Saturday Night Live aired a spoof commercial this past weekend using the recent Alaska Airlines door-plug emergency incident as inspiration.
The airline’s new slogan, SNL’s fake commercial says, is “Alaska Airlines. You didn’t die and you got a cool story.”
Other lines that may – or may not – make you chuckle, include:
“On other airlines, you can watch movies. But on Alaska, you’re in the movie.”
and
“We’re the same airline where a pilot tried to turn off the engine, mid-flight, while on mushrooms. And now we’re so proud to say, that’s our second worst flight.”
What do you think? Funny or not. Or a little too soon?
Between the storms in many regions of the country and the grounding of all Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft for inspection, there are a lot of flight cancellations, schedule disruptions, and airline travel alerts.
Here are links to the current travel advisories and waivers (as of early Tuesday, January 9, 2024) in effect for some of the major airlines. Be sure to check your airline’s website for the latest updates on these advisories,
Alaska Airlines
On its website, Alaska Airlines is advising travelers that due to Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft inspections and winter weather in the Northeast, they are offering a flexible travel policy for travelers who want to change or cancel their flights. Original travel dates include January 9.
American Airlines
American Airlines has a travel alert for close to 60 cities that may be affected by severe weather in the Eastern US and Canada. The airline will waive your change fee if you traveling in any fare class and are scheduled to fly January 9-10 and can travel instead January 9 – 15. See here for more details on American Airlines’ travel advisory.
JetBlue has also issued travel alerts for winter weather in the Midwest and the Northeastern US.
In the Midwest, the airline will waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for customers traveling through January 9 to or from Chicago (ORD), Detroit (DTW), Kansas City (MCI), Milwaukee (MKE), and Minneapolis – St. Paul (MSP). The travel alert covers about 15 airports in the Northeast. Customers may rebook their flights through January 13.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines has travel alerts posted for the Midwest and the East Coast.
United Airlines
For those scheduled to fly on a Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane, United Airlines offers these options:
You can reschedule your trip and have the change fees and fare differences waived. Your new flight must be a United flight departing by January 18, 2024. Tickets must be in the same cabin and between the same cities as originally booked. Trips rebooked after January 18, 2024, will still have the change fee waived, but there may be a fare difference. Cancelling and getting a full refund is also an option.
December 15 is National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day and to mark the holiday anyone wearing a holiday sweater (ugly or not) will be offered priority boarding on Alaska Airlines or Horizon Air flights.
Holiday sweater-wearers with flights that day will be invited to board after group B and throughout December all travelers will be greeted with festive decor and boarding music, as well as holiday movies.
If you don’t have a favorite holiday sweater or want to add to your collection with the 2023 edition of Alaska Airline’s holiday sweater, you’re in luck. The carrier is selling this year’s sweater online (for $42) in sizes small to 5X large at its Company Store website and in the Alaska Company store near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. (Address: 19235 International Blvd, SeaTac, WA 98198).
The Stuck at the Airport shopping team is based in Seattle and makes an annual pilgrimage to the Alaska Airlines shop for fun gifts for our favorite flyers. In addition to sweaters, t-shirts, and other apparel, the shop has a fun assortment of Alaska Airlines-themed gifts for everyone – including pets and kids – and several sizes of airplane models.
On Sunday, Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines announced a plan to merge in a deal that has line Alaska Airlines buying Hawaiian Airlines for $1.9 billion.
“This combination is an exciting next step in our collective journey to provide a better travel experience for our guests and expand options for West Coast and Hawai‘i travelers,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines CEO in a statement.
Peter Ingram, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO said, “Since 1929, Hawaiian Airlines has been an integral part of life in Hawai‘i, and together with Alaska Airlines we will be able to deliver more for our guests, employees, and the communities that we serve.”
What does this mean for travelers?
While many details are still unknown, and some are likely to change before the deal officially goes through (a 12 to 18-month process) here are some of the highlights of this weekend’s announcement, from a message sent to customers on Sunday evening by Alaska’s Ben Minicucci:
The brands will remain: The Virgin America name was retired after it was purchased by Alaska Airlines. But Alaska Airlines says it plans to keep the Hawaiian Airlines brand on airplanes, at airports, and elsewhere. “It will exist alongside the Alaska Airlines brand, supported by a single operating platform and industry-leading loyalty program,” Minicucci said in his statement.
There will be more destinations: The deal will bring a combined network of 138 destinations, including non-stop service to 29 international destinations such as Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, and Auckland, as well as over 1,200 global destinations through the oneworld Alliance, Alaska notes in its statement. The combined airline will have a fleet of 365 narrow- and wide-body airplanes, according to Alaska.
Headquarters to remain in Seattle: The new combined organization will be based in Seattle and headed by Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci, but Honolulu will become a new key hub.
What about ticket prices? There is where this deal could have a downside. “Competition between airlines is the single biggest cause of cheap flights,” notes Going’s Scott Keyes, “A merger between these two airlines—whose route maps have dozens of flights that overlap—would result not in more cheap flights for consumers, but fewer.”
How do the flight attendants feel about this?
On Sunday, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA), which represents over 6,800 Flight Attendants at Alaska Airlines and 2,200 Flight Attendants at Hawaiian Airlines, released a statement:
“Our first priority is to determine whether this merger will improve conditions for Flight Attendants just like the benefits the companies have described for shareholders and consumers. Our support of the merger will depend on this.
“As a practical matter, our union Constitution and Bylaws provides a detailed process for this review with AFA leadership from each airline. Mergers take time – this will not happen overnight. Our union will continue to press forward in negotiations at Alaska Airlines. Alaska Flight Attendants, joined by Hawaiian Flight Attendants, will be on the picket line on Dec. 19 as holiday travel takes off.”
(Photo by Ingrid Barrentine, courtesy Alaska Airlines)
Alaska Airlines’ new ‘Mickey’s Toontown’-themed plane
Sure, it’s essentially an ad. But Alaska Airlines’ new Mickey’s Toontown Express livery is charming. And will be fun to spot landing or taking off at an airport near you.
The plane, a Boeing 737-800, with tail number 565AS, has fun images of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, along with their friends Goofy, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck in Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland Park.
It’s Alaska Airlines’ eighth livery in collaboration with Disneyland Resort and took artists over 400 hours and 20 days to hand-paint the brightly colored aircraft exterior from nose to tail.
