SEATTLE, Oct 17, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) today applied for a pair of "beyond the perimeter" slots at Reagan National Airport in a bid to provide service between the Washington, D.C. airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

If granted, the airline would offer one daily round trip.

In support of its application, Alaska pointed out that authorization for the flight between Los Angeles International and Reagan National would restore service that ended last year when TWA merged with American.

Only six pairs of slots are available at Reagan National for "beyond the perimeter" service -- non-stop flights of more than 1,250 miles.

"This would be one more building block in our plan to increase our transcontinental service and strengthen our LAX hub," said Gregg Saretsky, Alaska's executive vice president of marketing and planning. Alaska currently operates 36 daily flights from LAX.

Several other airlines have also applied for the slots. Besides other applications for the Reagan National - LAX service, there are requests for flights to Las Vegas, Denver and Salt Lake City.

Alaska Airlines currently operates one daily round-trip flight between Reagan National and Seattle.

The nation's ninth largest carrier, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. The carrier operates more than 500 daily flights. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com.

CONTACT:          Alaska Airlines
                  Jack Walsh, 206/901-8753
                  or
                  Lou Cancelmi, 206/433-3170

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