Alaska Airlines Retrofitting 737 Fleet With New, Split Winglet

Lower carbon emissions will equate to nearly 12,000 fewer cars on the road annually

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Oct 28, 2013, 08:00 ET

SEATTLE, Oct. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Alaska Airlines jetliners will soon fly more efficiently thanks to a new performance-enhancing winglet the carrier is installing on its Boeing Next Generation 737s, which will reduce fuel consumption by 58,000 gallons a year per aircraft. The split winglet will save the airline $20 million and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 57,000 tons annually, which is the equivalent of taking about 11,900 passenger vehicles off the road each year.*

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131028/SF04800)

Alaska Airlines' new split winglet has a scimitar-shapped tip reminiscent of a medieval sword. (PRNewsFoto/Alaska Airlines) (PRNewsFoto/ALASKA AIRLINES)

"Reducing fuel consumption has been a top priority at Alaska Airlines for years," said Mark Eliasen, Alaska Airlines' vice president of finance and treasurer. "Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our employees, we've cut our carbon emissions by 30 percent per passenger mile since 2004. Investing in split winglets will further reduce our fuel use and continue our efforts to be the industry leader in environmental stewardship."

Among other efforts to lower fuel consumption, Alaska migrated to a fleet of all-Boeing 737s, the most efficient aircraft in its class, installed lighter inflight food and beverage carts, and instituted procedures such as taxiing on one engine instead of two.

The International Council on Clean Transportation , a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C., ranked Alaska No. 1 in fuel efficiency among all 15 major U.S. airlines in a report it released in September.

Winglets save fuel by reducing drag, which allows aircraft to fly at cruise speed with less engine power. Alaska Airlines will recoup the cost of the winglets through fuel savings in about two years.

Designed by Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing, the first winglet will be installed early next year and the project will be completed by 2017. Alaska plans to install the winglets on 111 aircraft, including most of its 737-800s, -900s and all of its -900ERs. Installation will be scheduled on each aircraft during routine maintenance inspections.

Editor's note: An artistic rendering of Alaska's new winglets is available for download from the carrier's online image gallery at http://bit.ly/9qVv.

Learn more about Aviation Partner Boeing's "Split Scimitar Winglet" at www.aviationpartners.com/future.html.

Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together with its partner regional airlines, serves 95 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines has ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers" in the J.D. Power and Associates North America Airline Satisfaction Study^SM for six consecutive years from 2008 to 2013. For reservations, visit www.alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.

* Based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.

SOURCE Alaska Airlines