SEATTLE, May 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The season's first
shipment of fresh Copper River salmon made the 1,300-mile journey from Cordova, Alaska, to
Seattle onboard an Alaska Airlines 737 this morning, marking the start of the summer salmon
grilling season. In addition to the 22,000 pounds of fish delivered this morning, Alaska has
four flights scheduled throughout the day to bring up to 77,000 pounds of Copper River salmon to market in Anchorage and the Lower 48.
"Alaska Airlines plays a significant role in supporting the Alaska seafood industry, which is
recognized worldwide for its sustainable fishing practices," said Jason Berry, Alaska Air Cargo
managing director. "Our Cargo employees are working around the clock to ensure we deliver the first catch of the coveted wild
Copper River salmon to market, often within 24 hours of being pulled from the water."
Every year Alaska Air Cargo partners with the state of Alaska's three largest seafood
processors, Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Trident Seafoods and Copper River Seafoods to bring the coveted fish to Seattle and Anchorage, and points beyond.
Eighth annual Copper Chef Cook-off
The season's first fish, a 45-pound king salmon donated by Ocean Beauty Seafoods, will become the catch of the day for
three top Seattle chefs competing for the best salmon recipe in the eighth annual "Copper Chef
Cook-off." Chefs competing this year includes Executive Chef John Sundstrom of Lark, Executive
Chef Stuart Lane of Spinasse and Artusi and Executive Chef David
Yeo of Wild Ginger. In an "Iron Chef" type competition, the three culinary elites will have 30 minutes to prepare and
serve the freshly caught salmon to an audience of Alaska Airlines customers. Seattle culinary
giant and competition veteran John Howie and Ken Carson, the field
announcer for the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders, will co-emcee the morning event.
The winning Copper River salmon recipe will be announced on the airline's Twitter account @AlaskaAir. Salmon lovers are
encouraged to share their favorite ways to eat Copper River salmon by tagging @AlaskaAir and using the hashtag #iflyalaska.
Fish fanatics who want to recreate the dishes can download the chef's recipes at http://blog.alaskaair.com/2017-copper-chef-recipes/ and learn what makes the Copper River salmon special and
how the fishing industry in Alaska embodies the Alaska spirit
on the Alaska Airlines blog at http://blog.alaskaair.com/destinations/2017-copper-river-salmon/.
Editor's note:
Downloadable drone footage of the Cooper River salmon opener in Cordova, Alaska is available at
https://wetransfer.com/downloads/1c2850b11fd25a7d121dd7de4e81774f20170518011052/71606d71ac5660a32592e824def92c4620170518011052/a889ee.
High-definition, broadcast quality footage of Alaska Airlines is available at https://ascorpcomm.sharefile.com/d-sadfdde4d49545f4a.
Alaska Air Cargo transports more than 170 million pounds of cargo annually—including seafood, mail and freight —and operates
the most extensive air cargo operation on the U.S. West Coast of any passenger airline.
Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 40 million guests a year to 119 destinations
with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and
Cuba. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners , guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900
destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North America
Satisfaction Study for 10 consecutive years from 2008 to 2017. Alaska Mileage Plan ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards
Programs" in the J.D. Power 2016 Airline Loyalty/Rewards Program Satisfaction Report for the last three consecutive years.
Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service and unmatched reliability at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are
subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK).
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines