Alaska Airlines Inaugurates Hawaii Service From San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Airlines today will inaugurate thrice-weekly service between San Jose, Calif., and Kahului, Maui, and four-times-weekly service between San Jose and Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii starting March 12, 2010.

The airline is offering introductory one-way fares of $179 between San Jose-Maui and San Jose-Kona for tickets purchased by March 18, 2010. Additionally, travelers can save up to $550 on Hawaii Vacation Packages purchased by April 4, 2010. The new flights are available for purchase online at alaskaair.com or by calling (800) ALASKAAIR (800-252-7522 or TTY/TDD line 800-392-0228).

"Known for their beautiful beaches and stunning sunsets, the Hawaiian Islands are among our most popular leisure vacation destinations," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience. "In just two years, Hawaii has become a major part of our route network, and we're pleased to expand our Bay Area service."

Alaska began service to Hawaii in October 2007. With the new service from San Jose and flights between Sacramento, Calif., and Maui starting March 26, the airline offers 73 flights a week to four Hawaiian Islands.

* Beginning March 14, time of flight will be one hour earlier due to Daylight Savings Time, which is not observed in Hawaii.

+ Schedule changes April 11th, 2010.  See alaskaair.com for details.

"Travelers in our community have been asking for Maui and Kona flights for a long time, and we're delighted that Alaska Airlines now will begin service in response to that interest," said Bill Sherry, Mineta San Jose International Airport director of aviation. "We're looking forward to working with Alaska to make their new Hawaii service a great success."

Alaska will operate the new flights with Boeing 737-800 aircraft, accommodating 16 passengers in first class and 141 in the main cabin. All flights will offer Hawaiian-themed beverages and meal service. Customers in the main cabin will be offered complimentary Mauna Loa macadamia nuts and a complimentary Mai Tai or POG juice, as well as a Hawaiian-themed meal-for-purchase option for $6.

Inflight service also will include Alaska Airlines' digEplayer, a personal entertainment system offering a variety of movies, television shows, music and other features.

Alaska Airlines Vacations offers a full line of vacation packages for travel to the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. Packages include air transportation, hotel accommodations, ground transportation and tours. For more information about Alaska Airlines Vacations, visit alaskaair.com/vacations.

Note to news media: High quality broadcast footage can be downloaded at alaskaair.com/media or by contacting Alaska Airlines Media Relations.

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 and 2009 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: Tickets must be purchased by March 18, 2010, for travel between April 25 and June 10, 2010. Prices listed are for travel Monday through Thursday only. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or all days. Tickets are nonrefundable, but can be changed for a $75 fee when changes are made online at alaskaair.com ($100 when made through a reservation call center, ticket counter or a travel agent) and any applicable changes in fare. A ticket purchased at an Alaska Airlines airport location or through a reservation call center will cost $15 more per person than the advertised fare. Fares are subject to change without notice. Travelers are responsible for the following taxes and fees, as applicable: Airport Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 (amount depends on itinerary), Federal Segment Tax of $3.70 per segment (takeoff and landing), U.S. Security Fee of $2.50 per enplanement. All taxes and fees shown are based on one-way travel and may be doubled if traveling roundtrip. All fares, taxes and fees are in U.S. dollars and are subject to change without notice, and other restrictions apply. A $15 charge will apply to the first checked bag. A second bag may be checked for $25. Additional fees apply to check more than two bags and for overweight or oversized items. See checked baggage policy at alaskaair.com for more details.

Vacations terms and conditions:  Vacation packages must be purchased by April 4, 2010, and travel completed by Oct. 31, 2010. To apply for the discount, reservations must be made at alaskaair.com/vacations. Enter promotional code ALOHA550. This offer does not apply to reservations made through a travel agent or for multi-city itineraries. The savings amount is based on the original package price before discount is applied. Vacation discounts are offered for complete packages that include hotel and airfare totaling more than $500. The maximum discount is $550 and will be applied before taxes. This offer is for new reservations only and cannot be combined with other discounts. The discount is void if any changes are made to the original reservation. Blackout dates, restrictions and all terms and conditions of the Alaska Airlines Vacations package apply.

SOURCE Alaska Airlines