Alaska Airlines

Airlines offering heat waivers & banning pets from cargo

Weather, , , , ,

A heatwave in the Pacific Northwest and some other parts of the country is adding another challenge to air travel as we head into a holiday weekend.

As a result, some airlines, including American Airlines and United Airlines, are offering fee-free travel waivers. And Alaska Airlines has put a ban on pets traveling as cargo to and from more than a dozen cities until at least after the July 4th weekend.

Here are some of the details, and useful links to policies as of Monday evening, June 28:

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is ‘pre-canceling’ some flights and has travel advisories posted for many cities experiencing heatwaves, including Burbank, Fresno, New Orleans, Ontario, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Portland, Redmond, Sacramento, Seattle, Spokane, Texas, and Tucson.

And while Alaska Airlines isn’t offering change fee waivers as of Monday evening, it is pre-canceling some flights.

“While we never want to let our guests down, only a small fraction of our flights have been pre-canceled and we are doing our best to re-accommodate those guests,” the airline said on its website, “

And, because of the heat, through July 7, Alaska Airlines is not accepting animals for travel in the baggage departments to or from most of the affected airports listed above. Ticketed pets are still permitted to travel in the cabin with their owners.

Waivers offered by American and United Airlines

American Airlines’ change fee waiver offer is in effect for ticketed travelers through June 29 for trips to, through, or from the cities below. The airlines’ website notes that this information was current as of June 25, 2021, so if record-breaking heat continues in these areas, the waiver could be updated or extended. Check the website for details.

  • Billings, Montana (BIL)
  • Boise, Idaho (BOI)
  • Bozeman, Montana (BZN)
  • Eugene, Oregon (EUG)
  • Eureka Arcata, California (ACV)
  • Idaho Falls (IDA)
  • Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC)
  • Kalispell, Montana (FCA)
  • Medford, Oregon (MFR)
  • Missoula, Montana (MSO)
  • Portland, Oregon (PDX)
  • Redmond / Bend, Oregon (RDM)
  • Reno, Nevada (RNO)
  • Sacramento, California (SMF)
  • Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)
  • Seattle, Washington (SEA)
  • Spokane, Washington (GEG)

The heat-related travel waiver on United Airlines also currently covers travel booked through June 29 and includes this long list of cities:

  • McKinleyville, CA (ACV)
  • Boise, ID (BOI)
  • Bozeman, MT (BZN)
  • Cody, WY (COD)
  • Eugene, OR (EUG)
  • Everett, WA (PAE)
  • Great Falls, MT (GTF)
  • Helena, MT (HLN)
  • Idaho Falls, ID (IDA)
  • Jackson, WY (JAC)
  • Kalispell, MT (FCA)
  • Medford, OR (MFR)
  • Missoula, MT (MSO)
  • Moab, UT (CNY)
  • North Bend, OR (OTH)
  • Pasco, WA (PSC)
  • Portland, OR (PDX)
  • Redding, CA (RDD)
  • Redmond, OR (RDM)
  • Reno, NV (RNO)
  • Sacramento, CA (SMF)
  • Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
  • Seattle, WA (SEA)
  • Spokane, WA (GEG)
  • Twin Falls, ID (TWF)
  • Vernal, UT (VEL)
  • West Yellowstone, MT (WYS)

New airport names; new airline planes

Airports, , , , ,

Alaska Airlines’ new Pride-inspired plane

We are totally loving Alaska Airline’s newly decorated Pride-inspired plane supporting the LGBTQ+ community. It’s the first of its kind in the United States and will be flying throughout the airline’s network for the next year.

Airport name changes

It’s official. T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island is now Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD).

Why did they make the change?

“Of the 376 primary mainland airports in the country as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) only 32, including T. F. Green Airport, did not have the city, region or state in its name,” the airport explains in a statement. And adding the geographical identifier “will better position Rhode Island’s main airport to support the state’s economy and tourism sector.”

Las Vegas’ McCarran Int’l Airport renamed for Harry Reid

Since 1968, the airport in Las Vegas has been named for Nevada’s late U.S. senator, Pat McCarran. He helped get the airport built, but left a legacy of racism and anti-Semitism. But earlier this year, Clark County commissioners in Nevada voted to change the name of the airport to Harry Reid International Airport, to honor the man who served as a Democratic senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017.

The name change isn’t quite official with the FAA just yet. But it looks like it is a pretty darn close because the name change is already being reflected on FAA charts.

New Art Gallery at Indianapolis International Airport

Indianapolis International Airport (IND), which opened in 2008 with $4 million in permanent art, now has an art gallery.

