Delta Air Lines is to start Boeing 747-400 service to Seattle next June. Image by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
Today Delta Air Lines and Alaska Airlines made a joint announcement at Seattle Tacoma International Airport regarding increased service. Some (including myself) were hoping for something a bit more substantial, but more options to/from SEA is always a good thing.
Proposed new nonstop Delta service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport, pending approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Proposed new nonstop Delta service between Seattle and Haneda Airport in Tokyo, pending DOT approval.
Newly upgraded Boeing 767-300 aircraft on Delta’s flights between Seattle and Paris, Beijing and Osaka, Japan, also offering full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite and upgraded amenities.
Additional nonstop Delta service between Seattle and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Upgraded BusinessElite service on all Delta Seattle-JFK flights to match the product and amenities of Delta’s JFK service from Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Sea-Tac airport improvements including a new Delta Sky Club, new power ports throughout Delta’s facilities, expanded ticket counters, lobby renovations and other improvements.
An ongoing partnership between Delta and Alaska that includes codesharing in Seattle and shared customer benefits including reciprocal lounge access and frequent flier programs.
“Delta’s expansion in Seattle will link this important West Coast city even closer with key markets in Asia, boosting its economy, creating jobs and providing benefits to travelers across the Pacific Northwest region,” said Richard Anderson, Delta’s chief executive. “This kind of international growth is possible only because of our partnership with Alaska, and customers of both our airlines will benefit from this newly strengthened relationship.”
The new Salmon-Thirty-Salmon livery shown off in Anchorage. Image from Alaska Airlines. CLICK FOR LARGER.
One of the best liveries out there was Alaska Airline’s original Salmon-Thirty-Salmon livery on a Boeing 737-400. The airline re-painted the old salmon livery a while back and many have missed it (including me). Have no fear – a new salmon livery is here. This week, Alaska unveiled their Salmon-Thirty-Salmon II livery in Anchorage and it is even better than the first.
The new Salmon-30-Salmon has winglets. Image from Alaska Airlines. CLICK FOR LARGER.
This time, a Boeing 737-800 was used as a larger canvas. The fish-plane comes in at 91,000 pounds and measures at almost 129 feet. Alaska calls this “the most intricately painted commercial aircraft in the world.”
There are not too many differences between the older salmon livery and the newer one. The concept remained the same; to paint a huge salmon on a plane. One of the biggest changes is the fact that the 737-800 has winglets with scales. Also the “Alaska” name is painted in a salmon color versus white of the previous design.
How could you not smile flying such a beautiful plane? Image from Alaska Airlines. CLICK FOR LARGER.
The design used four gallons of Mylar paint to create an iridescent sparkle over the nearly 3500 fish scales. Crews worked 27 days straight in Oklahoma City and used 21 unique colors to get this amazing livery completed.
“Today, we are proud to introduce the largest flying fish to all of Alaska and the world,” said Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines’ regional vice president of the state of Alaska. “Not only will this special plane spotlight the best, most sustainable seafood harvest in the world, it will also remind us of the important role the seafood industry has on the Alaska economy. On behalf of the 1,700 Alaska Airlines employees working in the state, we are also proud to safely fly the thousands of men and women who work in the seafood industry throughout the Last Frontier.”
Brandon Farris caught the S7S landing in Seattle.
A big thanks to Brandon for letting me share his photo of the Salmon-30-Salmon landing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The above video highlights the process of painting the Salmon-30-Salmon livery.
What do Alaska and Delta have up their sleeves? Photo by Paul Carter.
Today Alaska Airlines sent out a media advisory stating that their CEO, Brad Tilden, and Delta Air Lines CEO, Richard Anderson, will make a joint announcement on Monday about, “new service, product enhancements in Seattle.” What does that mean exactly? I am not sure.
The advisory continues to say that they plan, “to announce Delta and Alaska Airlines’ latest steps in Seattle, which include new service and product enhancements. Alaska operates the most flights at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, while Delta is the market’s largest provider of Asian and trans-Atlantic service. Through their partnership, the two carriers provide air travelers with connections throughout the Northwest and elsewhere on codeshare flights, as well as reciprocal lounge and frequent flier benefits.”
Rumors about Alaska and Delta have been swarming for years. Although I doubt this is an announcement that Delta will be taking over Alaska, it has to be something pretty major for Anderson to come in from Atlanta.
What are you guesses on what the announcement might include? Leave them in the comments and let your imagination soar. We can all find out on Monday.
That is Chris Sloan in the cockpit of the Salmon-30-Salmon at Deadhorse / Prudhoe Bay Airport. Image: Chris Sloan / Airchive.com
If you are an airline livery buff, then the Alaska Airlines Salmon-30-Salmon livery is probably on your top ten list (at least it should be). I have seen the outside of the aircraft a few times, but never got to actually fly in it. Recently, Chris Sloan with Airchive.com shared some photos of the interior and I was excited how it had a sea-theme to it and wanted to share.
