Gig Harbor, Wash., Man Surprised With New Car as Alaska Airlines’ ‘West Mostest’ Flier

Alaska Airlines greeted Gig Harbor, Wash., resident Greg Yob at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Monday with the keys to a new car. Yob received the car in honor of his status as the carrier’s newly deemed "West Mostest" flier after logging nearly 100 flights up and down the West Coast totaling more than 70,000 miles during the past year on Alaska Airlines. The gift kicks off the airline’s enhanced "West Most" schedule between the Pacific Northwest and California.

As the owner of a commercial cleaning business in the Bay Area, Yob flies twice a week on Alaska Airlines. He’s been an Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan member for 18 years, an MVP Gold top-echelon flier since 2000 and an Alaska Airlines Visa Signature cardholder to maximize his ability to earn miles. Yob supplements his business travel budget with mileage award tickets.

Alaska Airlines acquired the car, a blue Pontiac Solstice roadster, through its partnership with Bank of America Visa. The car — along with Yob’s wife, brother, daughter and grandchildren — were at Sea-Tac Airport when Yob arrived Monday afternoon.

Yob also received first-class tickets on Alaska Airlines to Maui, the carrier’s newest Hawaii destination with service from Seattle starting July 17, and a four-night stay at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea. Yob’s wife, Gigi, said her husband has been so busy running his business that he hasn’t taken a vacation in years.

"Greg leaves his family each week, flies to San Francisco to work and then returns home. He’s flown more flights on Alaska Airlines in 2007 than any other customer between Seattle and the Bay Area, making him our ‘West-Mostest’ flier," said Steve Jarvis, the airline’s vice president of marketing, sales and customer service. "We couldn’t think of any better way to say ‘thank you’ than by giving him a new set of wheels to drive to and from the airport in style — along with a well-deserved vacation."

Starting April 27, Alaska will offer 15 weekday roundtrip Seattle-Los Angeles flights — three more than before — departing on the hour southbound and on the half-hour northbound. The airline also will offer weekday departures nearly every two hours on the hour or half-hour for flights between Seattle and Orange County (nine daily roundtrips, one more than before), San Francisco (eight daily roundtrips), San Diego (seven daily roundtrips, increasing to eight in June), and Oakland and San Jose (seven daily roundtrips each).

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 five major Southern California airports: Burbank, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Ontario and Orange County.

In all, 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.

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SOURCE: Alaska Airlines