Live Flight Tracking

Seven Alaska Airlines employees were taken to hospitals today after fumes from de-icing fluid leaked inside an plane shortly before it was scheduled to take off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

About 20 passengers were checked at the airport for eye and throat irritation after the plane was evacuated.

Alaska Airlines Flight 528, bound for Burbank, Calif., from Gate N7, was being de-iced around 8:15 a.m. when passengers reported symptoms from fumes that "made their way onto the aircraft," said Terri-Anne Betancourt, airport spokeswoman.

Betancourt said airport personnel were investigating the incident.

All 143 passengers got off the plane, and those who were affected were offered treatment from medics, she said. A new Alaska Airlines plane was brought in for the flight and was expected to leave about 10:30 a.m.

I'm guessing that its not the de-icer but the aircraft wasn't properly configured and some spray got into the apu and burnt it out. That is a nasty acrid smell and will spread throughout the cabin.

What does alaskan use? Ethylene or Propylene? PG is quite a bit safer to ingest. Both used to be used as sweetners in foods. Maybe diesel fumes but there has to be more to the story. I'm guessing that its not the de-icer but the aircraft wasn't properly configured and some spray got into the apu and burnt it out. That is a nasty acrid smell and will spread throughout the cabin.

Alaska / Horizon canceled most of their flights this week because they ran out of de-icer at PDX and SEA. Their last flight in here was Saturday at 1pm. It's Tuesday at 3pm now. Thousands of their customers have been stranded in the airports in Seattle and Portland for days with no hotels available. De-icing at SEA & PDX is not unusual. They installed HUD in all their planes years ago and have one of the most advanced and youngest fleets in the US.

An Alaska Airlines passenger is suing the airline over injuries she says she suffered when de-icer fumes entered an aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Christmas Eve.

Should have known this was coming


http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008620369_webalaskasuit12m.html

I hope some day they decide to start up here at TPA...I still have a trip to Alaska I would love to take before I go in the ground.

In response to American Airlines' announcement last week that it will discontinue its "nerd bird" flights from San Jose to Austin on Aug. 25, Alaska Airlines said Monday it will begin providing daily service from San Jose to Austin on Sept. 2.

The new seven-day-a-week flight, which will originate in Portland, Ore., will depart San Jose at 8:55 a.m. and arrive at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 2:15 p.m. CDT. The return flight will depart Austin at 3 p.m. Central time and arrive in San Jose at 4:40 p.m.

"The San Jose-Austin route is a natural extension of our network, providing a vital link between two high-tech hubs," Andrew Harrison, Alaska Airlines' vice president of planning and revenue management said in a statement.

Alaska spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said the new flights are being launched in response to American Airlines' decision to end its twice-weekly flights from San Jose to Austin. Those flights, begun by American in 1992, were known as nerd birds because they have heavily catered to Silicon Valley engineers and other technology workers.

Tickets for the Alaska Airlines flights can be bought starting Thursday at www.alaskaair.com and by calling 1-800-252-7522.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, which are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group, currently fly 13 times a day out of San Jose, serving Sacramento, Boise, Portland and Seattle.

Bellingham is located about an hour and a half north of Seattle and just four miles south of the Canadian border. Over the past few years Belingham International Airport (BLI) has been growing tremendously. Friday was an exciting day for the airport and Alaska Airlines. Even though Alaska and their sister carrier Horizon Air have been flying out of Bellingham to Las Vegas and Seattle for quite sometime now, Alaska has now started non-stop service to Honolulu (HNL). They will fly to Honolulu and back once per day using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Alaska started their first flight to Hawaii in 2007 and now has eighth west coast cities connecting to the islands of Hawaii.

"Alaska Airlines is proud to call the Pacific Northwest home. So we're delighted to offer Bellingham its first-ever nonstop scheduled service to Hawaii," said Joe Sprague, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing. "Our new Honolulu flights will allow travelers from north of Seattle and the Lower Mainland to take advantage of our low fares, award-winning service and Mileage Plan earning opportunities via an easy-to-access, nearby airport."
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Due to weight and range issues, the flight will be flown with 10 empty seats. That is a win for passengers, since this means there will be quite a few empty middle seats, making the flight more comfortable.
This guy is loving the idea he is heading to Hawaii!

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I asked Christina Aldanese of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau if Hawaiians thought it odd to fly on planes to the west coast of the United States on an airplane that has "Alaska" on the side. She explained that Hawaii and Alaska states have a sort of sisterhood with both not being a part of the continental United States and the last two to join the union. Many folks going to and coming from the islands truly appreciate the additional flights that Alaska has provided.

alaska nor hawaii have boarders with the lower 48 states so i am not sure you are right.