Christmas

Visting the North Pole with Alaska Airlines’ Fantasy Flight

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On Friday, Spokane International Airport (GEG) looks innocent enough. What with all the poinsettia trees and other holiday decorations.

But by Saturday afternoon the lobby is filled with elves waiting for the arrival of several busloads of deserving kids who have received invitations from Santa and Mrs. Claus to visit them at the North Pole.

Here’s a link to the story we wrote for the Alaska Airlines blog:

Elves, Toys, and a Holiday-Themed Plane: How Alaska Delivered an Unforgettable North Pole Adventure for Kids this Year.

For the past 25 years, the Spokane Fantasy Flight has been treating about 60 at-risk kids from the community to a magical holiday day that includes a flight on an airplane, a visit to a hangar transformed into the North Pole, and lots and lots of gifts. Alaska Airlines has been providing the airplane for the event for the past 14 years, and this year I got to go along.

Before anyone could board the flight, they had to go through airport security.

And the TSA team at GEG was nice enough to set aside a dedicated lane just for the North Pole flight passengers.

Then it was time to board the flight.

Alaska Airlines had brought in the brand new Starbucks “Merrier Together” and soon we were taking off for the North Pole, where there was unlimited candy and ice cream, lots of fun activities, and, of course, Santa.

We can’t show you the rest of the North Pole because we don’t want to ruin Christmas. But suffice it to say it is indeed a very magical place.

The most important flights for Santa and his team

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While we’re all staying home, it’s good to know Santa and his team are going to be flying around the world.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is helping out.

The FAA says that on Christmas Eve Santa Claus and his reindeer-powered sleigh will have special operating authority to conduct interstate air-cargo-delivery services directly to rooftops throughout the United States.

The FAA is also giving Santa a special commercial space license. This clears Santa for a crewed mission to the International Space Station. He’ll travel there in his StarSleigh-1 space capsule powered by the Rudolph Rocket.

“We are pleased to help Santa safely navigate through the National Airspace System to bring his unique and universal brand of goodwill and joy to children and adults of all ages. Even to those orbiting the Earth,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson.  “Let’s face it, 2020 was a difficult year and we all could use some special holiday cheer that only Santa can deliver.”  

Getting toys under trees is Santa’s traditional goal on Christmas Eve. But the FAA said that this year Santa will give priority to flights carrying COVID-19 vaccines and other critical cargo.

But don’t fret.

The FAA says that with the aid of a flight plan taking advantage of simplified air routes and NextGen satellite navigation, Santa will still deliver all his gifts by Christmas morning.  

Want to follow Santa on his journey? (Or impress a small child that you have that power?) NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has a nifty NORAD Tracks Santa site that follows Santa around the world in real-time.

Safe travels to all from Stuck at The Airport

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Holiday elf

If, like us, you’ll be traveling on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, be sure to watch out for elves, Santas of all stripes, and lots of other travelers hoping to get where they need to go for the holiday.

If you need a few extra gifts, keep in mind too that lots of airport shops open early and close late – even on Christmas Day – and many have some pretty cool gifts all wrapped and ready to go.

To help you out, Tampa International Airport and several others have even put together holiday gift guides.

And don’t forget NORAD

On Christmas Eve you can follow along as Santa makes his way through the skies and down the chimneys via NORAD’s Santa Tracker.

British Airways ready for Christmas

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LAPLAND, FINLAND: Andrea Hatfield (Cabin Crew) gets into the Christmas spirit onboard a special charter to Lapland from London Gatwick on 07 December 2015

British Airways is gearing up for an onslaught of holiday travelers and is preparing some treats for those who fly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The airline will be serving a traditional British Christmas dinner to most passengers, consisting of sliced roast turkey breast, chestnut (available in First and Club World) or sage and onion (available in World Traveller) stuffing, cranberry compote, brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, carrot batons, mince pies, as well as other holiday favorites.

During those two days on flights departing from U.S. gateways alone, British Airways expects to serve:

*More than 294 turkeys;
*150 pounds of stuffing;
*1,029 sweet potatoes;
*1,283 brussels sprouts;
*234 parsnips;
*12 gallons of gravy;
*and 1,820 mince pies.

Other airlines also have holiday treats in store for passengers and, as we get them, we’ll be posting here and on Twitter as well.

 

 

 

Embedded with the elves: North Pole Fantasy Flights

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The security checkpoint at Spokane International Airport is usually a quiet, orderly place. But earlier this month “It was a mad house,” says TSA screener Julee McCully.

Carolers were crooning Christmas classics in the terminal lobby. Eighty of Santa’s elves were trying to get sixty kids from this year’s “nice” list through security for secret Alaska Airline’s Flight #1225 (get it?) to the North Pole. And alarms kept going off at the metal detector.

“It was all those jingle bells,” says McCully. “The elves had metal bells sewn onto their clothes and stuffed into these little purses that said ‘Elf Stuff.’ It was like a puzzle finding all the bells on each elf. My hands were covered in elf glitter after just the first pat-down.”

Elves? A secret flight to the North Pole? What is this, a Hallmark/Homeland Security Christmas special?  Well, yes. Sort of.

Thanks to the efforts of airline and airport employees, the TSA, sponsors, donors, and an army of  secret Santas, planeloads of seriously ill and/or disadvantaged children have been taking off for the North Pole not just from Spokane, but from Chicago, San Antonio, Phoenix, and a sleigh-load of other cities around the country as well.

What happens at the North Pole?

Embedded as an elf (that’s me on the left, Tammikins on the right),  I was able to tag along this year on the North Pole flight organized by Spokane Fantasy Flight, a non-profit group that invites area shelters and community programs to pick a group of kids who could really use “an evening of wonderment and surprise” and a huge pile of presents.

60 kids and a troop of elves set off for a 40-minute flight to the North Pole, which is actually (spoiler alert!) a decorated hangar at the airport populated with Santa and Mrs. Claus, loads of extra elves and, of course, a few reindeer.

Some might call that cheating, but as one of the other elves explained, “If you’re a little kid on your first plane ride and your ticket says North Pole, and the shades are drawn, and everyone, including the flight attendants and all the elves are saying the magic words, then who’s to say you haven’t landed at the real North Pole?”

She has a point.

This is the 12th year a flight to the North Pole has taken off from Spokane International Airport.  But it still two took months of planning meetings with the TSA, the airport and airline representatives to make sure everything went smoothly.  Horizon/Alaska Airlines customer service manager Dave Burris explained: “This is only the second year our airline has been the official North Pole carrier. United Airlines used to host these flights, but in 2008, there was a mix-up and no plane was available. Alaska Airlines stepped in at the last minute and it was such a hit with the kids and our employees that now that we have our foot in the door, we’re not going to pull it out.”

More North Pole action

Don’t worry: Alaska Airlines hasn’t put United Airlines out of the North Pole business. Not by a long shot. To find out about the North Pole flights organized by employees from United and Continental Airlines, please see the full column  Now Boarding Flight 1225 to the North Pole on MSNBC.com.