Tue, Jan 28, 2003
Alaska Airlines: Technology; ExpressJet: Regional Airline of
the Year
Alaska Airlines has been named airline technology leader of the
year by Air Transport World magazine.
"Although it may not be among the largest in terms of revenue
or traffic, Alaska Airlines is a giant when it comes to the
introduction of new technology both on and off the airplane,"
according to the February 2003 issue of Air Transport
World.
The magazine cited the following technological "firsts" by
Alaska:
- First carrier to use a head-up guidance system or "fogbuster"
to take off and land in Category III weather conditions
(1989);
- First North American carrier to sell tickets via the Internet
(1995);
- First carrier to operate a commercial flight using
satellite-based navigation (1996);
- First carrier to check passengers in via the Internet
(1999);
- First carrier to check passengers in via cell phones and PDAs
(2001).
The magazine also cited the debut of Alaska's "Airport of the
Future" concept in Anchorage in 2002, which dispenses with the
traditional ticket counter in favor of a series of islands with
automated check-in kiosks and baggage collection points.
ExpressJet Airlines Is Named Regional Airline of the Year
ExpressJet Airlines was named "Regional Airline of the Year" for
2003 by Air Transport World, which cited the airline's
"superb operational and financial performance" and "near-perfect
levels of reliability" in its operation of all Continental Express
regional jet flights to and from Continental Airlines' three
domestic hubs.
Quick recognition
The honor comes less than a year after Continental
spun off the regional airline subsidiary in the April 2002 initial
public offering of ExpressJet Holdings and a month after ExpressJet
Airlines retired its last remaining turboprops and completed its
transformation into an all-jet regional carrier.
"ExpressJet's superb operational and financial performance
combined with its forward-looking stance and investment for the
future make it a worthy recipient of ATW's Regional Airline of the
Year Award," the magazine said in its February issue. "Over the
past year, ExpressJet has demonstrated an uncanny ability to
succeed through some of the most difficult times the aviation
industry has ever seen, while achieving rates of growth that would
make most airline CEOs turn green with envy."
Air Transport World noted that ExpressJet maintained
its "near-perfect" reliability -- completing more than 99 percent
of its scheduled flights in 2002 -- while keeping a "firm eye on
the future" by investing in the infrastructure to support a growing
regional jet fleet.
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