Flights

Alaska Airlines is adding more flights linking northern California and Hawaii. The Seattle-based airline said it plans to fly from Oakland and San Jose to Kahului, Maui on a daily basis starting June 5. Alaska currently flies between Oakland and Maui four times a week and between San Jose and Maui three times a week. Alaska plans to use Boeing 737-800 airplanes that seat 16 in first class and 141 in economy on the routes. The airline plans to discontinue flights between San Jose and Austin, Texas on May 6. It will continue to fly nonstop between Seattle and Austin.

At least 20 passenger and cargo flights diverted while en route to Anchorage Wednesday due to weather. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport remains open, but spokeswoman Trudy Wassel says most of the diverted flights were sent to Fairbanks. Wassel told Channel 2 Wednesday that she suggests customers call airline companies directly for information on specific flights. “We're paying very close attention to the weather forecast,” Wassel said. Wassel didn't have information on when flights may return to Anchorage as scheduled.

Alaska Airlines has launched in-flight wi-fi service on in-state flights. The company says its Aircell Internet service is available on flights between Anchorage and Fairbanks beginning Friday. It says the service will be complimentary to passengers traveling between the two cities until the remainder of Aircell's network in the state goes live later this year. Passengers with wi-fi-enabled devices can browse the Web, send and receive e-mail, and connect to virtual private networks while flying.

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, January 19, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Japan Airlines is filing for bankruptcy. Asia's largest carrier is trying to get out from under nearly $26 billion in debt. It plans to cut 16,000 jobs, reduce pensions and cut routes. It has already cut half its flights to Fairbanks. JAL will get $10 billion from the Japanese government to keep flying during the bankruptcy reorganization, the largest in Japan's history. Delta and American Airlines have been fighting for a slice of Japan Airlines' business, a way in to the lucrative Asian market.

Alaska Airlines has canceled several flights due to an expected snowstorm in the Pacific Northwest. Here is the company's press release, issued Tuesday night: In response to heavy snow forecasted in Seattle and Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, Jan. 17, Alaska Airlines is proactively canceling 38 flights scheduled to depart beginning at 6 a.m. PST. Customers traveling on flights into and out of Seattle and Portland tomorrow ...

Cargo is what makes airports money, and in the past two years people and companies have not been shipping as much as they used to. The Department of Transportation made a presentation Monday showing how things might be turning around. Cargo airlines are busy in the early afternoon at Ted Stevens International Airport. Jets loaded with goods stay only a short while, refueling on the way to or from Asia. The landing fees these carriers pay are what keep the airport running, but that revenue is not what it once was. "Overall our 2008-2009, we saw a decrease of 23 percent overall," said Christine Klein, with DOT. Klein oversees the state's airports and went before a gathering of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce this afternoon with a damage assessment of sorts.

by The Associated Press Thursday, March 25, 2010 DENVER -- A plane outfitted to measure greenhouse gases has taken off from Colorado on the first leg of a 24-day mission that will take it back and forth across the Pacific Ocean from the Arctic to the Antarctic. The National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder is managing the three-year project. The current mission is the third out of five. The Gulfstream V flew from a Boulder-area airport to Anchorage on Wednesday.

by The Associated Press Tuesday, April 20, 2010 LONDON -- Britain's government said U.K. airports -- including London's Heathrow Airport -- would reopen Tuesday, as European terminals lurched back to life while the danger from Iceland's volcanic ash plume eased. Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said all British airports would reopen at 5 p.m. EDT allowing passenger services into the U.K. to resume. Britain's Civil Aviation Authority said all U.K. airspace would reopen at the same time.

Alaska could see more Australian visitors this tourist season. That’s what the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) said it is hoping for. ATIA recently wrapped up a series of workshops in Australia and New Zealand called "Alaska Down Under. " The workshops also included nine Alaska tourism businesses and were aimed at driving consumer interest to the state. ATIA said Alaska is gaining interest from Australia and New Zealand travelers because of a weakened U.S. dollar and an increase of trans-pacific flights making Alaska more affordable and accessible.

