Results tagged “alaskaairlines”

Matt Hasselbeck was stuck on a delayed flight from Newark to Seattle this morning. So how did Hass pass the time? By Tweeting!:

Over at TechFlash, John Cook reports that Alaska Airlines misspoke when representatives gave what many interpreted as an announcement that they'd be offering free wi-fi to Alaska travelers at SeaTac gates. The airline will be extending the offer to travelers in Oakland for the three-month promotion, but not here. Seriously? Seattle would be the perfect place to run that deal. This reminds us to ask why we don't already have free wi-fi available at our airport. Anyone have a compelling explanation for this pitiable situation?

Alaska Airlines has been forced to cancel all flights in and out of Anchorage, Alaska due to volcanic activity. Passengers waiting at Sea-Tac on Sunday were allegedly told by Alaska Airline staff that the entire state was "unflyable" due to a plume of volcanic ash. All 11 flights to Anchorage from Sea-Tac on Monday have been canceled.

Our sympathies are divided on this one.

Alaska's struggles continued today, when a plane had to be evacuated due to smoke in the cockpit. This also resulted in the day's unintentionally funny headline (courtesy of the Seattle P-I): "Alaska Airlines 737 evacuated on landing." While "evacuated" wouldn't be the verb you'd usually use, getting off the plane after it lands is pretty much standard operating procedure.

The trendy boutique airlines are into Seattle, and we are loving it. (Sorry Alaska Airlines!) We reported back to you about a luxurious flight down to San Francisco courtesy of the new Virgin America Airlines. With today's news, we hope to be writing you a first-hand report of a JetBlue flight soon. Starting this May, JetBlue will begin non-stop service from Seattle to San Diego, Los Angeles, and Long Beach, Calif.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, the company posted a 39-cent-per-share loss -- 13 times the 3-cent loss that analysts were expecting. During the same period a year ago, the company posted net income of $2 million, or 8 cents a share.

This week, we had the odd experience of transferring planes in Seattle while traveling from Orange County to Lewiston. With a mad dash to a connecting flight right in terminal C, we were famished and wondered where to grab a quick bite. Alaska Airlines’ blueberry snack bar just wasn’t going to sustain us. (At least the snack didn’t have religious messages attached to it.)

Francophiles attending the Beaujolais Nouveau gala in Bellevue Friday will have the chance to bid on more than a dozen travel packages (tickets to Paris? ho-hum...) as well as some rare and valuable works of art. An original lithograph by the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is likely to draw the most interest.

One of the great things about Seattle is that it's the gateway to the United States for lots of foreigners. Alaskans, for example, regularly show up at Sea-Tac, wild-eyed and ready to reach for a knife at the first sign of a bear. They've been fleeing the wilderness and arriving on the shores of Seattle since way before regular air service was established. However, last week a particularly 21st century chain of events led one 15-year-old Alaskan to Seattle; she was on her way to North Carolina to meet an internet boyfriend.

We're not a tough, no-nonsense ex-military policeman. We're not an "extraordinarily smart, almost supernaturally tough, self-sufficient wanderer who, when he decides something needs doing, gets the thing done with his own unique blend of brains and brawn." Our weight may be somewhere in the range between 220 and 250 lbs., but we're nowhere near 6'5" tall. And when we relate our adventures in first person, we scrupulously avoid the singular.

To be fair, there are other reasons your travel might be delayed than long, slow freight trains -- they just may be more mysterious. After Alaska Airlines' troubles with depressurizations in the spring, they ordered a big inspection and -- headscratching all around -- found nothing much to report. Now the gremlin is back, and spewing smoke. (Shrug. These things happen.) At least an engine didn't go out, as with an American Airlines jet this morning. At 30,000 feet, you want all the engine you paid for.

You may recall that last month Alaska Airlines experienced some turbulence, angering passengers by cutting off their Air Supply (What? Oh) air supply when five different jets had pressurization issues.

-Researchers have new evidence this week that the local cave man type (dubbed "Kennewick Man") may not have been killed by a flood as previously believed. Several clay 40oz pots and small spills of proto-beer found nearby indicate that he was buried by his cave homies.

-A fire west of I-5 on East Newton Street was extinguished so recently that if you rubber-neck on your way home you may see firefighters and reporters sifting through the rubble. There is already an insane quote from a resident, though: "Now I'm going through exactly what all my friends in Louisiana are going through." Oh yeah, it's exactly the same.

-Seattlest's own Seth Kolloen will be appearing on John Moe's "The Power of Voice" radio show tonight at 8. Moe will be discussing the question "Do sports matter?" with a panel and Seth will counter with "Does anything else?" 94.9 on your FM dial.

We've all heard about Alaska Airlines's shoddy on-time ratings and their labor disputes. And we've all heard about the outsourced baggage handler who drove the cart into the plane but neglected to report doing so, thus causing a hole to burst in the plane at altitude, forcing an emergency landing. If that isn't enough to turn your airfare dollars elsewhere, this morning brought two new bad-news-for-Alaska stories to the Seattle Times.

The guy who pulled a hit and run on an MD-80 at Sea-Tac over the holiday weekend was suspended pending the results of an investigation after the plane suffered an in-flight depressurization. We're curious as to which route he's going to take: Will it be the "I didn't feel anything" classic? Maybe the old "That was already there" excuse? Perhaps "I barely touched it - That's what bumpers are for" standby? Any way you slice it it's difficult to imagine how he comes out of this with a job. Of course, one guy careening around the runways knocking creases into airplanes may not be the whole problem at Alaska. What about the rest of the Alaska Airlines baggage handling scabs strike breakers contractors?

We've always had a soft spot for Alaska Airlines. They seem slightly exotic and yet local all at the same time.