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71-565: Alaska Air Group was formed in 1985 as a holding company for Alaska Airlines, and a year later it acquired Horizon Air and Jet America Airlines . Jet America Airlines was merged into Alaska Airlines in 1987. In 2011, Alaska Air Group replaced the AMR Corporation in the Dow Jones Transportation Average following AMR's filing for bankruptcy. On March 29, 2016, Alaska Airlines announced that it would form

142-686: A Boeing 707 was also leased in June 1984 for charter operations, which rapidly incurred significant losses and resulted in the early termination of the lease in January 1985. Services to Detroit , Las Vegas , and Orange County, California were inaugurated in 1985. During that year, Jet America joined with Disney to advertise a direct route from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to Long Beach Airport for people to visit Disneyland in its 30th anniversary year. Many of these ads were played during Texas Rangers baseball games or were placed in

213-596: A Convair 880 jetliner with no money down, for use on routes between Alaska and the contiguous United States. The company introduced the new jet aircraft in 1961. In 1966 the company received its first Boeing 727-100 jets. They removed the Convair 880 from the fleet as a financing condition by Boeing concerning the purchase of the 727 jetliners. Several of Alaska's first 727s were series 100C models, which could be operated as all-cargo freighters, an all-passenger configuration or as mixed passenger/freight combi aircraft . In

284-498: A US$ 40 million profit the next year. Eight percent of these revenues were generated by record-setting cargo operations. Alaska had more competition in 1993 when low-cost airline Southwest Airlines entered the Pacific Northwest by purchasing Morris Air . Alaska Airlines was able to keep its costs down, but it maintained its high level of customer service. The airline promoted itself as "the last great airline" and with

355-481: A $ 1.9 billion deal. On August 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice completed its regulatory review of the proposed merger and declined to file a lawsuit to block it. The merger received the approval of the U.S. Department of Transportation on September 17, 2024, and was completed the following day. McGee Airways , a precursor to Alaska Airlines, was established by Linious "Mac" McGee and flew its first service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay . Service

426-403: A 737-800 called Spirit of Seattle with Boeing's house colors painted on the fuselage and the airline's Inuit logo painted on the tail fin. Also in 2005, Alaska Airlines contracted out many of its jobs, including ground crew positions, to Menzies Aviation . In some cases, this resulted in an almost 40% decline in wages. This agreement was found to be a violation of union agreements in 2008 and

497-474: A US$ 700,000 debt owed by the Guinean airline to Alaska Airlines. In 1965, Alaska Airlines turned over some routes between small Alaskan communities, and some smaller aircraft, to Wien Air Alaska . This allowed Alaska to focus on more heavily travelled routes and allowed them to sell off smaller aircraft. Throughout the 1960s, Alaska Airlines worked to promote tourism to Alaska by offering charter flights to

568-565: A branch office in Anchorage. Despite its success, Alaska Airlines' worldwide charter business was short-lived. In 1949, the CAB tightened its regulations and placed heavy fines on the airline and shut it down completely for safety violations. The airline was prohibited from operating worldwide charter flights, and president James Wooten left the company. Also in 1949, Alaska Air began operating five Bell 47B helicopters to support oil exploration on

639-641: A businessman from New York City. In 1942, the airline purchased three other airlines in Alaska, including Lavery Air Service, Mirow Air Service, and Pollack Flying Service. They also purchased a hangar at the Anchorage airport . In 1942, the airline's name was changed to Alaska Star Airlines . When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, Alaska Airlines faced a shortage of pilots. During

710-411: A deal worth approximately $ 1.9 billion. The deal would retain both Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines as separate brands. On August 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice completed its regulatory antitrust review of the proposed acquisition and declined file a lawsuit to block it. The merger received the approval of the U.S. Department of Transportation on September 17, 2024 with the merger closing

781-466: A potentially negative response from the Soviets. The airline gained permission to fly more than two dozen flights in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Alaska Airlines was also operating Boeing 707 , Boeing 720 , and Boeing 720B jetliners in scheduled passenger service between destinations in Alaska and Seattle during the early and mid-1970s. The airline was not in good financial shape at that time. Like much of

