Alaska Airlines, (NYSE: ALK) is an airline based in SeaTac, Washington, United States, near Seattle."City of SeaTac Zoning." City of SeaTac. Accessed August 20, 2008. It operates four hubs located at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Portland International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

History

The airline traces its roots to McGee Airways, which flew its inaugural service between Anchorage and Bristol Bay in 1932 with a Stinson single-engined, three-passenger aircraft. Mergers and acquisitions produced changes in the name and saw business expand throughout Alaska. As of 1942, the airline was known as "Alaska Star Airlines." The name Alaska Airlines was adopted in 1944 having narrowly beat a competitor applying for the name. Alaska Airlines moved to the jet age when it introduced a Convair CV-880 in 1961. Alaska's sister (and wholly owned) airline, Horizon Air, was founded in 1981 to serve communities using routes vacated by larger airlines after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. In 1985, Alaska Air Group was formed as a holding company for Alaska Airlines. A year later the holding company acquired Horizon Air and Jet America Airlines, which merged into Alaska Airlines in 1987.

Destinations

Alaska's route system spans more than 92 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. During the 1980s Alaska Airlines operated a unique interchange of aircraft and aircrews to Texas with first, Braniff International and subsequently American Airlines, after the demise of the Dallas-based carrier in 1982. The airline operated charter flights to the Russian Far East starting in the late 1960s, and was known for the 1988 Friendship Flight to Provideniya that broke the old Soviet border.Fact: date=May 2007 The airline began scheduled operations to the Russian Far East in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, but suspended the service in 1998 following the 1998 Russian financial crisis. The airline flew MD-80 aircraft on these routes.Fact: date=February 2009

Alaska has historically been one of the largest carriers on the US west coast as well as to and within the State of Alaska, with strong presences in Seattle, Portland, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles Metro Area (serving all five LA-area and three Bay Area major airports). With the delivery of 737 Next-Generation aircraft starting in 1999, Alaska began launching more long-haul flights. In 2000, Alaska started service between Anchorage and Chicago. In 2001, the airline was granted slot exemptions by the Department of Transportation to operate a nonstop flight from Washington National Airport (DCA) to Seattle, which was halted after a few days due to the September 11, 2001 attacks[http://www.alaskasworld.com/newsroom/asnews/asstories/as_20011203_140312.asp Alaska Airlines Resumes Daily Service To Reagan National, Continues Daily Service To Dulles International ]. The service resumed the following year, with an additional flight from Washington National to Seattle added in 2004, as well as new non-stop service between Washington National and Los Angeles.