Called the KIND Gallery after the airport’s international airport code, the new gallery will feature rotating temporary art exhibits curated and coordinated in partnership with the Arts Council of Indianapolis.

The first gallery show is titled “Pareidolia.” The term refers to “the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern” and each artist in the show used clouds as their prompt to set their creativity into motion.

Travel Tidbits from here and there

Air Travel, , , , ,

We’re all for finding the odd in the world. So we’re pleased to see United Airlines adding a new “America, Who Knew?” filter to its Map Search program. Some of the tidbits you can learn from the map:

  • Zzyzx: Pronounced “Zye-Zacks” is a scenic desert oasis in the Mojave National Preserve with self-guided trails
  • Whynot: Situated on Highway 75, or the North Carolina Pottery Highway, this town is world-renowned for its ceramics. The town’s name comes from a debate with settlers where a frustrated farmer said, ‘Why not name it ‘Why Not’ and then we can go home?”
  • Devil’s Kettle: Minnesota’s Devil’s Kettle Falls has one side that tumbles down a two-step stone embankment and continues on like a normal waterfall. The other side vanishes into a deep hole and disappears — apparently forever.
  • Mooselookmeguntic Lake: Tied for being the longest place name in the United States with 17 letters. This Maine lake is framed by mountains and has great deep water trout and salmon fishing.

Save the earth? Alaska Airlines offering water in boxes

To reduce plastic waste on airplanes, Alaska Airlines is replacing e single-use plastic bottles with Boxed Water’s 92% plant-based cartons. This will help remove 7.2 million plastic bottles a year, the equivalent of approximately 98,000 lbs of plastic.

Boxed Water is already served on Alaska’s Horizon Air-operated flights and is expanding to all Alaska flights throughout the summer, beginning this week with First Class.

The airline is also resuming its program of recycling cans, bottles, and water bottles starting May 19. The program has been on hold for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline’s employees first started a recycling program more than 15 years ago.

MIA Airport rolls out wheelchair charging stations

Just in time for Mobility Awareness Month, Miami International Airport (MIA) is celebrating the installation of 10 new wheelchair charging stations. If you use a wheelchair or travel with someone who does, you will be pleased to know there are now 10 charging spots at MIA: eight post-security and two pre-security. 

Starting May 10, MIA will also have an on-site COVID-19 vaccination site that will be accessible to travelers who live and work in Florida, as well as to airport employees and family and friends of airport employees.

This airport lets you reserve your security checkpoint time

Security, , , ,

Now you can reserve your time on the TSA line at SEA Airport

(This is a slightly different version of a story we wrote for USA TODAY)

The good news: air travel is picking up.

On Sunday May 2, TSA screened more than 1.6 million passengers, the most since March 12, 2020.

The bad news: long wait times at security checkpoints may be back coming back too.

Courtesy Port of Seattle

At times during spring break, the lines to go through the security checkpoint stretched into the food court at Orlando International Airport (MCO). At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, lines snaked across the sky bridge and into the parking garage.

TSA is in the process of hiring 6,000 new screening officers ahead of the predicted summer travel surge. And that should help move things along.

So too could a new pilot program that debuts Tuesday at SEA airport.

The program, called SEA Spot Saver, will attempt to streamline wait times by offering digital reservations, or “virtual queuing” for passengers to go through the screening process.

Here’s how it works

The program will operate daily through August 31, 2021, from 4 a.m. to noon (the airport’s peak travel period) at two checkpoints (2 and 5) and offer expedited screening to general screening passengers for free. No membership or account sign-up is required.

Expedited, non-reserved screening remains available to passengers enrolled in Trusted Traveler programs such as TSA PreCheck and CLEAR.

SEA Spot Saver will be testing two options.

Alaska Airlines passengers can sign up for a security checkpoint appointment online up to 24 hours before their scheduled departure time or once they are in the terminal.

Passengers will receive a QR code to use at checkpoint 5 at their reservation time. This option is offered by Pangiam, and powered by WhyLine and Copenhagen Optimization.

The second option, operated by VHT, is for passengers flying on Delta Air Lines and all other carriers. This option allows passengers to begin booking a checkpoint appointment time by scanning a QR code once they are in the terminal. Passengers will show their emailed reservation appointment at checkpoint 2.

Both options give passengers a 15 minute window for their appointment times. The Alaska Airlines option lets you book up to 12 passengers in a group. The Delta/other airlines option lets you book a group of up to 10.

SEA will be the only airport in the United States currently testing a “virtual queuing” system as a solution for crowded general screening lines. 

Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) has offered screening reservations since 2014 through SecureXpress, but that program is currently on hold due to the pandemic.

