Students compete to find clean-tech solutions to environmental problems

April 3, 2015
Stories
Alaska Airlines
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By Ben Raker, Alaska Airlines Magazine, and Halley Knigge, Alaska Airlines

Bettery provides a subscription reusable battery service.

FireBee won the Grand Prize and the Clean Energy Prize, and turns cooking fires into portable power stations for people in third world countries.

Hook won the $10,000 second place prize, and allows consumers to inexpensively convert home electronics to smart devices.

Flexolar would bring lightweight, flexible solar panels to the masses.

SmartyPants would eliminate diaper waste in landfills by alerting users to potential “bowel events.”

A window that harnesses solar energy and sends electricity down its edge to feed the power grid; a hair dye with gold particles that limits the need for reapplications and reduces the chemicals sent down drains; road barriers that use old tires otherwise destined to be burned or sent to landfills—these are among the many concepts developed by entrepreneurial student teams in an annual competition hosted by the University of Washington Foster School of Business.

The 7-year-old competition is operating for the first time this year as the Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge, in honor of the airline’s commitment to a decade of event sponsorship. The challenge calls for each team to define an environmental problem, find a solution to the problem, and present the market opportunity and impact potential of their solution, along with a working prototype.

News alert: Internet connectivity

April 2, 2015
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Alaska Airlines
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Update 11:35 p.m.

An earlier network outage has been restored. Customers are now able to book, change and check in for flights at alaskaair.com.

An Internet connectivity issue at 8 p.m. temporarily delayed 22 flights scheduled to depart between 9:45 – 11 p.m. by up to an hour. All systems were restored by 11:20 p.m. and we are working to restore our operation.

Throwback Thursday: It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s got skis?

April 2, 2015
Stories
Marianne Lindsey
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Alaska Airlines has been known for a lot of firsts. First airline to offer booking tickets on the Internet and first airline to guarantee your bags arrive on time. But passengers today would do a double-take if they had seen one of Alaska’s early firsts—first airline certified by the FAA to take off and land a Douglas DC-3 on skis!

A toast – to the planet!

March 31, 2015
Stories
Alaska Airlines
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By Joe Sprague, senior vice president of communications and external relations for Alaska Airlines

Raise your hand if you like beer. If your arm shot up, I’m with you. Like a lot of folks, I really enjoy a nice craft beer: an amber, a pale ale and, increasingly, an IPA. Beyond the hoppy deliciousness, enjoying a microbrew is another example of how great it is to live in this beautiful corner of the world. With Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington rating among the top 10 states in the nation for microbreweries per capita, there’s a strong argument to be made that this is the center of the craft-beer universe.

How it works: Alaska Beyond™ Entertainment

March 26, 2015
Stories
Halley Knigge, Staff Writer
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We get it: long flights can be boring. Enter Alaska Beyond™ Entertainment – a new service that enables you to watch hit TV shows, movies, and exclusive content from Alaska on your own device at cruising altitude.

We’ve been upgrading our Boeing 737 fleet with direct-to-your-device entertainment, and today are thrilled to announce we’re just five planes away from completion.

https://twitter.com/LTDEdward/status/564549503488106497

But how does it work?

Ask an Alaska pilot: how do I become a pilot?

March 23, 2015
Stories
Alaska Airlines
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By Doug Branch, Captain, Alaska Airlines

Doug Branch’s interest in aviation began around the same time he could say the word “plane.” Captain Branch has deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, including growing up on Bainbridge Island and learning to fly at Eastern Washington’s Big Bend Community College. After three years flying for a commuter airline in the Midwest, Doug joined Alaska Airlines in 2001. After 14 years, he has a passion for doing things safely and efficiently and is honored to have the opportunity to educate passengers and to facilitate life’s great memories by getting them safely to where they need to go.

In the “Ask an Alaska Pilot” series, he will address common questions he gets from friends, family and travelers. Do you have a question you’ve been wanting to ask a pilot? Let us know in the comments and your question could be featured in a future post.

What was the moment when you knew you wanted to be a pilot?