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852-531: A separate airline, but this proved economically unviable and Jet America's operations were merged into Alaska's. Alaska discontinued all flights to the Midwest and the East coast formerly operated by Jet America. Additional MD-80s entered the fleet via the acquisition of Jet America Airlines in 1987. There was a big seasonal imbalance in travel to Alaska, which mainly took place in the summer. To compensate for this,

923-544: A springboard to expand into larger, more profitable markets. The airline began the 1990s with plans to lease 24 Boeing 737-400s from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The first aircraft was delivered in April 1992. In 1991, Alaska Airlines added several routes. In the Russian Far East , it added the cities of Magadan and Khabarovsk , as well as service to Toronto , its first Canadian city and

994-501: A wholly owned subsidiary called McGee Air Services, a dedicated airline services company. McGee competes with other companies to provide ground handling, aircraft cleaning and wheelchair services to Alaska Airlines. On April 4, 2016, Alaska Air Group announced plans to acquire Virgin America , pending approval from US government regulators and Virgin America shareholders; the acquisition was completed on December 14, 2016. The total price

1065-425: Is Seattle–Tacoma International Airport . Alaska Airlines is a member of Oneworld , the third-largest airline alliance in the world. As of 2020, the airline employs over 16,000 people and has been ranked by J. D. Power and Associates as having the highest customer satisfaction of the traditional airlines for twelve consecutive years. In December 2023, Alaska Airlines announced plans to buy Hawaiian Airlines in

1136-843: The Convair 240 , de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and Super Catalina amphibian aircraft as well as two versions of the Grumman Goose amphibian aircraft , one with piston engines and the other model is a conversion to turboprop engines which the airline called the "Turbo-Goose". The Catalina and Grumman amphibian seaplane aircraft joined the fleet when the airline acquired local southeast Alaska operator Alaska Coastal Airlines in 1968. During this time, Alaska Air faced some tough competition from other airlines, such as Northwest Airlines , Pan Am, and Pacific Northern Airlines , an Alaska-based air carrier operating Boeing 720 jetliners that

1207-629: The Gulf of Aqaba to Tel Aviv . After unloading the refugees, crews then immediately continued to Cyprus, afraid to stay on the ground in Tel Aviv for fear of being bombed. Some 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted by Alaska Airlines and other carriers without a single loss of life. Alaska Airlines started the 1950s without its worldwide charter business and operations restricted to the state of Alaska. In 1950, it purchased two smaller Alaskan airlines, Collins Air Service and Al Jones Airways . Though

1278-510: The North Slope thus becoming the first airline in Alaska to operate rotary-wing aircraft . In 1949, the airline was a major participant in an effort by the newly established state of Israel to airlift Jews out of Yemen to Israel in what became known as Operation Magic Carpet . C-46 or DC-4 aircraft were used for the nearly 3,000-mile flight, made necessary to avoid overflying Arab nations. Planes flew from Eritrea to Aden , then along

1349-587: The Pacific Northwest with its extensive route network hub through Seattle–Tacoma in Washington state and Portland in Oregon , and the state of Alaska in Anchorage . After the demise of Aloha Airlines and ATA Airlines in 2008, Alaska Air Group expanded heavily centering on Hawaii and other non- airline hub secondary mainland cities and airports, including San Diego and San Jose . After

1420-673: The sixth-largest airline in North America when measured by scheduled passengers carried, as of 2023. Alaska, together with its regional partners Horizon Air and SkyWest Airlines operates a route network primarily focused on connecting cities along the West Coast of the United States to over 100 destinations in Alaska , Hawaii , the contiguous United States , Bahamas , Belize , Canada , Costa Rica , Guatemala and Mexico . The airline operates out of five hubs. Its primary hub

1491-566: The "ill-fated" Jet America experiment to a quick end. Jet America served the following destinations as of June 1987. At the time of its acquisition by Alaska Airlines, the Jet America fleet consisted of the following aircraft: Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington , within the Seattle metropolitan area . It is

