SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2003--Alaska Airlines announced today that it will initiate service between Seattle and Boise, sharing the route with its sister carrier, Horizon Air.

Beginning June 8, Alaska will operate two daily flights between Seattle and Boise, replacing three Horizon flights. Horizon will continue to operate five daily flights. The change will result in a 12 percent increase in the number of seats between the two cities.

Flight schedules for the new service will be available March 16. Alaska plans to operate the route with 140-seat Boeing MD-80 aircraft, twice the capacity of Horizon's 70-seat Bombardier CRJ regional jets or its 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops. The larger Alaska aircraft will be used to add capacity into the market at peak travel times.

"Working with Horizon, we can serve more customers and optimize the use of Alaska and Horizon aircraft," said Gregg Saretsky, Alaska's executive vice president of marketing and planning. "Whether they are on Alaska or Horizon, passengers will continue to enjoy the same excellent service they are accustomed to."

Alaska and Horizon currently share service in the Seattle-Portland, Seattle-Spokane, Seattle-Vancouver, and Portland-San Francisco markets.

Horizon will provide ground-handling services in Boise for both airlines.

Alaska previously served Boise from 1984 to 1993. It currently operates a reservations center in Boise, which employs 150 sales agents.

The nation's ninth largest carrier, Alaska Airlines was just named 2003 Technology Leader of the Year by Air Transport World magazine. It was also ranked best major U.S. airline in the 2002 Airline Quality Rating compiled by Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Together, Alaska and Horizon serve more than 80 cities in the Lower 48, Alaska, Canada and Mexico. For reservations go to www.alaskaair.com or call Alaska's toll-free reservations line at 800/ALASKAAIR (800/252-7522).

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

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CONTACT:	Alaska Airlines
	Jack Walsh, 206/901-8753
	or
	Jack Evans, 206/433-3134