The last Combi: Alaska Airlines retires unique jets and offers new freight options

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Ramp service agent Shane Spearman, center, guides an Alaska Airlines 737-400 Combi plane toward a gate at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The final flight of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 Combi aircraft departed Anchorage on Oct. 18, 2017. Alaska Airlines operated five of the jets, which were configured to carry freight in the front and passengers in the rear. The company is transitioning to dedicated cargo aircraft in Alaska. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)

For decades, people in rural Alaska have traveled on uniquely configured combination passenger-freight jets with people in back and everything from baby reindeer to new cars to fresh flowers up front.

The last of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400 Combis took off Wednesday afternoon from Anchorage on Flight 66. That is what they call a milk run — and milk is often on board — to Cordova, Yakutat and Juneau, then on to Seattle.

"When it lands in Seattle tonight, it is being decommissioned. That is the last Combi aircraft we had," said Tim Thompson, Alaska Airlines external affairs manager.

The end of the Combi flights will save Alaska Airlines money, he said.

The combination jets had about a 20-year life. They were starting to need more maintenance. They weren't as efficient as the airlines' newer jets, either.

"Those airplanes will really fly forever. It's just the amount of maintenance that you have to do," Thompson said.

All five of the passenger-freight 737-400s — the latest and last configuration of a Combi — are being sold. They could hold 72 passengers in the back cabin and on the upper deck, big containers of freight. In their place Alaska Airlines is adding three 737-700s strictly for freight, one of which is already in service.

The change increases the airline's cargo capacity by some 20 percent, Thompson said. Passengers will fly separately in new 737s.

When Alaskans off the road system fly, they often leave home with empty totes and coolers, stock up in cities, and haul everything back as part of their checked baggage — three free ones on Alaska if they are traveling in state and two on a competitor, Ravn.

They can still bring their totes on regular flights. The switch to separate cargo flights is bringing a new freight benefit for Club 49 members, the airline said.

That is a program for Alaskans who are part of the airline's mileage plan. It's grown to 365,000 members since starting six years ago, offering incentives like two free checked bags during travel Outside, according to the airline. Other recent changes affect people flying with bikes, skis or other oversized sports gear.

Here are some of the new ways to send your stuff for cheap:

• Effective this week, Club 49 members can ship an additional 100 pounds of freight within Alaska for $10 if they are also flying, or $40 if they aren't traveling. The freight must be taken to and picked up from the airline's freight offices, which are off-site from the main terminal in Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks but in the same building in hubs such as Bethel, Nome and Kotzebue.

• They must show their Club 49 card or a virtual card available through the Alaska Airlines app. For the $10 rate, they must show a boarding pass. The freight can be in several boxes, but total dimensions — length, width and height — cannot exceed 110 inches.

• Live animals, firearms and expensive items such as artwork can't be shipped through the new freight program.

• People in various special categories — Club 49, MVP groups, first-class travelers and Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card holders — now can bring a bicycle, skis or other oversized sporting equipment that is properly packed as part of their free checked bag allowance. For everyone else, it costs $25, down from what was often a $75 charge. That change took effect in July.