A kiss welcomes the first Copper River Salmon to Seattle – Photo: David Parker Brown | AirlineReporter
When my alarm went off early this morning, I was actually excited. On paper, the idea of waking up early and driving 45 minutes south to welcome some fish to Seattle might not sound like something worthwhile. But when Alaska Airlines celebrates the arrival of the first Copper River salmon to Seattle, it is worth getting up and joining in on the celebration.
Alaska Airlines brought over the Salmon-30-Salmon, although the salmon flew on a 737-400 Combi
This year is the fifth year that Alaska has done this special event and each year seems to get a bit more exciting. It is just so… well, unique.
The event takes place in the parking lot of Alaska Air Cargo with a bunch of tents, grills, and seats on a Friday morning. There are invited guests, chefs, some famous people, and media all waiting for a fish to come off a plane.
The Yakutat Coastal Airlines de Havilland Otter – Photo: David Delagarza
Having recently embarked on a fair number of adventures around the world, one of the questions I sometimes get asked is what my favorite airline is. No one expects the answer: Yakutat Coastal Airlines.
Never heard of them? I’d be surprised if you had. Their fleet is pretty limited, at two aircraft, and they only have one full-time pilot, Hans Munich. The passenger experience is a bit different as well. The seats are uncomfortable. There is no food or drink available on board. You even have to load your own luggage into the hold. But you’re not going to find many others operating the charter routes they do, and the in-flight views couldn’t be any better.
Our flight was the culmination of a grand adventure my wife and I took, along with a small group of friends, in the summer of 2012. The main reason for the trip was a twelve-day whitewater rafting trip on the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers through Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska), Kluane National Park and Preserve (Yukon Territory), and Tatshenshini-Alsek Park (British Columbia.)
Just getting to the starting point of the rafting trip was a logistical adventure in and of itself. It all started with a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver to Seattle, followed by an Alaska Airlines flight to Juneau, Alaska. Then, we hopped on the Alaska State Ferry for a spectacular four-hour trip up the Lynn canal to the small town of Haines.
In Haines, we stocked up on food, rented rafts and other gear, and hired transport for the final 100-mile drive to to the north. Our launch point into the wilderness was at the end of a rough road in Yukon Territory, at a place called Dalton Post. We spent 12 days on the Tatshenshini and Alsek rivers running rapids, watching Bald Eagles soar overhead, embarking on some magnificent hikes, and trying to avoid grizzly bears.
The last few days of the trip brought us over the international boundary and into Glacier Bay National Park, where we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with glaciers. The highlight of the river trip was floating on Alsek Lake, surrounded by dozens of towering icebergs. Once we reached the end of the river trip at Dry Bay, there was no road to greet us – a grass landing strip was our only connection back to civilization.
The tags found on bags coming into Seattle on Delta flights
Over the last few days I have heard some rumblings about luggage tags that have been showing up on luggage of passengers who have flown on Delta Air Lines (DL) to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). They will be waiting for their bags at baggage claim, and when they show up, find a Delta / American Express advertising tag on them.
Some frequent fliers, on sites like Flyertalk.com, have not been so happy about the tags. Others on sites like HackMyTrip.com, title their story Delta Pisses Off Seattle Customers. The complaint was their bags were already taking long enough, why does Delta need to delay them more by putting unwanted advertising on them?
My first thought, honestly, was to be a bit annoyed as well. That would anger me if I had to wait longer for my bag just to find ads on them. I decided to give Delta a call and find out some more information on these tags and what the purpose was (I figured surely it wasn’t to anger passengers).
The LAX Fire Department gives our flight with a fallen soldier a water cannon salute – Photo: David Parker Brown | Airline Reporter
The thought of a fallen soldier coming home to their family is not easy, but a reality of the world that we live in. I have previously taken a look at how Alaska Airlines professionally handles when they are transporting a fallen soldier, but recently I got to view first-hand not only how the airline, but also Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), treats heroes with the respect they deserve.
On January 15th, I was on a flight from my home town of Seattle (SEA) to LAX and everything went just like normal, until we landed at LAX. A flight attendant made an announcement that there was a soldier who had died for our country on-board, and asked if everyone could please remain seated when we arrived at the gate to allow the military escort to leave the aircraft first. As we taxied, passengers on the plane clapped in support and to show their respect — it was pretty amazing.
My travel map for the USA… Could I tick an extra state off that list? – Image: TravBuddy.com
Each year I set some travel goals for myself; that way throughout all the craziness that may happen during the year, I have a guideline of the things I want to see or do. OshKosh was on my list, as well as my trip home to Australia back in April. I was able to complete those and needed some additional challenges.
I realized fairly late in the year, after returning from New Zealand, that I had left a goal off my list. Being new to living in the USA, I want to see more of this country that I now call home. I had set a goal to add at least one more state to my list of those visited (I was sitting at 42 and I decided that I wanted to make it to at least 43 by the new year).
My colleagues at Airline Reporter found out about this and thought they would have a bit of fun with it. I could check off a state, but I had to do it for less than $100 and make a whole weekend out of it. I accepted the challenge.
