Alaska Air Group Board Member Mark Hamilton Resigns

SEATTLE, Feb. 9, 2011  /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Air Group's board of directors today officially accepted the resignation of longtime board member Mark Hamilton. Hamilton, who served on the Air Group board since 2001, tendered his resignation following his retirement as president of the University of Alaska in June 2010, a position he held for a dozen years. Hamilton now holds the title of president emeritus of the university.

"Mark brought valuable perspective to our board as a resident of our namesake state, and his insights helped Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air navigate one of the most challenging decades this industry has ever faced," said Bill Ayer, chairman and CEO of Alaska Air Group. "We're pleased that our company will continue to benefit from Mark's experience through his service on Alaska Airlines' Community Advisory Board."

In his role at the University of Alaska, Hamilton presided over a system of nearly 33,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff members. Among his actions as president, Hamilton established a program that provides scholarships to Alaska's high school seniors who rank in the top 10 percent of their graduating class and attend a University of Alaska campus.

"I'm proud to have served on Alaska Air Group's board, and in particular its safety and audit committees, at a time when Alaska and Horizon established a single standard of safety and developed a robust risk oversight program," Hamilton said. "Alaska is one of the few airlines to have a dedicated board-level safety committee, which I'm particularly proud to have been a part of since just after its inception."

Hamilton retired from the U.S. Army in 1998 as a major general following 31 years of active military duty, primarily in the fields of teaching, management and administration. During his military career, he served as chief of staff of the Alaskan Command at Elmendorf Air Force Base and commander of division artillery at Fort Richardson. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and received the Joint Distinguished Service Medal, the U.S. armed forces' highest peacetime award.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008, 2009 and 2010 North America Airline Satisfaction Studies(SM). For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Alaska Air Group