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Isobuta-what? Alaska partners with Gevo to bring biofuel to commercial flights

Alaska Airlines today operated the first commercial flights using a 20 percent blend of renewable alcohol-to-jet biofuel produced by Gevo, a renewable chemical and biofuel company. The two flights originated in Seattle with destinations of San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Alcohol-to-jet biofuel was just approved for use by ASTM International in March 2016 and is the first aviation biofuel to be certified and approved since 2011.

Fuel made of isobuta-what?

To make renewable jet fuel, Gevo starts with a non-edible field corn. First, Gevo’s process captures the protein and fiber in the corn to produce a high value animal feed product. Then, the starch (or sugars) in the corn kernels is fermented into isobutanol. This fermentation process is similar to that used to make ethanol – the type of alcohol used in alcoholic beverages. Isobutanol is then chemically converted through a Gevo-patented process into a renewable jet fuel. What they’ve created is the first carbohydrate-based, sugar-fermented fuel.

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Weekend Wanderer: Austin, Texas to Ketchikan, Alaska

Based in Austin, Texas, Zak Zeinert is a travel and landscape photographer who loves exploring this planet with all of its beautiful sights and wonderful people. He just returned from an Instagram takeover in Ketchikan, Alaska as part of Alaska’s Weekend Wanderer series. For more Weekend Wanderer posts, make sure you’re following Alaska Airlines on Instagram.

My Aunt Dawn has been a flight attendant for a major U.S. airline for almost thirty years. About a month ago, I asked her what she considered was the best domestic airline to work for and fly with. Without missing a beat, she answered “Alaska Airlines.” Thirty-something days later, I can understand why.

Less than 24 hours after that conversation, I received an email with the subject line, “Alaska Airlines loves @ZakZeinert,” and was formally invited to travel to the state of Alaska on behalf of Alaska Airlines.

I’ve longed to visit Alaska since I was about 15 and have loved photography for even longer. When I read that email it felt as if I was dreaming. Even after arriving in Ketchikan, moments of elation would strike me as I remembered where I was and why.

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Why we’re proud to celebrate pride

By Tammy Young, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of human resources

Over the last several years, conversations about race relations, educational and pay equity, marriage equality, income inequality and social justice have dominated the headlines.

These important themes have made their way from the airwaves to corporate boardrooms to dinner conversations and into our culture. Seattle musi­cians Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have attracted attention—both support and criticism—with their release of White Privilege II earlier this year. At the center of these topics is the concept of inclusion, whether all people “truly belong,” and if we’re each given an equal chance to succeed.

This month in particular, as we join our customers, our employees and our communities in celebrating Pride Month, it’s important for us to continue these conversations and remember why they started. We celebrate pride each year to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots – a tipping point in the gay liberation movement, and an event that set the course for the ongoing fight for LGBT rights here in the United States.

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5 must-do’s on Kauai, Hawaii’s Garden Island

Oh Hawaii, land of warmth and beautiful beaches, of delicious food and welcoming culture. I have a love affair with Hawaii. Working for an airline, I’m able to travel a lot and have been to the islands over 20 times — twice to Kauai in the last six months.

The island of Kauai does have those things in abundance — warmth, beaches, food, and culture. But it’s also known as the Garden Island, and those wanting to get up close and personal with nature may find it their favorite of all the Hawaiian isles.

More Hawaii: 5 must-do’s on Hawaii’s Big Island

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Aviation Day: 1,000 kids get a behind-the-scenes look at Alaska Airlines

Fly a flight simulator with a pilot, turn a wrench on a jet engine with a mechanic, evacuate an aircraft with a flight attendant, students had the opportunity to try their hand at all three at the eighth annual Alaska Airlines Aviation Day today.

More than 1,000 Seattle-area youth gathered at the Alaska Airlines hangar in SeaTac May 21, to learn about careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. Each year, Aviation Day aims to show youth a path to a rewarding career in the aviation field by allowing them to interact with industry professionals.

“We want to build a bridge from high school onto college and then to a career in aviation or aerospace,” said Alaska First Officer Allen Cassino. “We are laying out the stepping stones to show youth in our local communities just that. They can be a pilot! They can be an engineer! They can be an aircraft mechanic! Maybe even an executive at Alaska Airlines!”

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Who run the world? In Cordova, Alaska, it’s the salmon

For the 24 hours leading up to the Copper River salmon season opener each year, the fishermen of Cordova, Alaska may as well be 5-year-olds waiting for Christmas.

The season doesn’t officially open until 7 a.m. on the mid-May morning chosen by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (this year on May 16), but the countdown holds so much anticipation that the harbor begins to empty days before as boats head out to the fishing grounds so they can start catching fish as soon as the season opens. Fishing families count the minutes until they can finally drop nets in the water once more.

“We have a saying – ‘When the salmon return, all is right with the world,’” says Cathy Sherman, public information officer for the City of Cordova and director of the Cordova Historical Museum. “For the fishermen, it’s tradition. You’re doing what you’ve always done and what your family’s done before you.”

