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.
Thanks to Paul for letting me use his photo.
HERE IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT
ANA’s Boeing 787 arrives at SEA to a water cannon salute. Photo by Mal Muir / AirlineReporter.com.
This story was written by AirlineReporter.com correspondent Mal Muir…
Even though the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been flying the skies commercially for almost a year now, its route network has been limited. The majority of flights are made up of Japanese domestic routes operated by ANA, but that is quickly changing. Yesterday one of their 787 essentially ’œreturned to its home,” during the inaugural Narita (NRT) to Seattle (SEA) flight.
ANA’s 787 being serviced at SEA.
When ANA’s first Boeing 787 was delivered back in September 2011, it was a rainy day in Seattle. Yesterday was almost the total opposite with the sun shining and Mount Rainier prominently on the horizon. The airport has seen a 787 Dreamliner visit before, but this was the first one operating a revenue flight.
I ended up having to rush to the airport, since the flight was actually an hour early. Yuji Hirako, the Senior Vice President at ANA for the Americas, joked that even though the aircraft may have been delivered late, it’s always good to see an aircraft show up early (he would probably later regret that statement).
ANA pilots stand in front of the 787 at Sea-Tac.
As the Dreamliner made its approach into Seattle, the crowds at the terminal gathered to watch as the 787 returned to its birth-city. The aircraft operating the flight (JA814A) was only delivered barely a week prior, on the 23rd of September, making this was its first revenue flight. The aircraft made a stellar touch down on Runway 34L before taxiing to the South Satellite at SeaTac. Before arriving at the gate, it had a traditional water cannon salute that produced a spectacular rainbow.
The 787 was greeted by plenty of media, guests and invited dignitaries as the Dreamliner Day festivities came into full swing. Speeches were given by Boeing, the Port of Seattle and ANA as they talked about bringing the 787 home, and the friendship that this aircraft can create. Tom Albro, the Port of Seattle Commissioner, explained how the flight will help to strengthen the relationship between Japan and the Pacific Northwest, .
This 787 (JA814A) is configured with ANA’s international business product.
Soon, we were given the opportunity to tour the interior of the aircraft. Part of the “Inspiration of Japan” initiative by ANA is the Business Staggered seat which gives everyone aisle access and a fully lay-flat seat. With only 112 seats in Economy and 46 seats in the Business Cabin it certainly feels different since almost 2/3 of the aircraft (space wise) isdedicated to the premium product.
Sadly Dreamliner Day didn’t finish off as promising as it had started. The airline first announced the flight would be delayed 90 minutes, but things became worse due to a faulty liquid pump. The first 787 revenue flight out of Seattle was delayed a full 24 hours and at the time of publishing is still set to depart Seattle 1:15pm local time today. Let’s hope that it departs on-time today.
This story will be updated on the 787’s flight departure.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/airlinereporter/sets/72157631675727919/
The 787 is not quite at Seattle — yet. Image from ANA.
On Wednesday, All Nippon Airways (ANA) started their inaugural service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) using a Boeing 777-300ER. Now, there is nothing wrong with the 777, but it was supposed to be using the 787 Dreamliner.
In the image above, the most interesting statement is the “Will introduce the Boeing 787 Drealiner on Seattle-Narita when it is ready.” The “it” in that statement is not the route — since it is more than ready for a 787. The “it” is talking about the Dreamliner that has not yet been delivered to ANA. For now, the airline is expecting to use the 777 until October 2012.
Earlier this year, the fifth 787 test aircraft, ZA005, made a quick visit to SEA, preparing the airport to start scheduled service for the Dreamliner.
ANA’s first Boeing 777-300ER arrives to SEA on July 25th to a water cannon salute. Courtesy Port of Seattle/Don Wilson.
When arriving for the first time, ANA’s Boeing 777-300ER was not only greeted by a water cannon salute by the airport’s fire department, but there was also a celebration in the terminal with a children’s taiko drumming group and a ceremonial sake cask-breaking.
’œANA’s decision to be here reinforces Seattle’s status as a global gateway,’ said Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland. ’œOur mission is to create jobs by advancing trade and commerce, which in turn stimulates economic development. ANA will be another driver for this mission for the entire region.’
Port CEO Tay Yoshitani, Port of Seattle Commissioner Rob Holland, Washington State Govenor Christine Gregoire, ANA Senior Executive Vice President Keisuke Okada, ANA Senior Vice President, The Americas Yuji Hirako, General Manager, Seattle Toshio Nomura, all at the inaugural event. Courtesy Port of Seattle/Don Wilson.
ANA flight NH1077 leaves Seattle at 1:15pm each day and arrives to Narita at 3:45pm the next day. Flight NH1078 leaves Narita at 5:25pm and arrives to Seattle at 10:55am the same day (have to love arriving 6.5hrs before you left).
The initial Boeing 777-300ER aircraft is configured with a total of 247 seats (85 business class, 162 economy). ANA will configure their 787 on the route with 158 seats ’“ 46 business class seats and 112 economy.
