Alaska Airlines Adding Blended Winglets

Alaska Airlines will be the first airline to use blended winglet technology on Boeing's 737-900 airplane. The winglets are designed to reduce fuel consumption by three percent. Other carriers that will add the winglets to Boeing's 737-900 planes include Continental Airlines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Alaska plans to add the winglets to nine of its 12 model 737-900 airplanes by later next year. The winglets cost $850,000 to buy; installation costs are extra. They are made by Seattle-based Aviation Partners Boeing. Officials at Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group Inc. of Seattle, said by the end of next year, 74 of its 116-plane fleet will be equipped with the blended winglet technology. For related news