Alaska Airlines cancels 41 flights to Alaska because of volcano

Alaska Airlines said it’s canceled 41 flights to Alaska because of volcanic ash created by the Kasatochi volcano in the Aleutian Islands.
The Seattle carrier, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) said the flights were canceled to the Alaskan cities of Adak, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka from the cities of Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Airline officials said they hope to resume flights later on Monday.
“We recognize these cancellations will significantly impact our customers intending to travel to or from Alaska ... We are making every effort to re-accommodate passengers whose flight schedules have been disrupted,” said Glenn Johnson, executive vice president of airports, maintenance and engineering, in a statement.

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Well Hello All,

BlkAv8tor2003 here and checking in!!!

Did anyone who was flying up to Alaska think to check this one out? I know I think everyone should be proactive but checking for the latest hurricane info is a bit over the top! So if your flying on Alaska and were heading up to Anchorage (KANC) what should you do before you go if you just have to be there and this doesn't included locals? Well first you probably would have heard about it on the plane or hopefully before you even boarded the aircraft in the boarding gate area or ticket counters when you checked in. So if you heard about it early enough though you can make some alternate arrangements or change your plans all together. This would be a good time (in a nice way) to talk to one of the airline reps who can help you make the changes you like and hopefully keep this process cheap as possible.
Have them locate your bags so that if you make the changes you can go elsewhere or back to home and try another day. If your bags happen to go on without you don't plan on seeing them returned to you very quickly especially since the volcano fully erupted. Give the city, airline and that community a chance to recovery and they will get your baggage back to you! Remember your bags are not the only ones the airline has to deal with. The more calm, respectful and understanding you are when talking to the airline reps the better your chances you have of getting what you need taken care of then and there.
Rental cars, hotel and other events or places you have reserved you should call them and see what they have planned for natural disasters when customers cannot make it to keep a reservation. Time is of the essence so the sooner you handle this the less it may cost you down the road.
Listen to radio and TV reports and or reference the internet to see the status of the vocanic activity before, during or after your trip. The more informed you are will keep the stress levels to a minimum!!!
Lot's of this info is common sense but sometimes it takes something to draw our memories to it!
Be safe people, think ahead and no matter how crazy, be proactive and stay ahead of the ball game!!!

Ciao,

BlkAv8tor2003

3 comments from 3 users

posted by SamSam9547 on Aug 11, 2008 at 12:58 PM

Hey BLK....very good and timely post....and excellent reminders to be adult and thinking of something and someone beyond normal control....only a few of the more demanding of us can control an erupting volcano and its aftermath, and chances are that none of them are reading this blog.
sam

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posted by animadvert4 on Aug 11, 2008 at 03:19 PM

Guess those airlines got tired of having to replace their windscreens and repairing the damage from sucking all that airborne dust into their engines.
Can't say I blame them.

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posted by JD5847 on Aug 11, 2008 at 06:16 PM

Oh, dear! Did anyone alert Al Gore? We must immediately create a ginormous plug in order to stop the greenhouse gases form destroying the earth! A single volcano can put more gas and particulate pollution into the atmosphere than all the world's industry.
"The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!!!"
LOL

Airline Travel...What You Really Need To Know!!!

"BlkAv8tor Checking In!!!"

Hello to all, I'm the BlkAv8tor and I'm a career airline and aviation industry professional!

Coming from someone who has worked almost every position in the airline industry the traveler today needs to slim his travel weight as much as possible. Now not including the hardcore business traveler people need to start truly planning their trips before they leave to go to the airport. Excess and overweight baggage charges, blankets, food and entertainment are many variables that if people would really plan ahead they could be charged less or next to nothing by becoming a savvy flyer.

Buy your food you will like before you go to the airport (security hasn't been taking peoples food yet that I heard of)

Ship your bags to your destination before you leave and have a SMALL carry on with basics in case of delays and cancellations,

Blankets??? Carry your own sheet because you washed it and you know where it's been and most airline blankets are sheet thin anyway and will roll up into a small square...Just a few things for passengers to do that they can control.

Assume your going to be delayed and or have your flight get cancelled...don't assume your going to show up at the airport, walk in, board the plane, fly and land on time...it happens less and less everyday. Give yourself something to do and depend on the airline for anything.

Parents be smart when traveling with your kids. Pack them a back pack of toys, books, snacks, video games, DVD's etc. You ask why I say this....You would be surprised how many people who get up in the morning to take a trip with the family forget as soon as they get in the terminal that they have kids. Then they wonder why the kids act the way they do on the plane...sheer boredom after the first 30 minutes or so has passed. Bring kids a map of the route of flight and see if they can follow it while in flight (weather permitting).

Have a back up plan in your route of flight even though you have paid for tickets to go one way. That way you’re not held to go that way when delays and cancels happen.

Don't wait for the customer service agents to tell you what is going on with your flight. The very basics are available to you before you get to the airport or if your online. I track my friends when they travel and they call me to find out delays and problems in the US before they even go to the airport so "they are informed about their flight" when they get to the airport and not waiting for the CSR for the airline to inform them of something.

Sit in the boarding area as close to the departure podium and between the boarding door so you can hear second hand conversations by the employees. They talk and they will discuss flight ops before telling the passengers something and even a minute of heads up on a cancellation could mean a call to reservations by you, rebooking, new seat assignments and you going to get a
Starbucks before the rest of your flight is any wiser.

Weather changes by the minute and hour...Don't think the airlines have decided to delay your flight because the weather is bad at your destination...then you call to a friend or family member at the destination and they tell you the weather is fine. 99% of people don't live next to the airport...So unless your friend/family is a member of NOAA and working that airport don't trip. Airlines don't delay flights for the hell of it! Airlines are made to fly in the worst of weather but ultimately it's the captain’s call if he wants to go or not. Weather can be enroute even when you can't see the storms or weather phenoms like "CAT" (Clear Air Turbulence) turbulence not associated with a visible storm or build up. There is more to getting flights to depart when the weather is bad than when it's good...If you think you can do it better (non pilots) let me know and I'll prove you wrong every time!


This is my attempt to help all the poor travelers who have gotten the raw end of the deal when traveling and I'm open to anyone who wants to offer solutions that seem to work. I'm not airline bashing but airline educating and when I'm teaching I'm learning too.
More stuff will follow in the near future to help make that airline flight a little more enjoyable and so that you can be the one laughing at people who didn't "Think" ahead and you almost knew what was going to happen before it happened...in a sense anyway

Keep The Blue Side Up!!!

Friday, May 2, 2008 at 10:36 AM