Alaska Airlines Back to Normal After Rough Weekend

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "It's not revolutionary, but a small Moleskine notebook is my one travel must-have. It's great for noting things you want to remember and it takes up hardly any space in your bag."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Japan. I'd love to take a month off and visit the cities, temples, and countryside. I'm fascinated by the country's juxtaposition of ancient traditions and modern ambitions."

Travel Motto: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” –Terry Pratchett

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window."

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If you were flying Alaska Airlines this weekend, you likely ran into some headaches. The airline canceled some 150 flights Saturday and another 20 yesterday due to a systemwide outage in its central computer system. Operations are now back to normal.

The airline waived its change fees for flights departing March 26 through 28, so passengers may still move their trip for no penalty (though there may be a fare difference).

According to the Tacoma News Tribune, “The glitch occurred about 3 a.m. Saturday during the installation of a backup power system. While the system was operating on a portable generator, a transformer malfunctioned and crashed the entire system”

Brad Tilden, President of Alaska Airlines, and Glenn Johnson, President of Horizon Air, recorded an apology/information video, which you can watch here.

Readers, were you stuck in Alaska’s glitch mess this weekend? And what do you think about an airline actually acknowledging a problem before people get upset about it?

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