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1562-692: The 1980s, Alaska Airlines began acquiring McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to replace its aging 727s. Alaska was the launch customer for the MD-83, taking delivery of its first MD-80s in 1985. Also in 1985, the Alaska Air Group was formed as a holding company for Alaska Airlines. In 1986 Alaska Air Group acquired regional airline Horizon Air , which remained a separate brand from Alaska Airlines. Since then, both airlines have been subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group. In 1987, Alaska Airlines purchased Jet America Airlines . Alaska initially operated Jet America as

1633-548: The Alaska Air Group is SkyWest Airlines , who has about 40 Embraer 175 aircraft dedicated to providing service for the Alaska Airlines are painted in a very similar manner to Horizon's. SkyWest's fleet however, is branded Alaska SkyWest to differentiate that airline's aircraft from those of Horizon Air. Through Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air , Alaska Air Group services the passenger and cargo markets of

1704-665: The acquisition had been completed. After initially attempting to operate the two airlines separately but finding its strategy for Jet America unprofitable, Jet America was merged into Alaska Airlines in October 1987. Alaska Air Group cited a $ 9 million loss for Jet America in the first nine months of 1987 prior to merging Jet America into Alaska Airlines. Alaska sold Jet America's 14 slots at Chicago O'Hare Airport and four slots at Washington National Airport to United Airlines in exchange for cash and certain west coast facilities. Alaska received praise from industry observers for bringing

1775-529: The acquisition of Virgin America in 2016, Alaska Air Group further expanded into California through Virgin America 's hubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles . After the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines in 2024, Alaska Air Group is expanding into Hawaii through Hawaiian 's hub in Honolulu , making it the second largest hub behind Seattle–Tacoma. Jet America Airlines Jet America Airlines

1846-617: The airline apart from other ones of the day. Under his leadership, Alaska Airlines became the first to show inflight movies. The company began service with the Douglas DC-6 , the airline's first pressurized plane, enabling flights above clouds and weather disturbances. On these DC-6s, the airline introduced "Golden Nugget" service, which included an on-board saloon and piano. In 1961, competitors began introducing jets on routes Alaska Airlines flew. To counter this competition, Willis negotiated with aircraft manufacturer Convair to purchase

1917-497: The airline became the first U.S. airline to sell tickets on the Internet. By 2000, all the airline's planes carried automated external defibrillators , for use in in-flight emergencies. The airline installed self-service kiosks called "Instant Travel Machines" that printed boarding passes, allowing customers to bypass the traditional ticket counter. An X-ray device, an addition to the unit allowing passengers to check their own baggage

1988-402: The airline began operating on November 16, 1981, with a flight from its home base at Long Beach Airport (LGB) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD). By July 1984 the airline had expanded service to Dallas/Fort Worth , St. Louis , and Oakland , and had launched its own frequent flyer program. Its fleet consisted of six McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft, with a further four on order;

2059-526: The airline had grown much under the ownership of Raymond Marshall, the CAB forced him out in 1951 due to continuing financial troubles. Marshall had owned Alaska Airlines with the intent of getting money for himself and he was not concerned about the long-term stability of the company. In 1951, the CAB awarded Alaska Airlines with a temporary certificate allowing them to operate on routes from the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks to Seattle and Portland in

2130-636: The airline industry, Alaska Airlines was hit with rising fuel and operating costs and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Revenues were significantly reduced when work on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was delayed. The airline's cargo aircraft had played a key role in building the pipeline but now sat idle. The airline took another blow on September 4, 1971, when a Boeing 727-100 jetliner crashed on landing in Juneau , killing 111 people and resulting in America's worst single-plane crash at

2201-578: The airline industry. In 2003, Alaska Airlines won the Technology Leadership Award from the magazine Air Transport World for its pioneering of new technologies both in the airport and within the airplane itself. In 2005, due to the greater efficiency of the Boeing 737 Next Generation and rising costs for maintenance, fuel, and crew training, Alaska Airlines decided to phase out its remaining 26 MD-80s and trained its pilots to fly

