Alaska Airlines celebrates 90 years, provides employees with 90,000 travel miles
Alaska Airlines celebrated its 90th anniversary by giving its employees 90,000 miles each to travel the globe.
The airline announced in a release that to mark its 90th year, it is “taking a moment to thank each employee for their relentless commitment to caring for our guests for 90 years & counting by giving them 90,000 miles to fly anywhere in the world.”
“As we celebrate 90 years of flying, we wouldn’t be where we are today without our incredible people who work nonstop to keep things moving, even throughout a global pandemic,” Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.
Minicucci added: “When you think about how many airlines have come and gone since 1932, it’s an amazing achievement that we’re still here and stronger than ever—it’s because of the genuine care and hard work our people bring to our operation every day.”
A video clip from social media platform TikTok showed Alaska Airlines COO Constance von Muehlen visiting an airport and offices, personally handing employees a travel miles certificate in an envelope that said: “You deserve the world”.
Alaska Airlines said that the 90,000 miles will not expire, and that employees can use it beyond the Alaska network with its oneworld partner airlines, including Qantas, British Airways and Qatar Airways.
A roundtrip flight from Seattle, Alaska Airlines’ base, to New York starts at 25,000 miles. A flight to Europe from the West Coast in the US starts at 60,000 miles.
Alaska Airlines had its fair share of employment challenges during the pandemic from cutting flights due to staff shortages in early 2022, to its pilots agreeing to authorize a strike in May 2022.
Alaska Airlines began in 1932, operating as McGee Airways, taking the name from one of its founders, Linious McGee. The airline changed its name to Star Air Service in 1935 when it was sold to a company with the same name. In 1944, the founders and new owners rebranded the airline as Alaska Airlines, a name that has stuck to this day.