Dubai airline Emirates has signed a codeshare deal with Alaska Airlines to offer better connectivity to all its passengers travelling to the United States.
The codeshare agreement will help passengers connect to 49 other US cities including Honolulu, Denver, Las Vegas, Portland, Phoenix, Pullman, Sacramento, Spokane, Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks as well as Canadian destinations such as Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.
Emirates currently operates two daily flights from Dubai to Seattle from where passengers can connect to Alaskan Airlines flights, the carrier said.
“Alaska Airlines’ service and exceptional connectivity across the US and Canada, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, perfectly complements our global network and extends the range of travel options for both our customer bases,” said Emirates’ president Sir Tim Clark.
Pending governmental approval, Emirates will begin marketing up to 300 daily Alaska Airlines flights. Passengers will also be able to purchase tickets on the connecting flights using a single reservation and avail of lounge access on both the airlines.
“Our new codeshare agreement gives customers connecting through our West Coast hubs seamless access to Emirates’ global network,” said Alaska Airlines’ chief executive and president Brad Tilden.
“As Seattle’s hometown airline, our partnership already connects 2,500 customers a week to Emirates and we expect that to increase as we streamline the travel experience for customers travelling between Alaska and Emirates.”
The codeshare agreement comes even as Gulf airlines are engaged in a rift with other US airlines over subsidies. The US carriers say that Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have violated the terms of the open skies treaty by receiving subsidies worth $42bn from their respective government. These funds have helped them expand rapidly in US market, the American carriers claim.
But regional carriers have responded with detailed white papers, which they say contain proof that their operations impact the US economy positively and do not violate any clauses in the open skies treaty.
Gulf carriers have also continued to step up their flights on US routes citing strong demand.
Emirates recently introduced America Pass, a feature that allows all its passengers to connect to 90 other US cities through its five partner airlines. It also launched a second daily service to Boston in October.
Meanwhile Qatar Airways launched three more routes from Doha to the US including Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta earlier this year.
Gulf Business
Alaska Airlines to invest 50m USD into airport facilities in Alaska
FAIRBANKS — Alaska Airlines is planning more than $50 million in new capital investments in Alaska over the next few years.
Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden said the projects include expanded freight service, a new hangar in Anchorage and terminal upgrades at remote airports. The projects are expected to begin sometime in the next two to three years, The Fairbanks News-Miner reported.
Three additional Boeing 737-700 freighters for Alaska Airlines’ statewide fleet will also be unveiled as part of the new investments. The passenger planes will replace the airline’s existing Boeing 737-400 combi jets, which Tilden said should be phased out by 2017.
Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines’ senior vice president of communications and external relations, said the changes represent a commitment to freight service in rural Alaska, particularly high-volume customers like Red Dog Mine.
“This’ll be an opportunity for us to step up our game from a cargo standpoint,” he said. “We’ll be able to provide dedicated service to big customers.”
The larger aircraft will call for the making of a bigger hangar at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Sprague said. The hangar will likely require an investment of several million dollars, he added.
“We need an indoor location for working on aircraft in the state, and Anchorage is the logical location,” Sprague said.
Terminal upgrades to enhance the size of airports located in the state’s rural areas are also expected to come as a result of the plan.
Alaska Airlines owns terminal buildings in 11 locations in Alaska. Sprague said the buildings have not yet undergone the 9/11 airline security overhaul, which added more Transportation Security Administration screening in airports across the county. The terminals scheduled for overhauls in Alaska include facilities in Deadhorse and Barrow.
Airline officials said the projects are still in the planning stages.
Alaska Dispatch News
AS-17 diverts to Buffalo because of in-flight fire
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – A Seattle-bound flight from New Jersey has made an emergency landing in Buffalo after smoke was detected in the galley.
Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority spokesman Doug Hartmayer says Alaska Airlines Flight 17 was diverted to Buffalo Niagara International Airport at about 8 a.m. Monday.
Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Halley Knigge says a credit card reader started smoking from what appears to be a melting battery. Hartmayer says the crew sprayed it with a fire extinguisher. There were no injuries among the 184 passengers and crew of five.
Hartmayer says firefighters boarded the Boeing 737 to check it out. He says passengers were taken to the terminal and offered medical assistance.
It wasn’t initially known if they’ll resume their flight on the same aircraft. Flight 17 originates in Newark. It’s usually scheduled to land in Seattle at 12:55 p.m.
KOMO News