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2272-457: The airline introduced service to Mexican resorts, where most travel takes place in the winter. In 1988, the airline began servicing the Mexican resort cities of Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta . By the end of the 1980s, 70 percent of Alaska Airlines' passengers flew south of Seattle and the airline served 30 cities in 6 states outside Alaska. The airline had successfully used the state of Alaska as

2343-523: The airline purchased many surplus military aircraft from the government that had been used during World War II. The airline purchased Douglas DC-3s , Douglas DC-4s , and Curtiss-Wright C-46 Commandos . Alaska Airlines was the first carrier certified to operate DC-3s on skis. Alaska Airlines' large charter business made it profitable, and the airline moved its base of operations to Paine Field , an airport, in Everett, Washington, north of Seattle. It kept

2414-405: The airline received buyout offers from Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group . The main interest of the carriers were Jet America's landing slots at Washington National, Chicago O'Hare, John Wayne Airport and Long Beach airports. Given Jet America's financial losses and its ever-changing route network, there was little franchise value. The airline accepted the Alaska bid and by the end of the year

2485-721: The airline resumed services to the Alaskan cities Nome and Kotzebue , and it introduced service to Palm Springs, California . Burbank and Ontario were added in 1981. In 1979, Alaska studied the possibility of acquiring and merging with Hughes Air West . This never came to fruition. Other cities in the continental US that were added to the airline's route map by 1985 were Oakland and San Jose in California , Spokane in Washington , Boise in Idaho , and Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona . Deregulation also brought challenges to

2556-530: The airline took delivery of its first 737-900. In 2001, the airline was granted slot exemptions by the Department of Transportation to operate a nonstop flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Seattle, but it was halted after only a week due to the September 11 attacks . The airline resumed service to Reagan Airport on December 4, 2001, to meet the demand. In January 2002, William Ayer

2627-443: The airline. The airline was faced with increased competition and inflation that put tremendous pressure on costs, profits, and salaries. By 1979, competitors Northwest Airlines and Western Airlines were both flying wide-body McDonnell Douglas DC-10 jets on the core Anchorage–Seattle nonstop route. Additional competition came from Wien Air Alaska , which had begun flying nonstop jet service between Anchorage and Seattle. Northwest

2698-495: The aisles, and having bingo games on board while en route. In December 1962, Air Guinée signed a contract with Alaska Airlines, which had Alaska Airlines providing management expertise, in addition to two Douglas DC-4s. The deal would have had Alaska Airlines contracting with the airline over seven years. The contract ended after six months, leading to the United States Agency for International Development paying

2769-406: The attempted acquisition. Wien Air was liquidated in 1984, and never merged into Alaska Airlines. At the time of deregulation, Alaska Airlines served ten cities in Alaska and one in the contiguous US—the city of Seattle—and it had only ten planes in its fleet. Immediately after deregulation, the airline began to expand, adding the cities of Portland and San Francisco to its network. Soon later,

2840-457: The combined fleet under Alaska Air Group's management numbering 342 aircraft. Alaska Air Group has created a new branding identity for its Horizon Air subsidiary and other independently owned and separately directed affiliate regional airlines it chooses to contract to do regional flying business into markets too limited to be flown only on Alaska Airlines mainline equipment. Among the other airlines now sub-contracted to do additional flying for

2911-409: The contiguous United States. This award became permanent in 1957. In 1952, the CAB appointed Nelson David as president, and he began to improve the financial stability of the airline. By 1957, with the carrier in a better financial situation, David left and Charles Willis Jr., became the company's new president and CEO. A pilot during World War II, Willis introduced several marketing gimmicks that set

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2982-479: The continental United States. In an attempt to increase the state's appeal, Alaska Airlines conducted a promotional tour of Japan in 1963. In 1967, as the state of Alaska celebrated its centennial, Alaska Airlines introduced a promotional "Gay Nineties" theme with stewardesses dressed in Edwardian outfits. That year, Alaska Airlines expanded to southeast Alaska with the introduction of service to Sitka . This led to

