In celebration of National Drink Wine Day, Alaska Airlines expands Wine Flies Free program along the West Coast

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wine lovers rejoice! Alaska Airlines is expanding its wildly popular Wine Flies Free program all along the West Coast — enabling Mileage Plan members departing from cities in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho to check an entire case of wine for free. To celebrate the program's expansion, Alaska Airlines will offer a complimentary glass of wine to guests 21 and older on select flights on National Drink Wine Day this Sunday.

With the expanded Wine Flies Free program, wine aficionados can now check their wine from an additional 18 cities, for a total of 29 on the West Coast. Alaska Airlines will be working closely with regional winegrowers' associations, individual wineries and destination marketing organizations to promote the offering throughout wine regions along the West Coast. 

"Wine and food are huge passion points for travelers when choosing their next travel destination," said Natalie Bowman, Alaska Airlines' managing director of marketing and advertising. "Our Wine Flies Free program makes it easier for our guests to experience some of the country's best wine regions and take their favorite wines home. We look forward to toasting our guests in-flight on National Drink Wine Day, and continuing to work with our partners to welcome visitors to these premier wine destinations that we serve."

On the blog: How to check a case of wine for free on Alaska Airlines

The Wine Flies Free program debuted in 2007 to make it easier for travelers to bring home their favorite bottles of wine from Santa Rosa/Sonoma County. Oftentimes, wineries are unable to ship cases of wine directly or consumers are faced with costly shipping fees to transport wine. Alaska Airlines' Wine Flies Free solves these challenges by offering each Mileage Plan member the ability to check an entire case, up to 12 bottles of wine, for free.

"The Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area is the backyard wine region of Silicon Valley," said Megan Metz, executive director of Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association. "By expanding their Wine Flies Free program, Alaska Airlines is enabling people to easily travel to our booming wine region and take home a piece of the Santa Cruz Mountains at no cost."

Travelers looking to take advantage of the Wine Flies Free program can sign up for a Mileage Plan membership for free. To prepare wines to fly, each bottle must be packed and sealed for transport in a protective shipping container. Alaska Airlines customer services agents will be available to work with each guest to ensure that their case of wine is properly labeled.

Participating Wine Flies Free Cities:

* Indicates new cities being added to the program.

Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 44 million guests a year to more than 115 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North America Satisfaction Study for 10 consecutive years from 2008 to 2017. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).

SOURCE Alaska Airlines