In his new role, Todd Sproul will oversee Alaska Airlines’ systems operations control and coordinate with Horizon Air and other regional partners to deliver excellent operational results. Shane Jones comes to Alaska most recently from Delta Air Lines, where he served as vice president of corporate real estate and airport development.
SEATTLE – Alaska Airlines' board of directors elected Todd Sproul and Shane Jones to its growing leadership team in Seattle Wednesday. Sproul will serve as vice president of system operations, a new position, and Jones will be vice president, airport real estate and development, filling a recent vacancy.
In his new role, Sproul will oversee Alaska Airlines' systems operations control and coordinate with Horizon Air and other regional partners to deliver excellent operational results. A 30-year veteran of Alaska Airlines, Sproul previously served as managing director of systems operational control, responsible for the airline's safety and on-time performance. Prior to that, he was managing director of station operations, managing performance oversight and vendor contracts, ground service equipment, financial reporting, and staff and schedule planning.
Sproul joined Alaska Airlines in 1988 as a ramp service agent and held a variety of positions in customer service, ground operations and corporate real estate. He holds a bachelor's of business administration from Western Washington University.
"Todd brings a wealth of experience and internal knowledge of our airline to this new role," said Ben Minicucci, president and chief operating officer of Alaska Airlines. "Not only has he owned safety and managed the day-to-day continuous operational excellence of the airline, but he's also helped us deliver on the integration and will lead our upcoming move of Virgin America's operations control center to Seattle."
Jones comes to Alaska most recently from Delta Air Lines, where he served as vice president of corporate real estate and airport development. During his tenure, he played a key role in developing Delta's long-term airport infrastructure strategy, negotiated transactions in strategic hub markets and completed large-scale projects including a $1.4 billion JFK terminal development. Prior to that he served as director of corporate strategy & business development, where he worked extensively on the Northwest Airlines merger. Jones joined Delta in 2003.
"Shane is responsible for shaping and executing the strategic vision for our airport real estate, including developing our long-term airport infrastructure growth strategy and leading the team responsible for design and construction," said Andrew Harrison, the airline's executive vice president and chief commercial officer. "His expertise and leadership skills for overseeing large projects will be welcome as we continue to invest in our guest experience."
Jones holds a bachelor's of business administration from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
In celebration of National Drink Wine Day, Alaska Airlines expands Wine Flies Free program along the West Coast
Wine lovers rejoice! Alaska Airlines is expanding its wildly popular Wine Flies Free program all along the West Coast – enabling Mileage Plan members departing from cities in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho to check an entire case of wine for free. To celebrate the program's expansion, Alaska Airlines will offer a complimentary glass of wine to guests 21 and older on select flights on National Drink Wine Day this Sunday.
With the expanded Wine Flies Free program, wine aficionados can now check their wine from an additional 18 cities, for a total of 29 on the West Coast. Alaska Airlines will be working closely with regional winegrowers' associations, individual wineries and destination marketing organizations to promote the offering throughout wine regions along the West Coast.
"Wine and food are huge passion points for travelers when choosing their next travel destination," said Natalie Bowman, Alaska Airlines' managing director of marketing and advertising. "Our Wine Flies Free program makes it easier for our guests to experience some of the country's best wine regions and take their favorite wines home. We look forward to toasting our guests in-flight on National Drink Wine Day, and continuing to work with our partners to welcome visitors to these premier wine destinations that we serve."
The Wine Flies Free program debuted in 2007 to make it easier for travelers to bring home their favorite bottles of wine from Santa Rosa/Sonoma County. Oftentimes, wineries are unable to ship cases of wine directly or consumers are faced with costly shipping fees to transport wine. Alaska Airlines' Wine Flies Free solves these challenges by offering each Mileage Plan member the ability to check an entire case, up to 12 bottles of wine, for free.
"The Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area is the backyard wine region of Silicon Valley," said Megan Metz, executive director of Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association. "By expanding their Wine Flies Free program, Alaska Airlines is enabling people to easily travel to our booming wine region and take home a piece of the Santa Cruz Mountains at no cost."
Travelers looking to take advantage of the Wine Flies Free program can sign up for a Mileage Plan membership for free. To prepare wines to fly, each bottle must be packed and sealed for transport in a protective shipping container. Alaska Airlines customer services agents will be available to work with each guest to ensure that their case of wine is properly labeled.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
