SEATTLE, Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal
Aviation Administration informed Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air
that it has formally accepted each airline's Safety Management
System (SMS), capping a five-year effort to develop and refine a
comprehensive, modern SMS for each airline.
A 2015 FAA rule requires all U.S. airlines to create a
sophisticated SMS by January 2018.
SMS is an evolution in safety and builds on the robust safety
programs Alaska and Horizon have
had in place for decades. Alaska
and Horizon fully implemented their Safety Management Systems in
2012, while the FAA was still validating them.
"Alaska and Horizon employees
should feel proud to know that their airlines are leading the
industry with their safety programs," said Ben Minicucci, president and COO of Alaska
Airlines. "Our systematic approach involved engineering safety into
our culture and every part of our business. Not only are our
combined 15,600 employees trained on safety standards, they are
empowered to stop the operation if they have a safety concern."
A Safety Management System integrates and embeds safety
throughout the culture and business processes of an airline. Rather
than rely on a separate "safety manager" or "safety department" to
be in charge of keeping the airline safe, an SMS empowers employees
at all levels to participate in and improve the process.
Additionally, as part of the program, executives at both
airlines pledge that safety is their first commitment, setting the
tone for the entire organization.
"Our SMS helped us show how frontline employees are the bedrock
of safety improvements," said David
Campbell, Horizon Air president and CEO. "Our employees know
that they are empowered to stop the operation any time to correct a
safety concern."
The FAA's formal acceptance of Alaska and Horizon's SMS programs is just one
of several safety advances the airlines have made this year. In
May, Alaska became the first
commercial airline in the world to receive FAA certification of a
full-stall model in a flight simulator, which helps pilots train to
recognize and recover from stalls. The same month, each airline was
served with its 15th Diamond Award of Excellence from
the FAA in recognition for their dedication to maintenance
training. Additionally, earlier this year, a team of Alaska maintenance technicians took first
place in the annual Aerospace Maintenance Competition in
Dallas.
"SMS will be a big part of our future," said Tom Nunn, the airlines' vice president of
safety. "It will help us sustain and build on the efforts we've
made in the last five years and will allow us to continue to
improve on them in the future."
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, Canada,
Costa Rica, Mexico and soon Cuba. With Alaska's 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.com/alaskaairlines
and
linkedin.com/company/alaska-airlines.
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines