Alaska Airlines is focusing on flying the eco-friendly skies with a new sustainable fuel deal. The airline has signed a four-year agreement with renewable fuel producer Neste.
“We are, as an industry and I think as a society, we’re on a journey to make sure that we are reducing carbon emissions and protecting our environment,” Diana Birkett Rakow, vice president of external relations at Alaska Airlines, told Cheddar. “And there’s no time like the present to keep making progress.”
Rakow said Alaska Airlines has flown 80 trial flights using sustainable fuel. Renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel will now be used on all of its flights out of San Francisco.
“Our long-term goal is to make sustainable fuel a viable, commercially available, scalable product that we can use across all of our operations and really for all of aviation,” Rakow said.
Customers should not notice any changes during their in-flight experience. The change comes as more and more consumers are voicing demands for increased sustainability from big businesses, even beyond the air travel industry.
“One of the things that’s actually going to make reducing carbon emissions successful is involving our guests in wanting us to move in this direction, in purchasing carbon offsets, and continuing to demand that more and more airlines use sustainable fuel so that we can build a sustainable market for this product,” Rakow said.
Alaska Airlines is currently trying to recover from the coronavirus pandemic that has devastated air travel. Rakow said the airline was flying 130,000 passengers per day pre-pandemic, but at the lowest point dropped to 5,000. She said about 35,000 to 45,000 passengers are now flying per day.
The Buy Now, Pay Later trend no longer has the luster it once had during the pandemic. Brandon Kreig, Stash CEO and co-founder, joins Cheddar News to give us insight on what happened and what's next for BNPL companies.
Join Cheddar News as we break down the top headlines this morning including updates on the Jan. 6 hears, the PGA suspension of 17 of the world's best golfers, and NASA's plans to study UFOs.
The national average for a gallon of gas is closing in on $5 dollars per gallon and it's putting pressure on already strained budgets. The summer travel season could stall out before it even gets started. Cheddar's Shannon Lanier has some great hacks to help you save a few bucks at the pump.
Lower Manhattan's iconic Stone Street is getting a bubbly makeover. Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte will be 'unleashing the bubbles' throughout the month of June in New York City, with themed events, bubble ball pits, and special menu and drink experiences. Anne-Laure Domenichini, director of communications for Champagne Nicholas Feuillatte, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Alex Gladstein, Chief Strategy Officer for the Human Rights Foundation, joins Closing Bell, where he explains where tech experts are getting it wrong when they call crypto risky and unproven. He also stresses the importance of crypto and points to how Ukraine was able to use Bitcoin during the onset of the Russian invasion.
API platform RapidAPI recently became a unicorn with a $1 billion valuation after raising $150 million in a Series D funding round led by Softbank Vision Two Fund. Microsoft's Venture Fund, M12, and Andreessen Horowitz also participated. RapidAPI says it provides the world's largest API hub which enables millions of developers and companies to build software faster. Iddo Gino, founder and CEO of RapidAPI, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