3053-479: The end of 2016. On March 22, 2017, the company announced that Alaska Air Group would merge Virgin America and Alaska Airlines, with the combined airline to operate under the Alaska Airlines brand. The merger was largely completed on April 25, 2018 and the Virgin America brand was fully retired by June 2, 2019. On December 3, 2023, Alaska Air Group announced that it planned to purchase Hawaiian Airlines in

3124-622: The first city east of the Rocky Mountains . Toronto was later dropped in 1992 and the Russian destinations were discontinued in 1998. As the airline marked its 19th consecutive year of profits in a turbulent industry and racked up many awards for customer service, Bruce Kennedy retired in May 1991 and was succeeded by Raymond J. Vecci. Alaska Airlines faced increased competition from low-cost carriers . One carrier that competed with Alaska

3195-577: The first time in 20 years, it posted a loss of US$ 121 million. To save money, the airline canceled two proposed maintenance facilities and deferred a large aircraft purchase worth US$ 2 billion. Deferred maintenance from this period of cost-cutting would ultimately cause the crash of Flight 261 in 2000 . It was able to increase utilization on its existing planes, though. The airline cut labor costs, but this ended up making relations with unions tense. The cost reductions produced quick results. In 1993, their losses decreased to US$ 45 million and they made

3266-487: The first time on the American Stock Exchange . The name Alaska Airlines was adopted on May 2, 1944, having narrowly beaten a competitor who was applying for the name. In the 1940s, Alaska's headquarters were in Anchorage. In 1945, Alaska Airlines hired its first stewardesses. In 1947, James Wooten became president of the airline and began an effort to expand the company. Under his leadership,

3337-423: The following day. The key trends for Alaska Air Group are shown below (as at year ending December 31): The Alaska Air Group headquarters is located at 19300 International Boulevard, SeaTac, Washington , United States. On May 3, 2018, Alaska Airlines unveiled plans to construct a 128,000-square-foot building near Sea-Tac Airport to provide office space for its growing workforce. The new building will be across

3408-421: The mining industry. With a fleet of 15 aircraft, Star Air Service was a dominant airline in Alaska, but the airline continued to struggle financially because of high maintenance costs for its wood-and-fabric planes. In 1937, McGee came back to the airline and opened a liquor store, and the airline began flying liquor to remote Alaskan communities. That year, Star Air Service purchased Alaska Interior Airlines and

3479-526: The motto "For the same price, you just get more". Analysts felt that Alaska Air needed deeper cost cuts. At the same time, the company had many strikes by the flight attendants' union. Alaska continued to take delivery of new MD-83s during the 1990s, both to meet the demands of a growing route system and to replace its aging and fuel inefficient 727 fleets. Their last 727 was retired in March 1994. The airline's MD-80 fleet peaked at 44 aircraft in 1996. Vecci

3550-535: The newer Boeing 737-800s that were being ordered to replace them. According to the airline, the MD-80 burned 1,100 US gallons (4,200 L) of fuel per hour, while the 737-800 burned just 850 US gallons (3,200 L) per hour. The last MD-80 flights flew in August 2008, with one flight from San Jose to Seattle and another from Sacramento to Seattle. To mark its transition to an all-Boeing fleet, Alaska Airlines unveiled

3621-598: The next 25 years. It became the first carrier to fly the Lockheed L-100 Hercules L382 model, the civil version of the military C-130 cargo turboprop, which was used to transport oil drilling rigs to Alaska's North Slope and later to Ecuador . Alaska also owned Lockheed Constellation propliners including two Lockheed L-1649A Starliners from 1962 to 1968, and three L-1049's which were used for Military Air Transport Service operations. Smaller prop and turboprop aircraft were operated, including

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3692-532: The purchase of two smaller airlines, Alaska Coastal Airlines and Cordova Airlines, in 1968. In the beginning of the 1970s, Alaska Airlines began Boeing 707 charter flights to Siberia in the Soviet Union. This was the result of three years of secret negotiations between Alaska Airlines and Soviet authorities, in which the US Department of State reluctantly chose not to block the plan for fear of