The earliest recollection I have of wanting to be a pilot was when I was in third grade. From our house it was a bit of a drive to the airport, and going there was a special occasion. We were either going somewhere, or picking someone up and it was exciting. I would ask my parents to leave early so we could sit for a while and watch the planes out of the terminal windows. One thing that I remember like it was yesterday was the smell of the jet exhaust as you got close to the airport. There was always something that amazed me about airplanes and airports, and it seemed from that time I always wanted to fly.

How do I become a pilot?

Video: Alaska flight attendant gets big surprise with inflight marriage proposal

March 20, 2015
Stories
Jennifer Sovey, Flight Attendant Trainer
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Alaska Airlines flight attendant Brandy Hollenbeck began her March 18 flight from Seattle to Juneau, Alaska like any other.

As she worked the flight, the first leg of Alaska’s ‘milk run’ through Southeast Alaska, she had no idea that behind the scenes her boyfriend and her fellow flight attendants were scheming to give her a surprise inflight proposal.

‘Have an ice day’ at the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska

March 18, 2015
Stories
Halley Knigge, Staff Writer
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A pirate ship, a superhero scene, a faucet with a round, glistening drop of water. These are just some of the otherworldly ice sculptures on display through the end of the month at Ice Alaska: 2015 BP World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Artists travel from all around the world for the chance to work with Fairbanks ice, some of the clearest in the world.

They use chisels, chainsaws and heat guns to sculpt massive, detailed ice sculptures. Each artist also helps construct the Kids Park – an outdoor playground complete with slides, tunnels and climbing structures, made completely out of ice.

Fly away with Major League Soccer: Flight discounts to away games

March 16, 2015
Stories
Shannon Johnson
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The Major League Soccer season kicked off this month, and Alaska Airlines is making it even easier for fans to follow their favorite team on the road. As a proud sponsor of many of these MLS teams, Alaska is offering up to 10 percent off on away game flights. Pack your colors, visit these amazing places and cheer on your favorite players with these Major League Soccer discounts.

Pulling together: In the ‘last great race on Earth,’ sled dogs are family

March 10, 2015
Stories
Halley Knigge, Staff Writer
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Two days before the ceremonial start of the 2015 Iditarod, 78 mushers gathered for a welcome in a hotel conference room in Anchorage, Alaska.

In among the sweatshirt, bivy sack and other pre-race swag given to the mushers is a small but very important notebook: the vet book. It is in this notebook that a team of volunteer veterinarians stationed along the trail’s 18 checkpoints will document careful notes about every single dog that passes through every checkpoint.

The Iditarod is a race, so the big prize is a first-place finish. But according to most mushers and volunteers, there’s a trophy that’s even more special: the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, presented by Alaska Airlines.

“I believe that other than winning the Iditarod, this award means more to the mushers than any other award,” says Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president in the state of Alaska. “I’ve only ever seen two standing ovations at the Iditarod: one is for winning the race and one is for the Leonhard Seppala award.”

Fly away: 5 tips for fans at spring training, from Robinson Cano and friends

March 4, 2015
Destinations
Cole Cosgrove
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Spring training is the perfect time for fans to soak up the warm Arizona sunshine as they get close to big baseball stars in small baseball parks.

Robinson Cano by Cole Cosgrove — Robinson Cano sports a lapel pin that says “Yo Soy Alaska” (“I am Alaska” in Spanish). #iamalaska

Through April 4, half the teams in Major League Baseball, including the Seattle Mariners, will play their spring games in the Phoenix area. Now is the time to book your flight.

To make the most of your time before and after games, we sought advice from Robinson Cano, the All-Star second baseman for the Seattle Mariners.

“I’m in work mode when I’m here for spring training, so I don’t get to hang out much,” Cano said Tuesday. “But I do love to eat a nice dinner after we practice.”

So where do you go, Cano?

Employee Q&A with Russell Wilson

March 1, 2015
Stories
Alaska Airlines
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Alaska Airlines’ Chief Football Officer Russell Wilson recently sat down to answer questions submitted by Alaska employees.

Caleb Jones (station operations, Seattle): How do you keep up your drive and determination and continue to focus on winning after such a difficult finish to an otherwise remarkable season?

Russell Wilson: I am only 26 years old. I have so much of my career ahead of me. I am excited for the challenge of growing as a player and person, and just getting better every day. I don’t look backward, only forward. Every year is a new opportunity to do great things.