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.

FMI: http://expressjet.com; www.alaskaairlines.com