Volume 14 | December 2019
Big Love For Smaller Markets

A note from Torque Zubeck, Managing Director, Alaska Air Cargo.
Hello Everyone,
As many of you know, our three freighters were taken out of service last week, after we were notified by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the company that converted our 737-700s, about a potential issue with a component of the 9g rigid barrier wall. This barrier prevents cargo from shifting forward in the event of extreme deceleration. Since last Tuesday, we received an Airworthiness Directive (AD) and developed a modified load plan that will allow us to safely operate the freighters but at a reduced capacity. To make up for the capacity gap, we’re operating passenger planes as freighters in Alaska when available. Please check our website for updates to any embargoes currently in place.
Trust that we’re doing everything to bring the freighters back into full service, and in the meantime optimizing every load on every flight to move as much cargo as we can prior to the holidays, keeping safety top of mind.
This week has been difficult, but I couldn’t be more proud to be back with the Alaska Air Cargo team. Difficult circumstances like this with our freighter fleet reinforce the commitment our entire team has on moving cargo, especially to our namesake state. It’s been great getting out in the field over the past couple of months to reintroduce myself to our great customers and employees across our system.
Looking forward to 2020, we’re working on three significant initiatives:
- launching new belly cargo routes on our regional network
- starting a new seasonal destination in Alaska next summer
- implementing new customer-facing technology with a new website. The website is the first step in a broader effort to modernize and update our IT platforms for the cargo business.
I want to thank you for your ongoing support and patience and wish you happy holidays!
New E-175 aircraft serves regional markets.
Our new Embraer E-175 is a twin-engine jet designed for short to midrange flights. With more than 1,000 pounds of cargo capacity, the E-175 can carry more cargo than our Q-400 turboprop aircraft and will be ideally suited to new, regional routes coming in 2020. Our E-175s are also equipped with new wingtips that help improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by 6.4%.

New E-175 nonstop service to/from:
Starting January 7, 2020
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Spokane (GEG)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Redmond (RDM)
- Redmond (RDM) – San Diego (SAN)
Starting March 19, 2020
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Missoula (MSO)
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Boise (BOI)
- Redmond (RDM) – San Francisco (SFO)
- San Francisco (SFO) – Spokane (GEG)
More East Coast cargo options, too.
In combination with Alaska’s fleet of Boeing and Airbus jets, we have more than 650 individual daily connections that can move your freight to and from both coasts and regional destinations within 24 hours. Examples:
- Boston, MA, to Helena, MT
- New York City (EWR or JFK) to Hawaii
- Raleigh, NC, to Fresno, CA
- Ft. Lauderdale, FL, to Spokane, WA
- Washington, DC, to Anchorage, AK
- Houston, TX, to Fairbanks, AK
- Philadelphia, PA, to Pasco, WA

One of the cities benefitting most from our network growth with the E-175 is Redmond, Oregon (RDM). Located in Central Oregon, 144 miles southeast of Portland, Redmond is one of the fastest-growing industrial and residential communities in the Northwest. RDM is also home to Redmond Air Center, with one of the West’s premier smoke-jumping, firefighting and training installations.
Alaska Air Cargo operates a full-service cargo office at RDM, conveniently located inside the airport terminal with a dedicated customer service counter and cargo-savvy agents. The nearby town of Bend is headquarters for the Les Schwab Tire Company, and Alaska Air Cargo ships lots of tires. Plus, medical specimens and supplies and loads of mushrooms, especially in the fall, when the famous Oregon mushrooms are harvested.
Alaska Air Cargo provides nonstop service from RDM to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle and Portland. This allows shippers more opportunity to ship directly to and from Central Oregon, with easy connections to 100+ locations nationwide — without having to rely on trucks to Portland.
RDM is headed up by new Customer Service Manager Donna Westerlund. “I am very happy to be a part of this RDM team. After 34 years in Portland, the opportunity to relocate and take over the station manager role in Redmond opened up and I made the move. It is a beautiful place. And I’m excited about the growth potential for cargo!”
Upcoming events.
Air Cargo 2020
January 26-28, 2020 | Nashville, TN
Omni Nashville Hotel
250 Fifth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203
Booth #305
Seafood Expo of North America
March 15-17, 2020 | Boston, MA
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
415 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210
Booth #1070
Expanded hours of operation in Austin.
Starting Monday, January 6, 2020, Alaska Air Cargo will be moving to a new facility in Austin, TX. Doing so will allow us to expand our hours of operation and enable our customers to utilize our entire flight schedule. We are retaining the same vendor, Air General, so we anticipate a smooth transition.
Air General
3400 Spirit of Texas Drive
Austin, TX 78719
Office Hours
4:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m. Daily

Restarting service to Houston.
We’re pleased to share that Alaska Air Cargo service to Houston, TX (IAH), will resume on Monday, January 13, 2020. Here are the details:
VENDOR
Air General
19175 Lee Road, Suite 150
Houston, TX 77338
HOURS
Monday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
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