying two Seattle-Los Angeles or Seattle-San Francisco roundtrip flights between March 15 and May 15, 2008, and registering for the promotion. Qualifying customers earn double Mileage Plan miles when they fly those routes May 16 through Dec. 31, 2008. Registration and terms are available at alaskaair.com.

Alaska and sister carrier Horizon Air offer more than 75 daily roundtrip flights between Seattle and 16 California airports. They are the only airlines serving all five Bay Area airports: Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa; and all five Los Angeles Basin airports: Burbank, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Ontario and Orange County.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air together serve 92 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. 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: maria.koenig@alaskaair.com

SOURCE: Alaska Airlines