This month, Alaska Airlines Cargo wrote a customer spotlight piece on Discovery Drilling and the partnership the two companies have formed in helping to solve Discovery Drilling’s time sensitive logistical challenges.
Alaska Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the United States, providing air freight services to over 100 destinations across the United States including Canada, Costa Rica, and Mexico. But did you know, Alaska Airlines Cargo services 21 different cities within the state of Alaska!
Discovery Drilling is a geotechnical and environmental company that provides a wide range of drilling services. The company's services generally include drilling past 100 feet below the surface and collecting soil samples throughout the entire drilling. The problems they face are how do you get a unique part to Kodiak, AK when a drill breaks down and the whole operation stops, in under twelve hours or how do you prepare to move a 8,000 - 15,000 lbs drill rig to Adak, AK within three weeks?
Alaska Air Cargo offers a premium service called GoldStreak. GoldStreak is the next available flight service for items to be there guaranteed.
Discovery Drilling uses Alaska Air Cargo’s GoldStreak Package Express frequently for express shipping of smaller packages. “It’s invaluable for our business,” Vice President Keeter Brown says. “For a decade we’ve relied on it for specialty tools, repair parts, etc. There is not a week that we don’t utter the word ‘GoldStreak.’ It’s so easy to use. If Alaska Air Cargo called us today and said, ‘We are discontinuing our GoldStreak service,’ we would have a panic attack.”
With regards to shipping drill rigs, Alaska Air’s online shipping tool allows Discovery Drilling to book in advance and know with a high degree of certainty that their equipment is going to get to where it needs to be on time.
To demonstrate Alaska Air’s commitment to customer service, the following occurred. Discovery Drilling was attempting to send material it had uncovered through its drilling operations in Adak out of the city. But Adak’s airport does not have the appropriate Alaska Air Cargo personnel to accept dangerous goods for outbound shipments. So Alaska Air sent one of their trained and certified dangerous goods employees from Anchorage to Adak to do the manifest work to get the shipment out.
It’s examples like that that show how commercial airline’s commitment and dedication to their customers is why they are so good at what they do.