United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner of ANA, currently operates a daily flight from SEA to NRT using a Boeing 777-200 and it will be interesting to see if both airlines can be successful on the route. Previously, United Airlines has stated that they have, ’œNo changes planned,” for their route.
ADDITIONAL STUFF ON ANA’S FIRST FLIGHT TO SEATTLE:
* Video of the water cannon salute
* B-Roll YouTube video of the event
* Washington Governor Christine Gregoire speaking at the event
Icelandair’s Boeing 757 sits at Seattle, waiting to be towed to its gate. Photo by Ben Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
My friend Ben recently made the trip from Seattle to France and had a number of choices to going. After quite a bit of research (and many questions to me) he decided on trying out Icelandair, which flies from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Keflavàk International Airport (KEF) before changing planes and flying to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). Since I have never flown on Icelandair, I asked him to write a review for me. Here is his Icelandair review in his own words:
ICELANDAIR REVIEW: SEATTLE TO PARIS
I bought the ticket online today, February 2nd, 2012 and the online process was a bit confusing. They first have you select your home airport and then the dates which are all simple enough.
This however is a bit confusing when you are used to the mm/dd/yyyy format, which most people use in the US. Icelandair has theirs in the dd/mm/yyyy format making me have to triple check that I was flying on April 7th not July 4th. Then unlike other websites where you can type in the airport code CDG for example I had to type the city name Paris. Okay, maybe these are not the biggest deals, but first impressions matter.
The rest of the ordering was simple enough. On the flight to Paris, I chose the cheaper economy class and on the way back it was only $47 more for the economy comfort. I figured it was worth the extra money to check out the differences. I was able to choose my seats for all of the legs except one where it showed no seats available, which is always annoying.
The economy class and economy comfort has a 3-3 layout. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
It is now April 7th, the day of my flight. I show up a few hours early and head to check in. Although they run only one flight per day out of Seattle, the airline had their own ticket counter with three lines: Economy, Comfort and Saga.
Because I was a bit early, there was no line and the front counter lady was extremely nice, checked my passport, and tagged up my luggage. My passport was in a cover and she organized my tickets and baggage claim tickets nicely in the different compartments then could tell by my fresh passport that I likely have not flown from the international terminal recently (wait Ben’¦ ’œrecently’ wasn’t your last international flight like 13yrs ago? ’“ David) and gave me directions.
I go through security and was disappointed that the body scanners weren’t operating; I was hoping to show off. My flight departed from the S-Terminal, so I the short train ride over. When I arrived at the gate the plane was parked across just sitting by itself away from the terminal.
Later, I found out that the flight from Iceland to Seattle lands an hour after the one from Seattle to Iceland leaves so one of their 757s sits on the ground 23 hours every day. About an hour before boarding they towed my aircraft to the gate.
Boarding was pretty painless and typical. They load first class (Saga) first then fill from the back.
Each seat has its own in-flight entertainment system, although I wish there were more options. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
It was a full flight but I didn’t have any trouble getting my stuff in the overhead bin. Everyone had a pillow and blanket on their seats and the IFE system displayed fun facts about Iceland such as the prime ministers phone number is listed in the phone book and that every Icelander can trace their family back to the original settlers.
As we were taxing, the IFE system started working. You could pay $4 for headphones provided by the airline or use your own. The IFE consists of about 30 movies and 11 TV shows, but they most only showed the pilot episodes. I thought this would be plenty, but after 24 hours in the air (round trip), my choices felt quite limited.
The food service started as soon as we started to level off. Being fairly close to the front of the economy section, I only had to wait about 15 minutes to get my food and beverage. But the food doesn’t come free and everyone must pay, which takes time.
You have to pay for the food, but it isn’t too bad. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
After choosing the main hot meal and a beer, the flight attendant said it would cost twenty four hundred — uh WHAT? At first she thought I was being cheap but then realized I was just an ignorant American and gave me the cost in US currency — $18. Not too cheap. I noticed that a good majority of people declined a meal and drink.
Upon arrival in Iceland I had 50 minutes before the next leg of my trip to Paris. We were led off the plane through a series of passageways and then we had to go through security again. The downside to this is I had a liter of water in a Nalgene bottle I had filled up in Seattle and it was chug it or lose it. There was no opportunity to dump it out.
Once through security and getting my passport stamped into Iceland, I still had time to check out the gift shop before heading to my gate (thanks for not getting me anything ’“David). Boarding in Iceland was a bit different. The gates were just in the hallways and the flights weren’t announced. Because it was a hallway, people just naturally were lined up and they just started boarding without announcing anything. The remaining leg of the flight was pretty uneventful.
Upon arrival in Paris we disembarked and by the time I made it to the baggage claim I only had to wait two minutes for my bag to arrive.
The signs diving the different classes can be moved to offer quite a bit of versatility. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
BACK HOME, PARIS TO SEATTLE ON ICELANDAIR
The check-in process was a bit odd in France. The notes on the ticket for comfort Economy stated there would be a separate check-ins, however there was only Economy and Saga check-in. After 20 minutes in line the gate agent was quite abrupt and told me to stop when he was the next free agent. When he finally let me approach and after a minute of looking at my passport he just handed me a ticket and pointed to the security line.
