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We are celebrating the people at our cargo stations across the state of Alaska and the communities they serve. For other stories in this series, check out more People of Cargo.
STATION SPOTLIGHT: Fairbanks (FAI)
STATION FACT: Fairbanks is our closest cargo station to the North Pole, giving Santa extra lift for all his holiday-shipping needs. Station details
TEAM SPOTLIGHT: Made’, who has worked 34 years with Alaska Airlines
ALASKA LIFE FUN FACT: Even though January’s average high temperature shivers around 0 degrees F, winter is prime time for tourists visiting Fairbanks to see the northern lights. Made’ sees the aurora borealis regularly at her home outside the city: “If you’re really lucky, you will hear them — kind of a high-pitched, faraway sound,” she said. “You know how they say whales sound in the ocean from afar? To me, it’s akin to that. Others may tell you it sounds like a whooshing or whizzing sound.”
For longtime customer service agent Made’, working in our Fairbanks cargo station is more than business. It’s also personal.
Each morning, she and her close-knit team of agents are greeted by a steady stream of customers — couriers and local business owners they’ve known for years. “When they walk in, it’s ‘Hey, Made’! Hey, Gwyn! Hey, Josh!’” she said. “It’s like a family.”
And the shipments can be personal as well. Every day, the cargo team moves medications coming in for Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, the Tanana Native Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center and pharmacies throughout town, as well as groceries for the stores. Those are all shipments that Made’ and her family depend on, too.
“In my day to day walking around Fairbanks or the grocery store, I’m bound to see somebody that I helped at the counter,” she said. “We move freight boxes and materials, but … the understanding of what exactly that cargo is and how it impacts people, that isn’t really there until you work at a freight office and you go to the pharmacy.”
In a busy midsummer week when Fairbanks’ high temperature ranged from a seasonal 57 degrees to a sizzling 90, Made’ took time to describe the types of shipments that come through her station and what they mean for her hometown.
What are some of the regular shipments that come through Fairbanks that support the economy?
Made’: “We get a lot of truck parts going up to Prudhoe Bay (SCC). … Machinery is big business for us.”
How do you ship machinery that’s bigger than the 300 pounds maximum for belly cargo?
“If we get something much larger … we offer road service like a trucking freighter, back and forth from Fairbanks to Anchorage, which in turn feeds to our freighter aircraft. We treat that like a flight every day.”
What are some of the perishables you see regularly?
“We get a lot of food products year-round, and seafood is big. We have a number of restaurants in town and Asian markets, and the produce has to come up from the lower 48. Those customers use Alaska Airlines to get their stuff up here.”
Are there seasonal shipments that are unique to Fairbanks?
“At the beginning of August, it’s parents wanting to ship college stuff to the kids [attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks]. … At the end of the school year, everything goes back. Then in September, it’s the hunting season. All the hunters’ stuff comes in to go to their camps, and on the way back out, everyone ships their meats or their fish or their antlers.”
What is one of the biggest challenges for both customers and the cargo team?
“I think it’s the harsh weather in the wintertime. When it reaches 30 below, that’s walk-outside-and-take-your-breath-away type of cold. I personally have seen 52 below zero, in my lifetime.”
After 34 years — with half that time in cargo — what do you still enjoy about your job?
After a long vacation last year, “I knew I wasn’t ready to retire because I was looking forward to coming to work. I really do love it. It’s the customers that I see day to day. It’s being able to help them because I know already what their needs are going to be. It’s the sharing, the service we have, and it’s the employees that I work with. I love to hear when a customer pays us a compliment, and that they love coming to the office – and when they know our work schedules and the conversation leads to what’s up in each other’s lives. Who knew shipping and picking up would be a treat in someone’s day?”
