Cargo ‘igloos’ have new life as livestock houses, garden storage

Recycling is fine, but reuse or “upcycling” is better. That’s the thinking behind an innovative approach to find new homes for Alaska Airlines’ aging cargo containers, known as “igloos.” Alaska Air Cargo uses the cargo containers known as igloos because of their dome-like shape, to transport food and other necessities of life, to far flung…

Alaska Airlines flies first commercial flight with new biofuel made from forest residuals

Alaska Airlines made history today flying the world’s first commercial flight using a new sustainable alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals from the Pacific Northwest – the limbs, stumps and branches that are left over after a timber harvest or forest thinning of managed forests on private land. The flight departed this morning from…

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…

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…

Alaska deepens commitment to Hawai‘i with $100,000 investment in education and the environment

Last night, Alaska Airlines announced gifts totaling $100,000 to two local organizations in Hawai‘i, in support of youth, education and environmental stewardship. The announcements were made during an event at the Moana Surfrider in Waikiki, which honored Alaska’s community partners throughout the state. From day one, when Alaska first started service to Hawai‘i in October…

Reborn as carry-on bags, recycled airplane seat leather will continue to fly

Reclaimed leather from replaced airplane seats will fly again as carry-on bags, thanks to a collaboration between Alaska Airlines and an innovative design team. Alaska’s discarded leather found new life in the hands of Mariclaro, which makes bags and accessories from sustainable materials. Bags made from Alaska Airlines leather: The Atlas Collection

In rain, sleet or snow, Alaska Airlines avionics technician unicycles to work

For the past four years, in rain, sleet and even snow, Alaska Airlines avionics technician Shannon Barry has been an “alternative commuter” in the purest sense.