Alaska State Troopers say search efforts continued Monday for two snowmachiners last seen more than five days ago, with poor conditions still hindering attempts to locate them. According to AST spokesperson Megan Peters, all air assets in the search for Noorvik resident Shallain Adams, 23, and 32-year-old Clifford Griest of Selawik were grounded Monday by bad weather. “We've got dedicated ground searchers and their efforts have been quite frankly heroic, but there haven't been any confirmed signs of them,” Peters said.

Six Alaskan World War Two and Korean War veterans took a trip to Washington D.C. with the Honor Flight Program on April 19. They were able to visit war memorials in the nation's capital and on Sunday they received a full hero's welcome home, when they arrived at Ted Stevens International Airport. The last frontier Honor Flight Organization provided this trip to these veterans at no cost. The organization wants to honor them by giving them the chance to see the memorials that were built to remember the sacrifice they made for our country.

A new Federal Aviation Administration rule requiring commercial pilots for regional airlines to have more hours of flying experience is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 2. The FAA says all captains and co-pilots for so-called Part 121 carriers, including familiar Alaska names like Era Aviation and PenAir, will need to have at least 1,500 hours of flying time to fly for them. Aviation experts say the regulation that made the change -- the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act, passed by Congress in 2010 -- was a reaction to the 2009 Colgan Air crash that killed 50 people in Buffalo, N.Y. At that time, pilots were only required to have 250 hours of flight time before working in the cockpit.

None of the five people on board an air taxi flight that made a forced landing near Tuluksak Wednesday afternoon were injured, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB investigator Chris Shaver says the Yute Air Cessna 207 was en route from Bethel to Tuluksak when its engine failed one to two miles short of Tuluksak's airport, just before 4 p.m. Wednesday. Shaver says there weren't any weather issues reported at the time. “I believe the weather at the time was pretty favorable,” Shaver said.

Virgin America airlines announced Tuesday morning that their company will now offer a summer seasonal nonstop, round-trip flight from the San Francisco International Airport to the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The airlines will offer six nonstop, round-trip flights a week from June 6, 2013 through September 9, 2013. Tickets are now available for purchase on the company's website . Connecting flights will be available from Anchorage to the carrier's Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Chicago, and Philadelphia locations.

Alaska travelers will have cheaper options from Anchorage to Seattle next summer thanks to another airline entering the Northwest market. On Monday, jetBlue announced Anchorage to Seattle fares starting at $119 to $127 starting May 17, 2013. Alaska Airlines will price match its competitor's offer but only for flights scheduled to fly around the same time, according to Alaska Travel Source. The travel guide said there is no "purchase by" date on this fare, so it could potentially be pulled anytime.

A 747-400 cargo jet owned by Evergreen International made a safe landing at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport after declaring an emergency shortly before 7 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. NTSB investigator Larry Lewis said the crew of the plane declared the emergency after instruments in the cockpit indicated possible problems with the hydraulic system. FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said in an email that the plane was flying from Shanghai, China to Anchorage when the pilot reported an indication that the plane's landing gear had not fully deployed.

Wednesday is one of the busiest travel days of the year, a day when millions of people across the country hit roads and take to the skies to head out for the Thanksgiving weekend. “It's crazy,” said traveler Arielle Frederico. “But we want to go home, so that's what you do.” Whether it's by plane, train or automobile, AAA projects that 43 million people will be traveling over the holiday -- a total which, according to AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet, is up for the fourth consecutive year since 2008.

Alaska travalers will have a new Seattle airline option as JetBlue announced Friday that it's adding a route during its summer season. Jetblue said it will begin daily service between Ted Stevens Anchorage International and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on May 16, 2013. JetBlue's seasonal schedule between ANC and SEA: SEA to ANC: ANC to SEA: Depart - Arrive Depart - Arrive 8:00 p.m. - 10:40 p.m. 1:00 a.m. - 5:25 a.m. - Flights operate daily effective May 16, 2013- - All times local - In May 2011, the airline company entered the Anchorage market with its seasonal flights to Long Beach, California.

A Palmer man missing and presumed dead after his plane disappeared on a flight from Soldotna to Palmer was a student pilot believed to have last been over Cook Inlet before his plane dropped off radar, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report. The report, released Thursday, sheds more light on the possible fate of Brendan Mattingley, who took off from Soldotna Oct. 13 in his green, red and white Piper PA-18 Super Cub headed for the Wolf Lake airport in Palmer, but never landed there.