Alaska Airlines to Begin Service to Adak.

Business Editors/Travel Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2003

Alaska Airlines will extend service to the Aleutian Island village of Adak this spring with twice weekly service from Anchorage.

The date the one-stop service will begin has not yet been determined but is expected to be in April. Located 1,192 miles from Anchorage and 445 miles west of Dutch Harbor, Adak will be Alaska Airlines' western-most destination.

The flights, to be operated with Boeing 737-200 combi aircraft, will provide passenger, cargo and mail service. They will operate each Tuesday and Sunday and are scheduled to make a stop in King Salmon.

Previously the site of a naval base, Adak's population shrunk from 5,000 down to its current size of 150-to-200 people.

Last week the U.S. Department of Transportation granted Alaska the Essential Air Service contract for service to the town. The subsidy provides $7,918 for each one-way flight to and from Adak, or $1.65 million per year.

Flight #138 will depart Anchorage at 10:55 a.m., arriving in King Salmon at 11:57. It will leave King Salmon at 12:32 p.m. and arrive in Adak at 1:56.

The return, Flight #139 is scheduled to depart Adak at 2:31 p.m. and arrive in King Salmon at 5:44. It will depart King Salmon at 6:19, arriving in Anchorage at 7:14.

The nation's ninth largest carrier, Alaska will now serve 54 destinations in Alaska, Canada, the Lower 48 and Mexico. For reservations go to www.alaskaair.com or call Alaska's toll-free reservations line at 1-800-ALASKAAIR (800/252-7522). For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com.