3763-430: The spring of 1967, greatly increased passenger loads required a quick addition of fleet aircraft. Alaska purchased a Convair 990 jetliner, formerly operated by Brazilian air carrier Varig as PP-VJE, which then became Alaska Airlines N987AS. This aircraft remained in service along with an increased fleet of Boeing 727-100s. They were joined by stretched Boeing 727-200s which became Alaska Airlines' signature aircraft for

3834-418: The spring of 1987, as part of Alaska Air Group, the airline was operating direct flights between the west coast and the east coast of the U.S. including a round trip multi-stop flight with a routing of Orange County (SNA) - Portland (PDX) - Seattle (SEA) - Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) - Washington, D.C. (DCA) as well as a Long Beach (LGB) - Chicago (ORD) - Washington, D.C. (DCA) round trip flight. Late in 1986,

3905-612: The street from Alaska's Corporate Headquarters and adjacent to its Flight Training Center. Construction was expected to be completed by early 2020. Alaska Air Group operates a mix of Airbus , Boeing and Embraer aircraft through its subsidiaries Alaska Airlines , Hawaiian Airlines , and Horizon Air . As of September 2024, Alaska Airlines ' fleet consists of about 235 Boeing 737 aircraft, Hawaiian Airlines ' fleet consists of about 18 Airbus A321neo , 24 Airbus A330 , 19 Boeing 717 and 2 Boeing 787 aircraft, and Horizon Air 's fleet consists of about 44 Embraer 175 aircraft, with

3976-509: The team's programs and calendar. In the summer of 1986, Jet America was operating a small hub at the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) with nonstop jet service to Burbank (BUR), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW), Long Beach (LGB), Milwaukee (MKE), Ontario (ONT), Orange County (SNA) and St. Louis (STL) as well as direct one stop flights to Detroit (DTW) and Washington, D.C. (DCA). In

4047-498: The time. Because the airline was struggling financially, the airline's board ousted president and CEO Charles Willis. Former board member Ronald Cosgrave succeeded him. The airline was US$ 22 million in debt when Cosgrave took over, so Cosgrave began to make major cuts. The airline's cargo business was dropped completely, as were many flights and employees. Cosgrave also sought to improve the airline's tarnished image of "Elastic Airlines", referring to its poor schedule keeping. The logo

4118-467: The war, the airline lacked funds and equipment, and pilots were often forced to buy fuel for their planes out of their own pockets. The company, which was frequently subjected to lawsuits, also went through many different presidents during this time. In 1943, Alaska Airlines purchased the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar , its first multi-engine aircraft. That same year, the company's stock was traded for

4189-516: Was MarkAir . Since it began operating in 1984, competition had been reduced because it had worked out feeder agreements with Alaska Airlines. However, after Alaska Air declined to buy the airline in the fall of 1991, it intensified competition with Alaska. Mark Air offered low-cost service on the Anchorage-Seattle route and other routes in Alaska, where Alaska Airlines earned almost one-third of its revenues. This hurt Alaska Airlines. For

4260-504: Was a United States domestic airline that operated from 1981 to 1987 when it merged with Alaska Airlines after briefly operating as a separate carrier within Alaska Air Group . It was headquartered in Signal Hill, California , near Long Beach . The founding group was headed by executives largely from Air California . The Civil Aeronautics Board issued a final order finding Jet America "fit, willing and able" on June 18, 1981 and

4331-470: Was acquired by and merged into Western Airlines in 1967. Northwest and Pan Am at different times operated Boeing 747 wide-body jetliners on their services to Alaska with Northwest flying Seattle–Anchorage nonstop with the jumbo jet and Pan Am flying Seattle–Fairbanks nonstop with the 747. To set itself apart from the competition, Alaska Air turned to some cheap but imaginative gimmicks such as having safety instructions read as rhymes, staging fashion shows in

