Alaska Airlines Starts Major Expansion in New Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport

SEATTLE, April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines has reached agreement with Los Angeles World Airports to move from its existing location at Terminal 3 to Terminal 6, paving the way for a major renovation project featuring its Airport of the Future check-in process and modernized gate facilities.

The move will provide a single terminal operation for Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, as well as more convenient access to U.S. Customs and Immigration checkpoints and to codeshare partner Delta Air Lines, located in Terminal 5.

Alaska Airlines plans to move into Terminal 6 in late 2011 and begin operations there in spring 2012.

"Our modern Airport of the Future facility will improve efficiency and greatly enhance our customers' experience at LAX," said Karen Gruen, Alaska Airlines' managing director of corporate real estate. "And our new location at Terminal 6 will provide faster and more convenient connections for our customers on Mexico flights and for those arriving or departing on codeshare flights served by our partner, Delta Air Lines."

Also planned as part of the renovation are a new Board Room lounge, central service counter, spacious passenger waiting area and new state-of-the-art gate information displays. The project will incorporate sustainable building practices in accordance with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

"This is a big step forward in the overall modernization of LAX because Alaska Airlines is partnering with us to provide much needed upgrades to the level of service and convenience for not only our international, but also for our domestic travelers," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports.

Alaska Airlines introduced its "Airport of the Future" check-in process at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, in 2004. Patented in 2006, the design enables travelers to quickly obtain boarding passes and check luggage at easy-to-use kiosks and bag-check stations instead of a traditional ticket counter. Alaska has since implemented Airport of the Future at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and, on a smaller scale, in Los Angeles, Boise, Idaho, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and several locations in Alaska.

Artist renderings of the Terminal 6 modernization project can be viewed at www.alaskaair.com/lax.

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 www.alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Alaska Airlines