“The pandemic has left very few passengers coming and going through YUL,” said YUL spokeswoman Anne-Sophie Hamel via email, “As such, there is no line-up to get through security, and the service is simply not useful right now.”

From October 2020 through April 30, 2021, Denver International Airport (DEN) piloted the VeriFLY app and program. Passengers could book a timed checkpoint appointment, but they also had to file health data information before arrival and get temperature checks on site.

Port of Seattle officials say that after the pilot program is completed late this summer, they will evaluate usage, customer feedback, and line efficiency and, if successful, launch a broader program. 

“These are the innovations and ideas that we love to make our guest experiences more convenient and stress-free, especially as more people get back flying again,” said Charu Jain, Alaska’s senior vice president of merchandising and innovation. “With very little effort, guests can lean on technology to get them through the security process quicker.”

Travel Tidbits: smuggled finches, Iceland adventures, middle seats, and more

Airlines, , , , , , ,

There does indeed seem to be an uptick in travel and travel news. Here’s some of what we spotted today.

Delta Air Lines will stop blocking middle seat starting May 1. They were last US airline still blocking middle seats.

Delta also announced on Tuesday that it is extending the expiration date on travel credits and bringing snacks back starting April 14. Passengers flying Delta One or First Class on select domestic coast-to-coast flights will see hot food options return in early June. First Class customers on some other U.S. routes will be served boxed meals beginning in early July.

Alaska Airlines now part of oneworld airline alliance

As of March 31 Alaska Airlines becomes the newest member of the oneworld airline alliance. That means that “as a Mileage Plan member, you can earn Alaska miles on all 14 member airlines when you fly to as many as 1,000 destinations in more than 170 countries and territories,” the airline said in a statement.

The new membership also means the benefit enjoyed by Alaska’s elite flyers will be honored on other member airlines.

“You’re an MVP Gold? Without doing a thing, you now also have Sapphire tier status in oneworld (75K fliers are Emerald and MVPs are Ruby in the alliance),” the airline notes, and, “Depending on your tier status, oneworld travel priveleges include priority check-in, access to more than 650 international first and business class lounges, preferred boarding, fast track through security, priority baggage benefits and more.”

Hair Rollers harbor finches

People try to smuggle things – foods, animals, drugs, etc – through airports all the time. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently spotted a guy who was trying to 29 finches in these hair rollers.

Iceland is hot right now

If Iceland wasn’t high on your travel list before now, the volcanic eruption going on now should be grabbing your attention. Another reason to make plans to head that way: this package offer from Icelandair available to book through April 13 for travel from 10 US cities. Along with roundtrip airfare and three nights hotel, with breakfast, vaccinated travelers get a visit to the new Sky Lagoon, a Northern Lights Board Tour and a one-day pass for the Hop On Hop Off city sightseeing bus.

Travel Tidbits: chocolate, aviation history, bonus miles for rides

Aviation history, Food, History, , , ,

Alaska Airlines + Seattle Chocolate: good match

We nibbled our way through the research for a story you’ll find on the Runway Way Girl Network about how Seattle Chocolate and Alaska Airlines worked together to develop an exclusive chocolate bar flavor for upper tier flyers as an in-flight perk. And how that bar is now available to the rest of us. Take a look.

An aviation site reboot

If you like aviation history and anything related to airlines, airplanes or airports then, like me, you’ll enjoy visiting the rebooted website called The Airchive, which I profiled for The Points Guy site. Take a look at that story here.

Bonus miles for vaccine access rides

Getting an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination is hard enough. But many people also have a hard time getting to and from the vaccination centers. So it is nice to see Delta Air Lines offering some bonus miles as a reward for those who donate cash to make rides available. Details that offer here.

Travel Tidbits for future flights

Free Stuff, , ,
Courtesy UW Digital Collections

Going skiing? Save your Alaska Airlines boarding pass

If you’ve checked the rules and restrictions and feel safe flying to a ski resort this season, keep in mind that you may be able to ski for free once you arrive.

As it does each winter, Alaska Airlines is once again partnering with a variety of ski resorts to offer free ski passes on the day of arrival to travelers who show their boarding passes and IDs. Offers and deals will vary, of course, but there are offers for ski resorts in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Washington.

Deals with the My Emirates Pass too

Emirates is resuming many of its flights to and through its Dubai hub and just announced it will resume non-stop service to Seattle starting February 1 and to Dallas and San Francisco, starting March 2.

Flights to/from San Francisco will operate four times weekly on Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER. Flights to/from Seattle will operate four times weekly and flights to/from Dallas will operate three times weekly.

