Alaska Airlines Begins San Diego-Maui Service

SEATTLE, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines starts new daily service today between San Diego and Kahului, Maui. The airline is also launching a new Hawaiian-themed menu and coffee to enhance the onboard experience on all of its flights to Hawaii.

"Southern California customers will enjoy Alaska's unique brand of service and be able to earn Mileage Plan miles whether they're booking a flight or a complete vacation package to the beautiful islands of Hawaii," said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing.

Summary of new service:

All times are based on local time zones.

To celebrate the new service, Alaska Airlines Vacations is offering up to $250 off a full line of complete vacation packages for travel between several West Coast cities and the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. The cities include Anchorage, Alaska; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Diego; San Jose, Calif.; and Seattle. Vacation packages include air transportation, hotel accommodations, optional ground transportation and tours. Vacations must be booked by Oct. 15, 2010, and travel must be completed by Jan. 31, 2011. Restrictions apply. Visit alaskaair.com/vacations for details or call 1-800-468-2248.

New Hawaii-themed menu

Customers traveling to Hawaii will be served a new "Hula Blend" coffee, custom designed for Alaska Airlines by Seattle's Best Coffee, and Hawaiian-themed meals-for-purchase in the main cabin for $6 or $7. The new menu includes a Hawaiian skillet with scrambled eggs and Portuguese sausage served over pineapple fried rice for breakfast and a grilled teriyaki chicken rice bowl with stir-fried vegetables for lunch. Customers in first class enjoy exotic meals, such as Thai chicken curry served over jasmine rice and Hawaiian eggs Benedict served with chicken apple sausage. All customers in the main cabin will continue to receive complimentary Mauna Loa macadamia nuts and a complimentary Mai Tai or passion-orange-guava juice.

"Our new menu offers customers in the main cabin appetizing meals for purchase designed to make flying at 30,000 feet a memorable part of their Hawaiian vacation experience," Sprague said.

Learn more about Alaska Airlines' new menu options at http://bit.ly/OnboardFood.

Note to media: Broadcast quality air-to-air footage over the Molokai Sea Cliffs in Hawaii is available for download at http://bit.ly/a8NqbC.

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.

Terms and conditions for Alaska Airlines Vacations: The savings amount will be applied to complete and new vacation packages totaling $500 or more. The maximum savings allowed is $250 per reservation and cannot be combined with other discounts. Vacations packages must be purchased by Oct. 15, 2010, and travel completed by Jan. 31, 2011. Reservations can be made at alaskaair.com/vacations using the promotion code HAWSAVE250. The offer is valid on complete packages that include hotel and airfare, booked online or through the Vacations call center. The offer is not valid on multi-city itineraries or packages that include more than one destination. The offer may not be available if any changes are made to the original reservation. To receive the discount, a two-night minimum stay is required. The discount is not available for travel on the following blackout dates: Dec. 20, 2010, through Jan. 4, 2011. Prices and rules subject to change without notice, and other restrictions may apply. All terms and conditions of Alaska Airlines Vacations packages apply. Some markets may not operate daily service. Further details are available at alaskaair.com/vacations.

SOURCE Alaska Airlines