SeaTac-based Alaska Airlines was one of four airlines to win federal Department of Transportation approval today to fly new long-distance routes from Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport.

Alaska had applied for two routes from the close-in Reagan Airport — the other route was to San Diego — but won only one.

The DOT instead allowed US Airways to trade an existing flight from Reagan to Dallas for a flight from Reagan to San Diego’s Lindbergh Field.

Flights from Reagan are strictly controlled by the DOT because of limited capacity at the airport, which is much closer to the nation’s …

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Average gas prices in Tacoma jumped by nearly a dime a gallon in the last week as national gas prices fell in the same period by more than a nickel.

After a fairly steady decline over the last month in Tacoma, prices jumped up again in this market to an average of $4.148 a gallon according to The News Tribune’s Gas Price Tracker/

Meanwhile, the national average for gasoline prices declined from $3.792 last week to $3.739 this week.

Analysts attribute the difference in price changes to the Northwest’s relatively isolated market.

Unlike many states in the East and Midwest, …

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Sea-Tac Airport next week will become the second airport in the country to offer active duty military members an expedited trip through pre-flight security checks.

Military on active duty or engaged in active drills will be allowed to move through the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck line at the airport’s north security check station behind the United and Alaska airlines counters beginning at 4 a.m. Tuesday, said the TSA.

Ordinarily, passengers cleared to enter the PreCheck line won’t have to remove their shoes, belts or light coats, said TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers. They won’t have to remove their laptops or their …

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The European Institute for Creative Strategies and Innovation has named Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner the recipient of its grand prize for innovation.

The award was presented to Yves Galland, president of Boeing France in ceremonies in Paris.

“We are very proud to receiv this prestigious award which recognizes the 787′s amazing technological breakthrough,” said Galland. “We share this prize with the eight French companies providing critical products and systems onboard the Dreamliner as the entire international team and our customers around the world.”

Made mostly from composite materials, the 787 is a twin-engine, long-range, wide-bodied jetliner. The plane is assembled in …

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Passenger traffic will be unaffected this summer in spite of two runway closures scheduled at Sea-Tac Airport, the airport is telling its customers.

The airport will close two of its three runways for several weeks at a time, but not at the same time.

The airport plans to close its longest runway designated 16 Left – 34 Right from May 14 to June 20. That runway is the closest of the three to the airport terminal. The runway itself, completely reconstructed in 2009, won’t require repairs, but the adjacent taxiway will, said Perry Cooper, the airport’s spokesman.

During that …

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Slimmer seats installed on Alaska Airlines’ new Boeing jets will add an inch more legroom for coach passengers, the airline said today.

The new seats will be installed on new Boeing 737-900ER jets Alaska will receive from Boeing beginning this fall through 2014.

Built by German seatmaker Recaro, the leather-covered seats are slimmer, thus giving passenger an additional inch of legroom without reducing the capacity of the aircraft, the airline said.

The new seat design also moves the magazine pocket on the seatback upward to just under the tray table to make more room

…

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Taiwan’s EVA Air has finalized orders for three Boeing 777-300ER long-haul jetliners, Boeing announced today. EVA’s order also includes purchase rights for four additional 777s.

At list prices, the Everett-built jets are worth nearly $300 million each.

“The 777-300ER is the flagship of our long-haul fleet and will play an important role in growing our global operations,” said Chang Kuo-wei, president of EVA Air. “The highly efficient, technologically advanced airplane will enhance the premium flying experience for passengers and will also allow us to open new destinations around the world.”

EVA Air also announced plans to lease four more …

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Fewer than one in 10 flights departed Sea-Tac Airport last month behind schedule, a new report shows, putting the airport at the top of the list of North American airports for on-time departures.

FlightStats.com, a Portland-based flight-tracking company, said 91.78 percent of Sea-Tac flights departed the airport on time. Sea-Tac barely edged out Salt Lake City, which was second on the list with 91.54 percent of its flights leaving on time.

Portland was also over 90 percent, 90.86 percent, as was Minneapolis-St. Paul with a 90.2 percent on-time departure record.

Sea-Tac’s second-busiest airline, SeaTac-based Horizon Air, was first in …

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