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4402-522: Was approximately $ 2.6 billion. Until 2018, Alaska Air Group continued to operate Alaska Airlines and Virgin America as separate airlines and continued to honor both Alaska's Mileage Plan and Virgin America's Elevate loyalty programs. Following the acquisition of Virgin America , the actual number of Alaska Air Group employees had increased from 15,143 at the end of 2015 to 19,112 (12,224 at Alaska Airlines, 3,616 at Horizon Air, and 3,252 at Virgin America) by

4473-475: Was being tested in 1999 at Anchorage. This concept, known as "Airport of the Future" by the airline, was first tested in Anchorage and was later brought to its Seattle hub, and it drew attention from other airlines. The airline was the first airline in the world to integrate GPS and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) technology, adding a real-time, three-dimensional display of terrain. The system

4544-455: Was changed to an image of a smiling Inuk man, which remains today. Although the exact identity of the man is unknown, some believe it to be the face of either Chester Seveck, a reindeer herder in Kotzebue, or Oliver Amouak, an Inupiat man. Both were Alaskan natives. As a result of these efforts, the airline made a profit in 1973 and continued to be profitable thereafter. Alaska Airlines

4615-458: Was dismissed in 1995 and replaced with John Kelly, the former Horizon Air CEO. The airline soon expanded West Coast routes to take advantage of an "open skies" agreement between the US and Canada. Alaska Airlines pioneered some new technologies through the 1990s. It added a heads-up guidance system in 1989 to operate better in foggy conditions, becoming the first airline to use this technology. In 1995,

4686-491: Was incorporated as Star Air Lines. Star was again sold later that year to a group of miners. In 1938, federal regulation began when Congress created the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which awarded the airline most of the routes that it wanted in Alaska, but the coveted route between Seattle and Fairbanks was awarded to Pan American Airways . In 1941, Star Air Service was purchased by Raymond Marshall,

4757-424: Was named CEO of Alaska Airlines. Ayer had been serving as president under Kelly since 1997, having come to Alaska from Horizon two years earlier after spending 13 years with the smaller airline. Ayer took over as chairman and CEO of the Alaska in 2002 upon Kelly's retirement. He led the company through a transformation called Alaska 2010 that was intended to insulate the airline from the traditional boom-bust cycle of

4828-567: Was one of only three US carriers that supported the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act , knowing that it would reap significant growth and other benefits from deregulation. After deregulation, the company's real-estate division was spun off into its own company, with Cosgrave becoming its chairman. The leadership of the airline was passed to Bruce Kennedy, a close associate of Cosgrave. Cosgrave allied with Alaska Airlines to purchase competitor Wien Air Alaska . This ultimately failed and resulted in fines for Alaska Air and its leaders for improprieties during

4899-544: Was operating nonstop DC-10 service on the Fairbanks–Seattle route at this time as well. There were tensions with unions, particularly mechanics and flight attendants. In 1985, the company had a three-month-long strike with its machinists . By June 1985, it was able to end the strike by promising to reduce labor costs and maintain peace with unions. In November 1985, the airline introduced a daily air-freight service called Gold Streak , with service to and from Alaska. In

4970-694: Was operational in all the carrier's Boeing 737-400s by April 1999. The late 1990s saw the carrier recording much profitability. The airline added new training and maintenance facilities. The airline began buying new 737s, ordering three Boeing 737-700s and became the launch customer for the Boeing 737-900 when it placed an order for ten of the jets in November 1997. With the delivery of Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft starting in 1999, Alaska began launching more medium-haul flights. In 2000, Alaska started service between Anchorage and Chicago. In May 2001,

5041-597: Was unscheduled, with flights taking off when passengers, a load of cargo, or mail needed passage. The airline struggled financially during the Great Depression . Too many airlines were in Anchorage at the time, with not enough demand to support them. As a result, the airline underwent multiple mergers. The first of these mergers was in 1934, when McGee sold his namesake airline for US$ 50,000 (equivalent to $ 1,138,806 in 2023) to Star Air Service , an airline also located in Anchorage. This allowed McGee to enter

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