Emirates also announced a refreshed My Emirate Pass, which offers a wide variety of discounts and deals for travelers who show their boarding pass in over 450 restaurants, leisure destinations, and retail outlets across the UAE.

Will airlines bring back more free stuff?

The Alaska Airlines ski pass and My Emirate Pass programs have been offered before but, given the times, we’re especially glad to see they’re back.

Which makes us wonder: as airlines try to win back travelers, might we see more bonus items offered with our tickets?

Alaska Airlines to give emotional support animals the boot

Animals, ,

Back on the leash

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has ruled that airlines no longer have to make the same accommodations for emotional support animals as they do for trained service dogs.

So it was just a matter of time before airlines starting to change their policies.

And now the changes have begun.

“This regulatory change is welcome news,” said Ray Prentice, director of customer advocacy at Alaska Airlines, in a statement. “It will help us reduce disturbances on board while continuing to accommodate our guests traveling with qualified service animals,”

Alaska Airlines is the first to take action. Starting January 11, 2021, the airline will only allow trained service dogs to travel for free in the cabin.

Under the revised policy, Alaska will only accept two service dogs per guest in the cabin, including psychiatric service dogs. Anyone flying with service dogs will have to complete a DOT form attesting that their animal is a legitimate service dog, is trained and vaccinated, and will behave during the flight.

Emotional support animals, whether they be pigs, monkeys, hamsters, lizards, or miniature horses, will no longer be allowed in the cabin.

Pets, including dogs, cats, rabbits, and household birds, can still fly, but they must be ticketed, at $100 each way. And passengers who bring pets onboard must keep them in a carrier, which counts towards the carry-on bag allotment.

So no more emotional support animals taking up a seat or a tray table. Or getting under you feet.

P

More holiday cheer – and dances – from airports and airlines

Holidays, , , ,

If we were traveling around this month, we’d certainly be spending a lot of time in airport gift shops buying Christmas chocolates and other treats.

Some of that chocolate would even make it home and into nicely-wrapped gift boxes.

Instead, we’re home and keeping an eye on what airports and airlines are doing to be festive and still keep us safe during an unusual travel season.

SFO Airport is charming us with lights, music, and dancing

We love the giant light switch in this holiday message from SFO and we’re ordering one installed in our home office.

We also love this ‘put your mask on’ music video starring and produced by some incredibly talented people who work at SFO airport.

SFO’s mask video is a good pairing with the safety dance video Alaska Airlines put together that we featured here yesterday. That video also stars in-house talent.

Wreath-decorating contest at O’Hare Airport

It looks like they had so much fun with the pumpkin decorating contest at Halloween that now 13 shops at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport are competing in a wreath-decorating contest.

The public is invited to weigh in on which is best.

Voting is open through December 25, 2020.

O’Hare Airport also has some great themed holiday trees.

More to come..

See Alaska Airlines’ new safety dance & buy the airline’s holiday sweater for a good cause

Safety videos, , , ,

Airlines aren’t messing around when they say “Wear a mask. Or else.”

So far, Delta Air Lines has banned more than 700 passengers who refuse to mask up. And Alaska Airlines has banned 219 flyers under the airline’s “No Mask, No Travel” policy.

Now, to help get their point across about masks, Alaska Airlines has a safety dance video.

Alaska Airline’s “Safety Dance” video was directed by Warren Fu. He’s known for his work with artists such as Dua Lipa, The Weeknd, Daft Punk. and HAIM. The video was choreographed by Anna Matuszewski, who is known for her work with Macklemore.

Even better, the people dancing in the video are real Alaska Airlines employees.

Buy an ugly Alaska Airlines holiday sweater for a good cause

For the past few years, anyone wearing a holiday sweater was treated to priority boarding on Alaska Airlines flights on National Ugly Sweater Day.

National Ugly Sweater Day is December 18th this year. But Alaska Airlines won’t be offering early boarding for holiday sweater-wearers due to social distancing guidelines.

Instead, Alaska Airlines is inviting sweater fans to purchase their own Alaska Airlines-branded ugly sweater for $30 each, with the proceeds going to provide holiday meals for those in need.

Funds will be donated to United Way’s Ride United Last-Mile Delivery initiative, which partners local United Ways with DoorDash and its “Dashers” (drivers) to deliver food from local food banks, food pantries and other distribution points to senior citizens, low income families and those who can’t leave home.

The sweaters are for sale on Alaska Airlines’ company store website, where you’ll also find fun gifts such as Luly Yang socks and holiday ornaments, such as tiny little ugly sweaters.