The foremost tenet of Alaska Airlines is safety . Birkett Rakow said that immersion into a safe culture begins during employee orientation . She remembers her first day of orientation four and a half years ago , “ There is an exercise in orientation where new employees are asked to write down their ‘ why ’ of safety . Everyone writes down why they want to prioritize safety . ‘ I want everyone to get home to their family at the end of the day ,’” she said was common , but also includes ideas on passenger and co-worker safety .
With 22,000 employees in the company , safety underscores everything they do . “ When we set goals , we take them seriously ; we track our performance in order to deliver on them . Safety is our number one value of all of the values at play . Safety is embedded in our values and culture ; air travel is incredibly safe ,” Birkett Rakow said .
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Media Relations Manager , Cailee Olson has been with the company two years . She said that the depth of the values goes back to the company founding 90 years ago in Alaska , “ We started as an airline that delivered everything from milk to medicine to remote villages in Alaska ; that is the heritage of the company .” She added that during the pandemic , Alaska was flying PPE and vaccines to remote villages again . “ That ’ s the importance of what we do and how we do it ; we have a responsibility to communities .”
Environmental Sustainability
On the corporate website , “ We take pride in our efforts to reduce our negative impacts and collaborate in ways that create value for our employees and guests , while strengthening the communities we call home .”
When it comes to the environment , and air travel , there can be many negative impacts . First is the use of fuel , and Alaska Airlines is working diligently to advance the creation of alternative fuels while also optimizing flight paths to reduce fuel use . They are also working to support development of electric or hybrid aircraft that could be viable power sources in the future for a regional fleet .
Saleh , with Alaska Star Ventures , said that they are investing in a variety of companies to create new fuels and environmentally safer methods to fly . While Saleh has been with the company for just over four years , he has been a pilot for 33 years . He said , “ I am so proud to work at a place that recognized a future that to others has seemed mythical , or far off . The aviation sustainability movement took off in Europe — we can help shape it here .”