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Weekend Wanderer: Portland, Oregon to Santa Barbara, California

No terrain is too difficult to conquer for avid ultrarunner, Alex Borsuk. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Alex can likely be found hitting the trail with her partner in crime, Peanut, by her side. She just returned from an Instagram takeover in Santa Barbara, California as part of Alaska’s Weekend Wanderer series. For more Weekend Wanderer posts, make sure you’re following Alaska Airlines on Instagram.

As an ultrarunner and adventurer, I typically find myself deep in the mountains. That’s why I was really excited when Alaska Airlines invited me to visit Santa Barbara to run the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon. I couldn’t wait to run around and explore Santa Barbara, taste some of the best wines in the United States, relax on the beach, and eat tons of tacos.

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Composting is grounds for change on Alaska flights

Alaska Airlines serves up 37,000 cups of coffee a day on its more than 900 daily flights, brewed using more than 250,000 pounds of Starbucks coffee each year. Ensuring that those grounds go back into the earth and not into the trash is the goal of a new composting effort at Alaska Airlines.

Gardeners know that coffee grounds make for great plant food and that they are environmentally friendly. But gathering the used grounds and filters on more than 500 flights a day is a challenge, says Alaska Airlines Food and Beverage Specialist Kathy Hues.

One of the problems is getting past the ewww factor.

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Love is in the air: An interview with the Bachelor’s Lauren B.


By Kathryn Drury Wagner for Alaska Beyond Magazine

It’s an intense progression, becoming a reality TV star. One evening Lauren Bushnell was contemplating her dating life in Los Angeles, and the next, the path to becoming one of the most talked about and envied women in the country was laid out before her, a glimpse of an alluring but uncertain trail. Most certainly, she would not walk it alone.

Over the next several months, an average of 8 million people watched Lauren B. each week as she dated on national television.

They watched her dine with a handsome software salesman named Ben Higgins as his other would-be love interests faded from the limelight.

They increasingly saw her on the cover of Us Weekly and other supermarket publications.

More than a million fans followed her on Instagram.

Luckily for the winner of Season 20 of The Bachelor, Lauren B. had her training to help keep her focused.

“Everyone kept saying how calm and collected I seemed on the show,” the Alaska Airlines flight attendant says. “In my head, I wasn’t. I was nervous, and anxious, and falling in love.”

It was her flying experience that helped her keep her composure. “No matter what kind of day I have, I can keep my cool,” she says of her three years with Alaska.

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Flying with Luly: How to pack a wedding dress

Over the next two years, internationally known Seattle fashion designer Luly Yang will redesign uniforms for more than 12,000 Alaska Airlines employees. Between design sessions, Yang will share her favorite fashion-related travel tips.

As a wedding and couture gown designer, one of the questions I am asked most frequently by my brides is, “How do I travel with my wedding dress?”

While peak wedding season typically picks up in summer and early fall, today’s brides are getting married year round, and many of them will travel to destination weddings.

Wedding planning website The Knot recently released its 2015 Real Weddings Study, and I’m not surprised by the results. Of the 18,000 couples surveyed, 21 percent planned a destination wedding in 2015, and 49 percent were married 200 miles or more from where they lived.

For many brides, the dress is the most important and personal element of the ceremony, and the thought of packing it in a suitcase or storing it in an overhead bin during a flight can be daunting. Luckily, with the right technique it is both easy and safe to pack your dress!

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How to make the most of a stopover in Iceland

Iceland is a tiny island surrounded by icy ocean; its nearest neighbors are icebergs and whales. Given that, it would be easy to miss Iceland completely, except that the country is perfectly placed midway between the United States and Europe. This makes it a perfect stopover for those journeying across the Atlantic. And, if you’re going to stop even momentarily in this small, but unique place, why not extend your layover a little longer and see what all the buzz is about?

This is what Iceland’s booming tourism industry is based on. Many people first visit Iceland on a layover, then return again to explore even more deeply. Because, while it’s quite easy to get a good taste of Iceland in just a handful of days, you’ll absolutely find yourself wanting more.

I journeyed to Iceland for a quick three-day stopover, thanks to Icelandair’s direct flight from Seattle to Keflavik Airport. Ten hours is a long journey, but a spacious Economy Comfort seat and plenty of inflight entertainment made the time pass quickly.

Take this trip: How to book a stopover on your next international award

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Swani song: Captain Mike Swanigan to make his final flight

After 36 years with Alaska Airlines, Captain Mike Swanigan will make his final flight this weekend.

“Captain Swani” plans to retire after one last round-trip Sunday: Flight 648 Seattle-Tucson and then Flight 641 Tucson-Seattle, scheduled to arrive about 4:30 p.m.

Swanigan became one of Alaska’s most recognized employees after he starred in a series of TV commercials alongside Seattle quarterback and Chief Football Officer Russell Wilson – more on that in a minute.

Swanigan says he tries to live each day with gratitude – it’s his philosophy, his humor and his dynamic approach to life that has made him a legend at Alaska Airlines.

“My parents taught me: If you aren’t making someone else’s day, you don’t deserve to be on planet Earth,” Swanigan said.

Watch: Well-loved pilot to retire from Alaska Airlines

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