If you’re an average Alaskan, odds are you fly the SeaTac-based company’s jets from time to time. (Yes, SeaTac is the name of a city, not just an airport.)
Maybe you’ve memorized your town’s flight schedule. But did you know all this?:
1) Two-thirds of Alaskans belong to the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan.
2) We earned 530 million miles this summer during a double-mileage promotion, the equivalent of 21,000 roundtrip saver tickets.
3) Half of us are members of the airline’s Club 49 plan, which offers additional discounts, including checked-luggage deals, for Alaskans.
4) The airline has nearly 1,700 in-state employees.
5) 275 staffers are in Southeast.
6) The mileage and Club 49 plans have saved Alaskans $10.7 million so far this year.
7) $8 million of that is from the two-free-checked-bags program for travel in and out of the state.
And here’s one you may have heard of, but decided to forget:
1) Baggage fees raise from $20 to $25 for the first two bags starting Oct. 1. Click here to read more about fare and ticket-change fees.
Source: Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines in-state vice president, during last week’s Southeast Conference annual meeting in Sitka.
Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.
He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.
