Alaska Airlines

Airlines offer travel advisories/waivers for weather & 737-9 MAX inspections

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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.

Delta Air Lines

for Delta Air Lines has travel advisories posted for winter weather in the Midwest that may affect more than two dozen airports and as many in the Northeastern U.S.

JetBlue

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.

Alaska Airlines offers early boarding to holiday sweater-wearers on Dec 15

Holidays,

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).

You can also place an order via email (Company.store@alaskaair.com).

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.

What? Alaska Airlines to merge with Hawaiian Airlines

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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.”

Alaska’s new Disney livery

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(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.

Coffee news: Alaska Airlines to swap Starbucks for Stumptown

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For years, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines has been brewing and pouring Seattle-based Starbucks coffee on Alaska and Horizon Airlines flights.

But on or around December 1, 2023, the in-flight coffee will switch over to a custom roast from Portland-based Stumptown Coffee that’s a spinoff of Stumptown’s best-selling Holler Mountain.

Alaska says its custom Stumptown blend was specially crafted to be enjoyed at 30,000 feet, where tastebuds react differently. And that it was approved only after months of development and in-flight testing.

That’s how serious Alaska Airlines – and travelers – are about coffee.

“Alaska’s medium-dark blend uses the same clean and sweet base as Holler Mountain, but with a primary focus on a roast that mellows acidity and introduces just enough toastiness to please a wide range of palates,” the airline said in a statement. “It’s exceptionally smooth and balanced, with aromatic notes of toasted marshmallows, browned butter, and toffee with delicate hints of citrus and cherry. Additionally, Stumptown dialed in this roast to be delicious when served black or with the addition of creamer or oat milk” which is also offered on Alaska flights.

We’ll reserve judgment until we taste the coffee for ourselves. With and without those tiny Biscoff cookies.

Stuck at the Airport: free flights + a pup parade

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Alaska Airlines Kraken Contest

This year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs are getting pretty exciting for fans of the Seattle Kraken.

The team has a surprise 2-1 lead against the Dallas Stars in a best-of-7 series and Game 4 is Tuesday night.

Alaska Airlines, the official airline of the Seattle Kraken, is joining in the fun by giving away free flights.

The number of flights they’ll give away is tied to the number on the jersey of the first player to score.

To participate in “Getaway Goals,” follow @alaskaair on social media, reply with the last name or number of the player you think will score first, and include #AlaskaAirGoals.

Here’s a link to the contest rules and here’s a link to The Seattle Kraken NHL site so you can study the players.

PUPs on Parade at Los Angeles International Airport

Pet therapy programs at airports are incredibly popular and the program at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a pup parade.

The LAX PUPs program, which stands for Pets Unstressing Passengers, started in 2013 and now includes more than 80 dogs and their handlers.

On Wednesday, May 10, from 11 am until 1 pm, more than a dozen LAX PUPs and their volunteer handlers will participate in a pup parade – complete with red carpet – in Terminal 1, by Gate 17/18 at LAX and then stick around for a meet-and-greet and photo ops with ticketed passengers.

Alaska Airlines has a deal for Kraken Fans

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In some cities, it’s all about the basketball playoffs right now.

But in Seattle, hopes are pinned on the professional ice-hockey team known as the Seattle Kraken.

The Seattle Kraken will play against the Dallas Stars in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. And to celebrate, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is offering special fares to Dallas as well as sweepstakes for a chance to win tickets to Game 2 in Dallas.

Here’s the deal: through May 5, Alaska Airlines is offering

*$99 tickets each way between Seattle and Dallas – to either Dallas Love Field (DAL) or Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW);

*Priority boarding for any guests sporting Kraken gear at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport:

*And a chance to win two roundtrip tickets to Dallas and a pair of tickets to Game 2 of the second round of playoffs. Enter by retweeting the @SeattleKraken “I want to fly away” tweet.

(Official sweepstakes rules here.)

Alaska Airlines is the official airline sponsor of the Kraken, and they’ve even added another flight to Dallas from Seattle on May 2 with flight number #9232 in honor of the NHL’s 32nd franchise.

Kraken fan? (Or have the t-shirt?) Wear it and get priority boarding on Alaska Airlines

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Folks in Seattle are pretty darn excited that there’s now a professional hockey team in town.

And so is Alaska Airlines, the hometown airline that’s also the official airline of the Kraken.

To celebrate the ice hockey season, Alaska Airlines is offering priority boarding out of Seattle, Everett, or Palm Springs to anyone wearing a Seattle Kraken or Coachella Valley Firebird jersey. (The Firebirds are a new professional ice hockey expansion team of the Seattle Kraken.)

That means anyone sporting a Kraken or Firebirds hockey jersey will be able to board following group B.

The offer stands for passengers Kraken and Firebirds gear-wearing fans on all Alaska Airines flights departing from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), Paine Field (PAE), and Palm Springs International Airport (PSP).

Don’t have the gear just yet? We suspect you’ll find shops at these airports selling the gear. Let us know what you find.

Alaska Airlines’ new Star Wars-themed airplane

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 Alaska Airlines made good use of May the Fourth – Star Wars Day – to unveil a new Star Wars-themed aircraft.

The plane has the iconic Millennium Falcon emblazoned on the tail chased by TIE fighters and is a tie-in with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the newest land of adventure at Disneyland park.

The plane, with a tail number of N538AS, has the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Disneyland Resort logos in the center of the fuselage. And you’ll see porgs, the cute avian creatures that lived on Luke Skywalker’s remote island, on both winglets. Another porg is at the boarding door.

Here’s a cool video showing the plane being painted.

To make this happen, it took 228 gallons of paint applied during 540 work hours over 27 days.

(All photos and video courtesy Alaska Airlines)

Airlines, airports mark May the Fourth

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If you are flying across the country, or to a galaxy far, far away, on Alaska Airlines on Wednesday, May 4th, be sure to wear your favorite Star Wars clothing.

Alaska Airlines also just showed off a new Star Wars/Disneyland livery.

We know other airlines and many airports also celebrate May the Fourth, so check back here for additions throughout the day. And let us know what we’ve missed.

Here is one of our favorites from last year’s May the Fourth airport celebrations