Volume 24 | September 2022
Self-service GoldStreak lockers at Sea-Tac, schedule updates, and fresh hops fly.
Skip the lines with self-service GoldStreak lockers at Sea-Tac!
This fall, we will be offering secure self-service lockers for GoldStreak Package Express pickups at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
Our premium GoldStreak service guarantees pickup of shipments within an hour of a flight’s arrival, and the new lockers will save time for dozens of customers who won’t need to wait in line. The lockers will also ease counter congestion and enable quicker customer service.
The Sea-Tac pilot program is expected to launch by the end of October. And Alaska Air Cargo is the first U.S. airline to offer such a service.
“Our customers are going to love having that control and avoiding the line,” says Jeff Olver, director of cargo operations for Seattle and the state of Alaska. “It’s going to help everyone because there will simply be shorter lines at our counters.”
How it will work
When a GoldStreak customer is notified their shipment has arrived, they will go to a kiosk at the Seattle cargo station, enter their unique customer ID number, and print out the shipment receipt. Then, they will enter their unique ID number at the locker keypad, and the correct locker door will open for them to pick up their shipment.
Olver expects that more than 100 customers a day will benefit from the service at Sea-Tac. Our hope is to roll out lockers to more airports over the next year.
Watch our Cargo Connections blog and LinkedIn page for launch details.
How we made fresh hops fly.
In early September, we shipped hundreds of pounds of fragrant fresh hops to Maui and Anchorage less than 24 hours after their harvest in Central Washington. Now, fresh hop beers with their unique floral flavor are available from Maui Brewing Co. in Hawaii and 49th State Brewing in Alaska because of a farm-to-glass collaboration and a logistics achievement that is a potential game-changer for the craft beer industry.
- Total fresh hops shipped: 1,287 pounds
- Fresh hops shipped to Maui Brewing Co.: 833 pounds
- Miles flown SEA>OGG: 2,640 miles
- Maui Brewing Co. fresh hop beer produced: Hop Cargo Fresh Hop IPA
- Fresh hops shipped to 49th State Brewing in Anchorage: 454 pounds
- Miles flown SEA>ANC: 1,448 miles
- 49th State Brewing fresh hop beer produced: Freshial Delivery Hazy Fresh Hop IPA
Schedule updates, more capacity for STS and RDM, and new service to CHS.
We’re flying into fall, and that means schedule updates for many of the 100-plus cities we serve. And because summer is our busiest season, some markets will have fewer flights available as we return to our regular schedules. Please watch for updated flight times when booking.
What’s coming up:
October 6: The next schedule updates start the first week of October. And some flights into Santa Rosa, California (STS), and Bend, Oregon (RDM), will gain additional capacity as we add 737s to and from Seattle (SEA).
October 17: We’re excited to announce inbound cargo service to Charleston, South Carolina (CHS)! Watch our Cargo Cities page for updates.
Late November: After Thanksgiving, watch for more frequent winter season nonstops in Florida (MIA, FLL, MCO and TPA), Hawaii (HNL, KOA, LIH and OGG), and Mexico (GDL, MZT, PVR and SJD).
For this baby bear, our Pet Connect service was just right.
An orphaned brown bear cub found wandering alone on a military base outside of Anchorage is settling in at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo after flying to her new home in the special care of Alaska Air Cargo.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials initially took the cub to the Alaska Zoo earlier this year when they discovered she didn’t have a mother bear to look after her. Orphaned cubs can’t survive alone, and Woodland Park Zoo was eager to offer its Living Northwest Trail habitat for the cub’s new home.
“It’s unfortunate when a wild cub loses its mother and becomes an orphan, especially because the cub learns so much about how to be a bear directly from its mother,” says Kevin Murphy, interim senior director of animal management at Woodland Park Zoo. “We are grateful that we are in a position to take in another brown bear at this time.”
Every year tens of thousands of live animals travel via Alaska Air Cargo’s Pet Connect service – mostly beloved dogs and cats joining their human families. But when the rare bear is booked for travel, cargo teams, zoos and wildlife agencies work closely together to choreograph the journey to ensure the cub’s safety and comfort each step of the way.
Easy updates on freighters and new technology.
We are growing and innovating our operations through two exciting projects coming online next year:
- The addition of two 737-800 freighters to our fleet – essentially doubling our dedicated freighter capacity.
- The implementation of iCargo, an innovative new cargo management system that will streamline our operations and provide efficient real-time account-management tools for shippers.
We will be posting updates about both projects on our new Cargo Projects page. Bookmark this page to quickly check in on our latest news and progress through the months ahead!
A cargo partnership that saves lives.
Alaska Air Cargo employees don’t typically see themselves as part of a medical emergency response team – but when a human organ must fly to a transplant center, they are.
“Most people don’t realize the hustle that goes into getting an organ where it needs to be to save a life,” said Candy Wells, Director of Organ Utilization for LifeCenter Northwest, the nonprofit organization that has managed organ donation in Washington, North Idaho, Montana and Alaska for the past 25 years. “When an organ becomes available, we rely on our partners at Alaska Air Cargo to get it there on time.”
Over the past five years, more than 14,000 organs and tissue samples have traveled via Alaska Air Cargo on their way to recipients, who have often been waiting for months – even years.
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