Alaska Airlines “Salmon-30-Salmon” Boeing 737-400 Flight Deck. Image: Chris Sloan / Airchive.com
From Airchive.com:
Alaska Airlines “Salmon-30-Salmon” Boeing 737-400 Cabin The “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon,” sporting the glimmering image of a wild Alaska king salmon, is among the world’s most intricately painted commercial airplanes. Complete with shiny scales, a dorsal fin and gills, the livery on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 passenger aircraft is the result of a dedicated team of 30 painters working nearly nonstop for 24 days. The Boeing 737-400 aircraft has been in Alaska Airlines’s fleet since 1997 and was originally scheduled to be re-painted with Alaska’s traditional Eskimo livery. It was relaunched as “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon” in 2005. Salmon-30-Salmon in reference to a fluke incident that occurred March 30, 1987. After departure from Juneau, Alaska, a Boeing 737-200 hit a fish dropped by a Bald Eagle. Unlike many logojets, the “Salmon Jet” cabin features logo designs inside, in this case various forms of edible Alaskan sea life on the overhead bins. Alaska Airlines’s Boeing 737-400s feature 12 first class and 132 economy seats. These photos were taken on a Summer 2011 flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay and Barrow.
Plaque in the salmon-30-salmon. Image: Chris Sloan / Airchive.com.
The overhead bins have sea creatures. Image: Chris Sloan / Airchive.com.
In case you do not know what kind of animals these are, they give you their names. Image: Chris Sloan / Airchive.com.
Alaska Airlines New Salmon-Thirty-Salmon, which will be put in service in the fall 2012. Image from Alaska. CLICK FOR LARGER.
The original Salmon-liveried 737 was painted over last year, but soon, the new Salmon-Thirty-Salmon II will be unveiled in Anchorage. Alaska Airlines tells AirlineReporter.com that the new aircraft will have a similar plaque, letting passengers know that they are on the world’s largest fish, but the sea creatures on the overhead bins will not be returning.
Some of the world’s largest planes take off and land at Paine Field every day. Will a few MD-80s really be that big of a deal? Photo by AirlineReporter.com.
It is time for Paine Field (PAE) to offer commercial flights and we all might be one step closer to getting there. Paine Field, where Boeing builds its Boeing 767, 777 and 787, is located in Everett, WA about 30 miles north of Seattle. Many people think that the airport is owned by Boeing, but it is actually owned by Snohomish County and for years there has been debate about starting commercial operations at the airport.
Even though I live in the flight path for Paine Field and increased flights would likely decrease the value of my home, I am a strong supporter for adding commercial flight operations. It is the best for the community as a whole, there is a demand and there will be little negative impact on the community.
This week the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concluded that up to 23 flights per day would have almost no impact on the environment, noise or traffic around the airport. People still have until October 17th to make their opinions known and the FAA is expected to make their final decision on commercial flights by the end of the year.
After the FAA’s announcement Alaska Airlines stated that they are no longer interested in flying out of Paine Field. Alaska told The Everett Herald that Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) has improved their offering quite a bit with a third runway, light rail and a rental car area. “Just the significant investments made at Sea-Tac the last couple of years lead us to feel strongly that Sea-Tac is the best airport to serve our region,” Bobbie Egan explained to the Everett Herald. However, Alaska also admits that if other airlines start offering flights out of PAE, they might re-visit the issue in the future.
Allegiant, who does not operate any flights out of SEA, is still interested in starting operations at Paine Field. Even with the final announcement expected soon, Allegiant is not sure when it might start flights. “We don’t have an announcement timeline ’“ or even a definitive that we will announce ’“ but we are certainly interested,” Allegiant spokesperson told AirlineReporter.com. “Many other factors come into play when making service decisions. That being said, we think the FAA report confirms what we’ve said all along – flights from Paine field would be a great benefit to the community and the airport.”
Will Paine Field be seeing the Allegiant livery soon? I sure hope so. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
Not everyone is a fan of Paine Field starting commercial operations. The Everett Herald recently posted a commentary from Vicki Derks who feels that increased traffic at PAE might cause Boeing to move more of their operations out of town.
Derks echos the fear that many others have talked about: the fact that once commercial air traffic starts at an airport, there is no limiting how quickly flights can grow. Maybe the surrounding area will turn into a cesspool or the noise will drive people out of the area. I hardly doubt that will ever be the case. For one, is there really that much demand in Everett for enough commercial flights to cause a detriment to the community? I do not think so.
About 40 miles south is the region’s largest airport SEA and then 75 miles north is Bellingham International Airport. There isn’t a huge population between the two airports who will be looking for a limited, domestic route offerings out of PAE.
To date, Boeing has had no comment on commercial flights starting in Everett.
It seems the writing is on the wall. I suspect that someday flights will commence at Paine Field and I am waiting for the day. I say bring it on!