I thought his abruptness may have been a language barrier thing as I am non-French speaker in France but then I heard him speak fine English to the next person asking questions.
When buying my ticket for this leg there were no seat options available. Turns out I got put in seat 4A, which was actually a Saga class seat. I was able to sit in the 2-2 Saga class, but still received Economy Comfort level of service. There were moveable signs on the seat backs marking the separation from Saga and Economy Class seats.
The Saga seats were plush with plenty of leg room the info card said 39″ pitch in first class, 33″ in comfort and 32″ in coach. The only other difference I noted was a much nicer pillow. It was not a bad deal having a Saga Class seat with a lower level of service.
Food in economy comfort is free, except for spirits and champagne. I had the sandwich of the day which was a chicken and a cheese thing, a gull beer, and an Icelandic milk chocolate bar. All of which tasted decent (I say this after spending a week dining on French cuisine).
I was able to sit in Saga Class, which has a 2-2 layout, but still received Economy Comfort service. Photo by Benjamin Whalen / AirlineReporter.com
After landing back in Iceland, I had 90minutes and was excited to check out the lounge that you have access to with an upgraded ticket. We were guided out of the plane and directed through passport control after which I could easily locate my gate however could not find the lounge.
The airport at KEF looks very simple and clean with hardwood and glass everywhere. The challenging part is there is not much seating at the gates which are long hallways so people are standing around crowded a bit.
This time I was in an actual comfort class seat it is an economy seat with an inch more leg room and the center seat has a tray folded down. I got lucky with my seat being 9C because it was by the loading door and gave me an extra four feet of leg room. If you get this seat, I suggest boarding last, since I had the whole plane squeezing by me as they boarded.
The seven hour flight from Iceland to Seattle was pretty uneventful, which I prefer on a flight. We landed on time even after taking off a few minutes later than scheduled.
Overall I would recommend Iceland air when traveling to Europe. They seem to have the scheduling down for very short layovers. Their whole fleet is 757s which seems to take less time to load. If you choose economy either plan to pay for the food or pack your own. The only other downside is their IFE is quite limited I watched all the tv shows and most of the movies. If the ticket is not much more, I wold suggest springing for economy comfort. It gets you much better service more legroom and not having to fight over the shared armrest.
iPhone photo I was able to take of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and the fallen soldier baggage cart at the airline's maintenance facility in Seattle during a special Veteran's event in November 2011.
Today is Memorial Day, where hopefully most people are able to at least take a moment and think about those who have given the ultimate sacrifice serving our country. It is a day where it shouldn’t matter if you support war or even what political party you vote for. It should be a day where we remember those men and women who have been killed while serving in the armed forces.
When a solider dies while serving, it is a delicate process to bring their body back home. There are special military protocols that airlines must follow when transporting the remains of a fallen solider, but some airlines don’t want to do the bare minimum. Each body must have a volunteer escort that follows the fallen solider from the mortuary to their final resting place.
About a year ago, Alaska Airlines technicians realized that the process of transporting a fallen solider was lacking and they looked to improve it.
“We noticed a lot of violations of military protocols due to a lack of awareness and training,” said Brian Bowden, an Alaska Airlines line aircraft technician. “Our goal is to show respect by ensuring the proper standards are followed.”
Bowden and 13 other technicians created a new “Fallen Solider” program to, “seamlessly transfer the remains of soldiers killed in action through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.” Part of that program was creating a special baggage cart that would only be used to transport fallen soldiers. The cart was refurbished with carpet and has a retractable American flag curtain with plaques representing the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
The program gives details on how to properly load and unload a soldier’s remains, as well as taking care of the escort or families. “These brave men and women sacrificed their lives for you and me,” line aircraft technician Tony Sander stated. “Often, their families are traveling alongside the fallen soldier. Mishandlings are embarrassing and unacceptable.”
Escorts will fly in the main cabin, while the fallen soldier will fly in the cargo hold. During layovers, escorts need to stay with the fallen soldier at all times and that can be challenging. Alaska has gone out of their way to provide escorts or others travelling with the remains, a working station at the airline’s maintenance facility. Airline crew will also make sure that the escort is well fed during any down time and cater to any of their other needs.
Many of the technicians who worked on the program are veterans themselves and take great pride in taking care of their own. “The technicians wanted ownership. The group has many passionate ex-military members who re-designed the process completely on their own time,” said Paul Taylor, director of line maintenance. “They took decisive action and lived up to their word.”
The program has been so successful that it has spread beyond Seattle and to other airports. “This process needs to reach all the airports we serve. Training at our other sites would spread a deeper respect for all the fallen soldiers of our armed forces,” technician Bowden said.
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 coming in for a landing. Photo by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren.
A big cheers to Alaska Airlines and the technicians who took the initiative to do the right thing.
On top of the Fallen Soldiers program, Alaska has a 100 person Employee Military Resource Group whose sole focus is to hire, retain and promote military employees.
Alaska has also recently started a new apprentice program, aimed directly at military experience and the transition to civilian/corporate work. Alaska proudly employees veterans who work in all capacities from maintenance to flying to the executive offices.
