Alaska Air Cargo reels in salmon season

The salmon fiends of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States celebrated this morning, as Alaska Air Cargo’s so-called “Salmon-30-Salmon” aircraft arrived in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) with 10,000 pounds of fresh-harvested Alaskan salmon, to be distributed through the carrier’s U.S. network.

The carrier marks the beginning of the salmon season by welcoming the Boeing 737 with a festive gathering and a ceremonial photo-op between the plane’s captain and the airline’s official “first fish” of the season – this year’s catch weighing in at 31 pounds. Then, a cook-off competition is held between local culinary professionals, right on the tarmac. The airline delivered another 22,000 pounds of salmon within hours following the event.

Jason Berry, managing director at Alaska Air Cargo emphasized the carrier’s role in distributing Alaska’s seafood exports to the rest of the country. “Our cargo employees are working around the clock to ensure we deliver the first catch of the coveted wild Copper River salmon to market,” said Berry, continuing that the carrier aims to deliver the cargo to its final destination within 24 hours of being pulled from the water.

To read more details about the event, visit the company’s blog for details.