SEATTLE, June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska
Airlines and 700 Pacific Northwest business leaders are celebrating
the 100th birthday of Boeing today at the Museum of
Flight, unveiling a new Alaska 737
painted in a special centennial paint theme.
"Boeing is a global aerospace leader and our country's leading
exporter, and people throughout the Northwest should be very proud
of them," said Alaska Airlines CEO Brad
Tilden. "They design and build amazing jets like the 737,
and the more than 77,000 local employees of Boeing strengthen the
economic and social fabric of our region. All of us at Alaska want to congratulate them on their
100th anniversary. We are truly honored to be Boeing's hometown
partner, today, and into Boeing's next century."
The new jet features a Boeing logo with "100 years strong"
painted boldly on both sides of the 900ER fuselage. The 737-900ER,
officially dubbed "Celebration of Boeing," is the 153rd Boeing 737
in Alaska's "Proudly all Boeing"
fleet, and commemorates the rich, five-decade partnership between
the airline and aircraft manufacturer.
Boeing will officially celebrate its birthday on July 15, 2016, 100 years to the day after
William Boeing first incorporated
Pacific Aero Products Co. in Seattle. Today's celebration is part of a
summer of birthday activities that will include centennial displays
at the Museum of Flight, events at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air
show in July and more.
"The Puget Sound has been home to Boeing and its employees for
100 years, and we continue to build on that legacy," said
Ray Conner, president and CEO of
Boeing Commercial Airplanes."This centennial celebration is
something we can all share. Together with a hometown partner like
Alaska Airlines and countless other community partners, we're
building a strong future for our entire region."
Conner and other Boeing employees joined more than 700 local
business and government leaders, including Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee, four past governors of Washington State (Christine Gregoire, Gary
Locke, Mike Lowry and
Dan Evans), King County Executive
Dow Constantine, Seattle
quarterback Russell Wilson and 100
local CEOs.
"Boeing's legacy is a source of pride for Washingtonians," said
Gov. Jay Inslee. "Generations of
Washington machinists and
engineers have designed and built the world's most innovative
planes and spacecraft. Incredibly, every 1.7 seconds a Renton-made Boeing 737 takes off or lands
somewhere in the world, and it all starts here. I congratulate
Boeing on its first 100 years."
Attendees and the business community also surprised Boeing with
a $100,000 donation to the
Washington State Opportunity
Scholarship, a fund dedicated to helping low- and middle-income
Washington residents earn degrees
in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and of
which Boeing was a founding member. Boeing, in turn, matched the
donation with a $100,000 gift of its
own.
Alaska Airlines, which has been headquartered in Seattle since the 1950s, has been a loyal
Boeing customer since ordering its first two Boeing 727s in 1965,
and has operated an all-Boeing fleet since 2008. Since 1965, the
airline has purchased 215 jets from Boeing. This year, Alaska takes delivery of 19 Boeing 737
aircraft, and has a firm order for 56 more with options to acquire
up to an additional 46.
The "Celebration of Boeing" plane trivia:
- The 737-900ER is 138-feet in length and has a wingspan of 117
feet and 5 inches.
- With a cruising speed of 530 mph, the plane holds 6,875 gallons
of fuel and can fly up to 2,720 nautical miles.
- The plane can accommodate 181 passengers and six crew
members.
- Aircraft N248AK officially enters passenger service on July
11.
Boeing 100 multimedia available for download:
- On the Alaska Airlines blog: Boeing: A century of
innovation
- Broadcast quality b-roll and still photos of the event will be
posted to the Alaska Airlines blog by 3 p.m.
Pacific time, June 30,
2016.
Alaska Airlines, together with its regional partners, flies 32
million customers a year to more than 110 cities with an average of
970 daily flights throughout the United
States, including Hawaii,
Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. With Alaska's 17 global airline partners, customers
can earn and redeem miles to more than 800 destinations worldwide.
Onboard, customers are invited to make the most of their flight
with amenities like power outlets at every seat, streaming
entertainment direct to your device, Wi-Fi and an inspired food and
beverage selection featured on most flights. Alaska Airlines ranked
"Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in
North America" in the J.D. Power
North American Airline Satisfaction Study for nine consecutive
years from 2008 to 2016. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan also ranked
"Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards
Programs" in the J.D. Power Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program
Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years. Alaska
Airlines is a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK). Learn
more on the airline's newsroom, blog, alaskaair.com, @AlaskaAir,
Facebook and LinkedIn.
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines