SEATTLE, Jul 5, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) announced today that it has received authority from the U.S. Department of Transportation to begin daily nonstop service this fall from Los Angeles to Cancun and the Mayan Riviera.

The carrier will also offer same-plane, one-stop service from Seattle.

The service, which will commence October 20 subject to Mexican approval, will provide the only daily nonstop service by a U.S. carrier from the West Coast to the popular Caribbean resort.

Alaska will serve the route using Next Generation Boeing 737-700 aircraft configured to carry 120 passengers - 12 in first class and 108 in coach.

Flight No.    Route                   Departs           Arrives
----------    -----                   -------           -------
AS224         Seattle to Los Angeles  9:45 a.m          12:19 p.m.
              Los Angeles to Cancun   1:19 p.m           7:25 p.m.(a)

AS225         Cancun to Los Angeles   9:25 a.m.(a)       2:25 p.m.
              Los Angeles to Seattle  3:45 p.m           6:21 p.m.

(a) Effective October 28, flight times shown with note (a) above will be one hour later due to the end of Daylight Savings Time in the U.S. and Canada.

To purchase tickets, visit Alaska Airlines online at www.alaskaair.com, call Alaska Airlines Reservations at 1-800-ALASKA-AIR (1-800-252-7522), or call your travel agent.

Cancun is located on the Caribbean coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and receives more than 3.7 million visitors annually. One-third of all tourist arrivals to Mexico are to Cancun.

Service to Cancun would be Alaska's sixth destination in Mexico. Alaska currently serves the West Coast resorts of Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Manzanillo/Costa Alegre. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com.

CONTACT:          Alaska Airlines
                  Jack Evans, 206/433-3134
                  Jack Walsh, 206/901-8753