Tag Archives: Alaska Airlines

Bloomberg News reports: Alaska Air Group Inc. agreed to buy rival Hawaiian Holdings Inc. for $1.9 billion in cash and debt, challenging the Biden administration’s aggressive stance on mergers that has already derailed one partnership between carriers. Alaska will pay $18 per share in cash in a deal that includes about $900 million of Hawaiian’s debt, according to a statement …

From the Justice Department: An off-duty commercial airline pilot, who was arrested on Sunday after he attempted to shut down the engines of passenger plane in flight, has been charged in federal court. Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill, California, has been charged by criminal complaint with one count of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. According to …

The Guardian reports: An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut the engines on a regional jet mid-flight on Sunday told police after his arrest that he believed he was having a nervous breakdown, thought he was dreaming when he pulled fire handles in the cockpit, and that he had experimented with psychedelic mushrooms recently as his mental health …

The New York Times reports: An off-duty pilot who was in a jump seat in the cockpit of an Alaska Airlines flight has been charged with more than 80 counts of attempted murder after he tried to disrupt the engines during a flight on Sunday, prompting the plane to divert to Portland, Ore., the authorities said. Flight 2059, operated by …

The Associated Press reports: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue are joining United Airlines in requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, as the Biden administration steps up pressure on major U.S. carriers to require the shots. The airlines provide special flights, cargo hauling and other services for the government. The companies say that makes them government contractors who are …

The Anchorage Daily News reports: Alaska Airlines said Saturday that it banned state Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, from its flights for continuing to refuse to follow mask-wearing requirements for travelers. “We have notified Senator Lora Reinbold that she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy,” …

KOMO News reports: An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to land Saturday evening after a male passenger threatened to kill all other passengers on the plane, airport officials say. Alaska Airlines Flight 422 left from Sea-Tac Airport at 11:10 p.m. en route to Chicago O’Hare, officials with the airline say. Alaska Airlines says the man became “extremely belligerent and physically …

The Associated Press reports: An airline worker stole an empty Alaska Airlines plane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington on Friday night, and the National Guard scrambled two fighter jets to chase the aircraft, which crashed on a sparsely populated island in Puget Sound, officials said. No passengers were aboard the 76-seat Horizon Air Q400 turboprop plane, which was stolen …

From Alaska Airlines: At Alaska, we have been longtime supporters of the LGBT community and remain committed to a more equitable society. We were elated when the State of Washington expressed the same commitment by legalizing marriage for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. To show our continued support we are encouraging the LGBT community to travel, not …

Alaska Airlines is ending its 30-year practice of placing prayer cards on passengers’ meal trays. “This difficult decision was not made lightly,” Alaska Air Group CEO Bill Ayer and Alaska Airlines President Brad Tilden wrote in an email Wednesday to regular customers. “Some of you enjoy the cards and associate them with our service,” they wrote. “At the same time, …

Sarah Palin’s church has endorsed an “ex-gay” conference to take place in Anchorage this weekend and PFLAG plans to be there to protest and to demand that Palin reject the “ex-gay” movement. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) today condemned a so-called “ex-gay” conference scheduled for Saturday in Anchorage. Love Won Out, which claims to “cure” lesbian …

Idaho JMG reader Allen sends us this bit of nonsense from Boise, in which the Idaho chapter of the American Family Association accuses Alaska Airlines of adding a “surcharge for being sexually normal” because their micro-site for LGBT travelers offers a 10% discount on flights to Puerto Vallarta and New York City. “If you’re an ordinary heterosexual, once again be …