Alaska Airlines Sponsors Apolo Ohno in His Race for Gold

Five-time medalist poised to become most-decorated U.S. winter athlete


SEATTLE, Sept. 15  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Airlines announced today it is sponsoring five-time Olympic athlete Apolo Ohno in his quest to compete and make history on the world stage in Vancouver, British Columbia, in February 2010. The celebrated speed skater and hit reality TV show "Dancing with the Stars" winner qualified last weekend to compete for the United States in Vancouver.

"As one of the greatest U.S. short-track speed skaters of our generation and a Northwest native, we feel Apolo Ohno is a natural fit with our airline," said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines' vice president of marketing, sales and customer experience. "Apolo's humble upbringing and gold-medal performance resembles the 'Alaska Spirit' that has helped us become the dominant U.S. West Coast carrier and industry leader in customer service and on-time performance."

A native of the Seattle area, Ohno began his short-track speed-skating career at age 14 in Seattle and Vancouver. From there, he went on to become the youngest skater to win a World Cup event title in December 1999. Ohno has since won 11 national champion, 18 world champion and five Olympic medals.

"My racing career started in Vancouver and that experience changed my life," Ohno said. "Coming back to my roots in the Pacific Northwest to compete for my sixth medal is especially meaningful, and it is an honor to partner with my hometown airline in the most important race of my life."

Ohno fans can "follow Apolo" by signing up on http://www.followapolo.com/ to receive updates later this fall as he trains and competes. Fans may also visit the Web site to send a question to Ohno.

The speed skater will compete in four qualifying World Cup competitions, starting Sept. 17 in Beijing and ending Nov. 15, 2009, in Marquette, Mich.

Alaska Airlines and sister carrier Horizon Air together operate 13 flights a day to Vancouver from several West Coast cities.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers" in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 and 2009 North America Airline Satisfaction Studies(SM). For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom. 

DATASOURCE: Alaska Airlines



CONTACT:  Alaska Airlines Media Relations, [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.alaskaair.com/

http://www.followapolo.com/ 

Copyright