Alaska Airlines Pinch Hits and Carries Olympic Flame.

Business Editors, Sports/Travel Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2002

In a feat befitting a gold medal, Alaska Airlines -- via its pioneering high-tech navigation technology -- is assuring that the Olympic Flame makes its first ever trip to the state of Alaska.

Because of adverse weather in Juneau, the ability of the originally scheduled charter to deliver the flame became uncertain. Alaska Airlines' aircraft are equipped with a special navigation system, called RNP, or Required Navigational Performance, that enables them to land in Juneau under such conditions. Alaska pioneered the use of RNP -- in Juneau, no less -- five years ago.

When it became uncertain that the original aircraft would be able to land in Juneau, Olympic committee representatives called Alaska for help.

As fate would have it, two Alaska employees are scheduled to carry the Olympic Torch in Juneau tomorrow.

"We've had to jump a lot of hurdles in only a few hours," said Steve Cunningham, Alaska's director of systems operations control, speaking of the approvals needed to carry the flame on a passenger flight. "But of course we wanted to make sure the Olympic Flame makes the Alaska segment of the relay."

The flame will be carried aboard Flight 69, scheduled to depart Seattle at 7:03 p.m. and arrive in Juneau at 8:48 p.m.

To assure that the Olympic Flame is not extinguished between the time it is lit on Mount Olympus in Greece and when it lights the cauldron in Salt Lake City, four separate flames are kept burning. Two of those flames will be on the Alaska Airlines flight, while the other two are still scheduled to be carried on the original charter flight, with the hope that it can land in Juneau.

As a token of thanks for Alaska's effort, the Olympic Committee will be giving a torch to the airline.

Alaska Airlines originally developed an RNP approach for Juneau because of the frequent inclement weather, for which southeast Alaska is known, and the mountainous terrain surrounding the Alaska capital. Following Juneau, the airline expanded use of RNP throughout southeast Alaska, and is currently working to bring it to airports in the Lower 48.

With its first-in-the-world integration of the global positioning system (GPS) with flight deck computers and autopilot, Alaska's RNP guarantees pinpoint navigation accuracy.

For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com.